Around 67,000 former Italian guest workers remain in Germany

Seventy years after Germany and Italy signed a recruitment agreement for Italian workers, tens of thousands of those former guest workers are still living in Germany, the Federal Statistical Office reported on Wednesday.

In 2024, around 67,000 Italians who immigrated to Germany between 1955 and 1973 to work were still living in the country, the German agency said.

Germany and Italy concluded an agreement on the recruitment and placement of Italian workers on December 20, 1955. Subsequently, hundreds of thousands of people from Italy sought their fortune in Germany.

In total, around 650,000 people with Italian roots lived in Germany in 2024, the agency said on the occasion of the upcoming anniversary.

A total of 72% of them had immigrated themselves, while 28% were born in Germany. Just under a quarter, or 24%, of them moved during the recruitment agreement period from 1955 to 1973.

People born in Italy who later moved to Germany had lived in the country for an average of 30.3 years as of 2024.

The main reasons for immigration were employment, family reunification and education, the statistical office said.

People with an Italian background accounted for 0.9% of the people employed in Germany last year. They mainly worked in gastronomy, food preparation, as well as in cleaning professions and metalworking.

At the time of the recruitment agreement, Italy aimed to alleviate unemployment in the south of the country. In light of the booming West German economy, Germany relied on guest workers to meet the demand for labour.

The agreement was the first of its kind for the Federal Republic of Germany and subsequently served as a model for later agreements, such as with Turkey, Greece and Spain.