Bangladeshis in Italy

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Bangladeshis in Italy
Total population
400,000[1]
Regions with significant populations
Lazio, Lombardy, Veneto, Sicily
Languages
Bengali, Italian, English
Religion
Islam (majority), Hinduism (minority)
Related ethnic groups
Bangladeshi diaspora, British Bangladeshis

Bangladeshis form one of the largest immigrant populations in Italy. As of 2020, there were more than 400,000 Bangladeshis living in Italy. Most of the Bangladeshis in Italy are based in the regions of Lazio, Lombardy, Veneto, and Sicily[2] with the largest concentrations in the cities of Rome, Milan and Venice.

History[]

Bangladeshis first started immigrating to Italy in the 1980s, and many were skilled graduates attracted by career opportunities in industrial Northern Italy. Between late 1989 and mid-1990 the number of Bangladeshis living in Rome increased from 200 to 300 by an estimated twenty-fold to become the largest Bangladeshi community in continental Europe. Subsequently, the population doubled in size, mainly through undocumented migration, to an estimated 82,000 people as of 1995.[3]

From 2012, over 20,000 Italian Bangladeshis migrated to the United Kingdom with the advent of Italy's manufacturing decline.[4][5] Majority of them settled within the British Bangladeshi community in Banglatown, East London.[6]

2019 marked the release of Italian blockbuster Bangla, which won awards for two consecutive years since its release. The film displayed the current situation of Bangladeshis in Italy, revolving around the life of a boy whose family plan to migrate to London.[7][8]

Demography[]

Most of the Bangladeshis in Italy hail from the districts of Shariatpur, Noakhali, and Sylhet.[3] 71.6% of them are male. 59% of the Bangladeshi population (15 years and older) is employed – a figure two percentage points higher than that recorded for the non-EU nationals in the country. The Bangladeshi community in Italy has an unemployment rate of 11%, slightly lower than the whole of non-EU nationals. The service sector absorbs over 70% of the workers belonging to the community. The percentage of Bangladeshis employed in industry is 22%. About 33% of Bangladeshis employed earn a monthly income below €800. Preponderant is the income class between €800 and €1,200, accounting for 48% of the community's employed.[9]

References[]

  1. ^ https://info.undp.org/docs/pdc/Documents/BGD/MM%2520Final%252002052018%2520NRB%2520%2520report.pdf
  2. ^ Horowitz, Jason (2019-05-22). "Palermo Is Again a Migrant City, Shaped Now by Bangladeshis and Nigerians". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2021-04-24.
  3. ^ a b Knights, Melanie (1996). "Bangladeshi Immigrants in Italy: From Geopolitics to Micropolitics". Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers. 21 (1): 105–123. doi:10.2307/622928. JSTOR 622928. PMID 12157827.
  4. ^ Bangladeshi Italian Welfare Association (based on figures provided by the Embassy of Italy, London)
  5. ^ "For the children: European Bangladeshis' mass exodus to UK". Dhaka Tribune. 13 June 2018. Retrieved 17 August 2020.
  6. ^ Clarke, Hilary (30 November 2015). "Italian Bengalis: Meet London's newest ethnic minority". The Independent. Retrieved 1 December 2015.
  7. ^ "Bongo releases Italian movie 'Bangla' November 13". New Age. Retrieved 28 October 2020.
  8. ^ "IFFR reveals Tiger and Big Screen Competition line-ups". 9 January 2019.
  9. ^ "The Bangladeshi Community in Italy - Annual report on the presence of immigrants - 2016" (PDF). Integrazione Migranti Vivere e Lavorare in Italia. Ministero del Lavoro e delle Politiche Sociali. Retrieved 13 November 2018.
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