Ukrainians in Italy are mostly recent labor migrants. As of 2020, there were 223,000

Ukrainians Ukrainians (, ) are an East Slavs, East Slavic ethnic group native to Ukraine. Their native tongue is Ukrainian language, Ukrainian, and the majority adhere to Eastern Orthodox Church, Eastern Orthodoxy, forming the List of contemporary eth ...

in Italy with valid permits. Many Ukrainian women make a living in Italy as caretakers for the

elderly Old age is the range of ages for people nearing and surpassing life expectancy. People who are of old age are also referred to as: old people, elderly, elders, senior citizens, seniors or older adults. Old age is not a definite biological sta ...

terminally ill Terminal illness or end-stage disease is a disease that cannot be cured or adequately treated and is expected to result in the death of the patient. This term is more commonly used for progressive diseases such as cancer, rather than fatal injur ...

, children or entire families. Mistrustful of retirement homes, Italians have embraced Ukrainian migrants as an answer to a shortage of Italian in-home caregivers (making Ukrainians the fourth-largest immigrant community in Italy), a professional role snubbed by many native Italians, due to its physical difficulty and emotional stress.

Numbers and gender

According to a National Institute of Statistics (Istat) report about foreigners in Italy, there are 223,782 Ukrainians in Italy as of 2012, and about 80% of them are women. With many Ukrainian caregivers believed to be working or residing in Italy illegally, other estimates of their numbers range broadly, from 600,000 to 1 million. And while most Ukrainian immigrants eventually want to come back to Ukraine, some are choosing to stay permanently, becoming a part of the Italian society. Due to the

Russian invasion of Ukraine On 24 February 2022, , starting the largest and deadliest war in Europe since World War II, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, conflict between the two countries which began in 2014. The fighting has caused hundreds of thou ...

, 112,098 refugees arrived in Italy from Ukraine as of May, 2022. Of the total, 58,334 are women, 15,256 men and 38,508 minors.

Religion

In the years 2011 and 2012 the

ISTAT The Italian National Institute of Statistics (; Istat) is the primary source of official statistics in Italy. The institute conducts a variety of activities, including the census of population, economic censuses, and numerous social, economic, a ...

made a survey regarding the religious affiliation among the immigrants in Italy, the religion of the Ukrainian people in Italy were as follows: * Gold Christian Cross no Red

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion, which states that Jesus in Christianity, Jesus is the Son of God (Christianity), Son of God and Resurrection of Jesus, rose from the dead after his Crucifixion of Jesus, crucifixion, whose ...

: 90.8%, of which Orthodox Christians 68%,

Catholics The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

22.5% and

Protestants Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...

0.3% *

Muslims Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...

: 0.1% * Non religious: 5.6% * Other religions: 3.5%

Ukrainian-Italian institutions

* Amateur theatre "Berehynia"Ukrainians in Italy Stage Protest Against FEMEN
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Notable people

References

{{Portal bar, Italy, Ukraine

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

* Ethnic groups in Italy Дель Ґаудіо (Del Gaudio), С. 2023. Ukrainian Studies in Italy: present and future developments (Original title: “Україністика в Італії: сучасність і перспективи розвитку”). IV Міжнародна наукова конференція: Актуальні проблеми романо-германської філології. Матеріали міжнародної наукової конференції. Київ: Український державний університет імені Михайла Драгоманова, с.8-12.

Numbers and gender

Religion

Ukrainian-Italian institutions

Notable people

See also

References