Arabs in Italy

{{Infobox ethnic group

| group = Arabs in Italy
Arabi in Italia

| image =

| population = {{nowrap|719,545 – 801,595}} {{nowrap|(2021; foreign citizens only)}}{{cite web|title=Cittadini stranieri in Italia – 2021|quote=Only non-Italian citizens with permanent residence in Italy are included.|url=https://www.tuttitalia.it/statistiche/cittadini-stranieri-2021/|website=tuttitalia.it}}{{cite web|title=People by country of birth – 2021|url=https://appsso.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/nui/submitViewTableAction.do/|website=eurostat.eu}}

| popplace = {{hlist|Lombardy|Emilia-Romagna|Piedmont|Veneto}}

| langs = Arabic and Italian

| rels = Islam and Christianity

}}

Arabs in Italy ({{langx|it|Arabi in Italia}}, {{langx|ar|عرب إيطاليا}}) are Italian residents of Arab heritage.

According to the Italian National Institute of Statistics (ISTAT), most Arab non-Italian citizens residing in Italy come from North Africa, most notably from Morocco, Egypt, Tunisia and Algeria. Other notable countries of origin include Somalia, Syria, Iraq, Lebanon, Libya, Sudan, Jordan and Palestine.

As a result of mixed marriages and naturalization, many Arabs in Italy are Italian nationals or second-generation children of expatriates. Between 2008 and 2020, almost 340,000 people from Arab-speaking countries acquired Italian citizenship. As Italy doesn't collect data based on ethnicity it is not possible to know the actual number of Italians with Arab ancestry.

History

In the 9th century AD, Arabs settled in mass in the island of Sicily and formed the Emirate of Sicily under Islamic rule.{{Cite book|last=Metcalfe|first=Alex|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PdmqBgAAQBAJ&q=muslim+invasions+of+sicily&pg=PR5|title=Muslims of Medieval Italy|date=2009-09-17|publisher=Edinburgh University Press|isbn=978-0-7486-2911-4|language=en}} During this period, there were several attempts to invade mainland Italy, with the Emirate of Bari being one of the most notable examples.{{Cite journal|last=Bondioli|first=Lorenzo M.|date=2018-12-12|title=Islamic Bari between the Aghlabids and the Two Empires|url=https://brill.com/view/book/edcoll/9789004356047/BP000040.xml|journal=The Aghlabids and Their Neighbors|language=en|pages=470–490|doi=10.1163/9789004356047_024|isbn=9789004356047|s2cid=165262442 }} Arabs have significantly impacted the genetics of the Island of Sicily as well as neighboring areas.{{Cite journal|last1=Rickards|first1=Olga|last2=Biondi|first2=Gianfranco|last3=Stefano|first3=Gian Franco De|last4=Vecchi|first4=Francesco|last5=Walter|first5=Hubert|date=1992|title=Genetic structure of the population of Sicily|url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/ajpa.1330870403|journal=American Journal of Physical Anthropology|language=en|volume=87|issue=4|pages=395–406|doi=10.1002/ajpa.1330870403|issn=1096-8644|pmid=1533751}}

Population

class="wikitable sortable"

|+Foreigners from Arab countries in Italy according to the 2021 Census

!Ancestry

!Population

!% of Italy population

Moroccan

|428,947

|0.724%

Egyptian

|139,569

|0.236%

Tunisian

|97,407

|0.164%

Algerian

|18,538

|0.031%

Somali

|7,629

|0.014%

Syrian

|6,633

|0.011%

Iraqi

|6,035

|0.009%

Lebanese

|4,374

|0.007%

Libyan

|2,741

|0.005%

Sudanese

|2,382

|0.004%

Jordanian

|1,616

|0.003%

Palestinians

|1,078

|0.002%

Mauritanians

|779

|0.001%

Saudi

|734

|<0.001%

Bahrain

|413

|<0.001%

Yemeni

|308

|<0.001%

Qatari

|101

|<0.001%

Kuwaiti

|101

|<0.001%

Emirati

|67

|<0.001%

Omani

|48

|<0.001%

Djibouti

|26

|<0.001%

Comoros

|19

|<0.001%

class="sortbottom"

|Total

|719,545

|1.215%

class="wikitable sortable"

|+People from Arab countries who became Italian citizens between 2008 and 2020 by country of origin{{Cite web |title=Acquisition of citizenship, Italy |url=https://appsso.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/nui/submitViewTableAction.do}}

!Previous citizenship

!Population

!% of Italy population

Moroccan

|249,147

|0.421%

Tunisian

|39,616

|0.067%

Egyptian

|27,510

|0.046%

Algerian

|11,865

|0.020%

Lebanese

|2,444

|0.004%

Somali

|1,999

|0.003%

Syrian

|1,993

|0.003%

Jordanian

|1,569

|0.003%

Iraqi

|827

|0.001%

Sudanese

|658

|0.001%

Palestinians

|485

|<0.001%

Mauritanians

|352

|<0.001%

Libyan

|307

|<0.001%

Yemeni

|66

|<0.001%

Kuwaiti

|31

|<0.001%

Saudi

|13

|<0.001%

|<0.001%

|<0.001%

|<0.001%

|<0.001%

|<0.001%

|<0.001%

class="sortbottom"

|Total

|338,907

|0.572%

class="wikitable sortable"

|+Foreign-born people from Arab countries by country of birth (2021 census){{Cite web |title=Population by country of birth |url=https://appsso.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/nui/submitViewTableAction.do}}

!Country of birth

!Population

!% of Italy population

Morocco

|457,002

|0.771%

Egypt

|137,335

|0.232%

Tunisia

|108,831

|0.184%