The flight of young people from large Italian cities

A biblical exodus: Istat, in a report titled "Young people in metropolitan cities: the fragility of educational pathways in urban contexts. Years 2022 and 2023," certified the great exodus of young people from Italian cities . Over the last thirty years, one and a half million young men and women have left major urban centers, 24,5 percent fewer than in 1993, marking a shift in the population demographics. According to Istat figures, as of January 1, 2024, 4,8 million young people up to the age of 24 reside in the 14 metropolitan cities: over a third of the national total (13,6 million). Today, young people represent 22,6% of the total population: a significant loss compared to 1993 (-10%), when one young person in every three people in Italy was registered. The cities most affected by this mass emigration phenomenon are all in the South: Naples, Catania, Palermo, and Cagliari. The data also shows that, in metropolitan cities, the female component prevails: the ratio is 94,2 men for every 100 women.

So much for the statistics. But what drives young people to flee cities? There are three main factors. First, the high cost of housing, where large cities present a housing market inaccessible to young people, both for rent and for purchase. Those who buy homes in urban areas are always older people, who then perhaps pass them on to their children. The second factor is wages that are too low (effectively stagnant for thirty years, with inflation having meanwhile galloped) compared to the cost of living in large cities. This is significantly mitigated abroad, thanks precisely to wages for work, at all levels, that are significantly higher than the Italian average. Third, cities tend to be increasingly less inclusive, with serious geographical divides between the North and South of urban areas, which are even reflected in the prevalence of the most serious diseases. From diabetes to obesity, these conditions, in proportion to the resident population, become more pronounced as one moves from the central areas to the outskirts of large cities. Adding these three factors together, we arrive at a clear conclusion: Italian cities are not sustainable, especially for young people.

Read also:

• Why young people leave Italy
• Salaries in Italy: increasingly low
• What to do if children return to live with their parents