Migrants arriving dropped, more Italian moving abroad

(ANSA) - Rome, December 9 - Italy attracted fewer immigrants in 2013 as the total number of new arrivals fell by more than 12% compared with the year before, national statistical agency Istat said Tuesday.
    At the same time, the number of Italians fleeing their recession-hit homeland jumped by more than 20% last year, the agency said in its latest report on international and internal migration.
    It found some 82,000 Italians moved out of their country last year, the highest level in 10 years and well above the 68,000 who migrated in 2012.
    The United Kingdom was the favourite destinations of Italians moving away, with the greatest number of migrants found in the age category of 20-to-45 years of age, said Istat.
    Germany, Switzerland and France were other popular destinations for Italian migrants.
    Meanwhile, the number of new arrivals in Italy in 2013 was about 307,000 - 43,000 fewer than in 2012, or a drop of 12.3%.
    The largest number of new entries in 2013 were Romanians, followed by Moroccans, Chinese, and Ukrainians.
    The number of Italians returning from abroad fell in 2013 by 28,000 compared to the return rate the previous year, Istat said.