Italy's mountainous regions gained 35 new residents in 2024. The data was presented in Reggio Emilia by Giampiero Lupatelli, a territorial economist, and Marco Bussone, president of Uncem (National Union of Mountain Municipalities).
The report updates information from the "Montagne Italia 2025 Report," prepared as part of the Italiae project. Between 2019 and 2023, more than 100 people had already migrated from non-mountainous cities to municipalities in higher elevations.
The 2024 increase represents a 40% jump in the average number of changes compared to the previous five-year period. The growth is largely attributed to the arrival of foreigners, whose net migration reached 22 people—three times the previous average.
Among Italian citizens, the positive balance was 12, in line with previous years. This phenomenon confirms the growth trend in northern and central Italy, while the south continues to record population exodus.
Internal migration favors northern and central Italy
Of the 387 territorial communities analyzed, 285 had a positive migration balance in 2024. In 2019-2023, there were 247. However, the number of communities with growth among Italian citizens remained stable: 224 now, compared to 228 previously.
The analysis highlights that the attraction lies more in the destinations than in the origins. In other words, it's the characteristics of the mountains that attract new residents—not just difficulties in their hometowns.
Between 2019 and 2023, ten communities had an Italian net migration rate of more than 1% per year. Five were in Emilia-Romagna, two in Liguria, one in Piedmont, one in Lombardy, and one in Trentino-Alto Adige.
By 2024, this group had almost doubled: there were 19 communities, spread across Piedmont (4), Liguria (3), Lombardy (2), Lazio (2), Veneto (1), Tuscany (1) and Umbria (1). The average number of new Italians per community jumped from 1.383 to 2.780 per year — an increase of 63,9%.
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