ROME, Oct. 16 (Xinhua) -- The contribution of immigrants to Italy's economy and society remains substantial, according to a report presented by a Venice-based research institute, the Moressa Foundation, on Wednesday.
There were 2.4 million foreign workers in the country in 2023, constituting 10 percent of the country's total workforce, according to the report released at a press conference at the Interior Ministry.
The institute has been issuing its "Economy of Immigration" report every year since 2011 using official statistics and in collaboration with several ministries and other public institutions. The report provides a comprehensive picture of the role and the impact migrants have on the Italian socio-fabric.
According to the latest edition, foreign workers in 2023 contributed 164 billion euros (178 billion U.S. dollars) per year in value added, which amounted to 8.8 percent of the national GDP.
Agriculture was the sector in which they produced the most value added (16.4 percent of the total value added) followed by construction (15.1 percent), hotels and restaurants (11.1 percent), and manufacturing (10.3 percent).
Overall, foreign workers are especially concentrated in certain sectors of the Italian economy, namely personal services and family care (at least 30 percent of all workers in this area), agriculture (18 percent), construction (16 percent), and hotels and restaurants (17 percent), according to the latest data.
Meanwhile, their presence "is significantly lower than average in business services (5.4 percent), and in public administration, education, and healthcare (a total of 2.8 percent)."
The report also analyzed the presence of foreign workers by profession, revealing that -- despite many of them having been educated in their countries of origin -- they tend to be employed in low-skilled roles.
Finally, as in previous reports, the Moressa Foundation once more confirmed that foreign workers "have a low impact on public spending (such as public health)."
Provided it is well managed and regulated, "immigration offered a positive contribution at a demographic and social level as well," the foundation said in its report.
With fewer than 400,000 births a year and an average of 1.24 children per woman born in 2023, Italy has experienced one of the most significant population declines in Europe, the report highlighted.
It said that, in the next 50 years, "the resident population in Italy is expected to decrease from 59 million to 53 million (-9.6 percent)." The country will therefore see its workforce shrinking constantly, and the presence of foreign workers would be one positive factor helping to counter this trend.
