Next generation
of Italians.
NextGen Ita is a community for people who build: Italian founders, researchers and professionals, in Italy and abroad. We collect the data on who leaves and who comes back, record a podcast with their stories, run live events and offer free coaching. It is run by Matteo Favilli and Salvatore Rosania, with Startup Grind Pisa & Lucca. Scroll, or jump.
Italians abroad.
How many leave, why, what it costs Italy and what would bring people back. Every number has its year and source, so you can check it.
Leaving.
Since 2014, every year, more Italians have left than come back. The average age is 34, and among 25-34 year olds almost one in two is a graduate. In 2025 the most popular destination is Spain. Something people rarely mention: the South loses graduates mostly to Central and Northern Italy, not abroad.
Since 2014 the balance has always been negative.
Italian citizens leaving and returning each year. The 2024 peak is inflated by new fines for not registering abroad, which brought earlier departures to light: read the 2025 drop with that in mind.
Almost one in two is a graduate.
Share of graduates among Italians aged 25-34 who move abroad.
Source: Istat, Figura 6. 2025 provisional.In 2025 Spain takes the lead.
Share of 2025 departures by country. The UK and Germany fell by almost 40% in one year.
Source: Istat, Migrazioni 2024-2025, Figura 5The South loses its graduates mostly to the North.
Between 2019 and 2025 Southern Italy lost 150k graduates aged 25-34. More than four in five moved to Central and Northern Italy, not abroad.
Why they go.
Money is the main reason, but not the only one. Five years after graduating, those working abroad earn 59.9% more. Since 2000 the gap with Germany and Switzerland has grown. Those who left mostly say Italy lacked suitable opportunities.
Abroad, almost 60% more.
Monthly take-home pay of master's graduates.
The gap has widened in twenty years.
Pay compared with Italy at purchasing power parity, in 2000 and 2024.
Source: CNEL, Giovani Expat 2026, pp. 25-26The bill.
Educating those who left between 2011 and 2024 cost €159.5bn, between public spending and family spending. Little comes back in return: for every young person arriving from advanced countries, 14.5 leave. And nobody knows exactly how many leave, because many never deregister.
The cost of education.
Departures and arrivals.
Where young people from advanced countries go.
Among people aged 20-34 who move between advanced European countries and the United States, Italy accounts for 26.9% of departures and only 1.9% of arrivals. Where they choose to go:
Source: CNEL, Giovani Expat 2026, on Eurostat data. Arrivals 2011-2023.Why the numbers differ.
Many figures circulate in two or three versions, because age, years and register differ. On top of that many who leave never deregister, and destination countries count flows two or three times larger than the Italian ones. Here are the most common cases. Sources: Fondazione Nord Est, Destatis
Coming back.
Some do come back: between 2021 and 2025, 40 returns for every 100 departures. Those who return mostly do it for family. Those still abroad say higher pay would come first. Below are the practical things to know if you are thinking of leaving or coming back.
Who comes back.
Among those who came back, the first reason is family (67.7%). Tax incentives are cited by 23.5%, as is quality of life.
Sources: Fondazione Studi Consulenti del Lavoro, via ANSA, Quotidiano NazionaleWhat would bring them back.
Share rating each condition "extremely important" for coming back, young Italians abroad.
Source: CNEL, Giovani Expat 2026, pp. 63-64Practical kit.
What to know if you live abroad or are thinking of coming back, with a link to the official page. This is not advice: the rules, especially on tax, change often.
Sources and news.
Behind every number there are people, and the podcast tells their stories. Below are the reports the data comes from, the news and when the next updates come out.
The reports that matter.
Worth knowing
The pieces that set the picture.
Latest
What happened recently.
Next updates.
How we work.
We only use primary sources or articles that report them, and every number carries its year and source. When sources disagree, we say so. Official figures come from the Italian register and so undercount those who leave: we use them because they are the only ones comparable over time. Have a figure, a study or a story? Write to matteo@ciaomirta.it.
Real stories.
No filters.
Where we begin. And why now.
The premise is simple. Italy has talent, has builders, has people doing serious work with AI. What it does not have is a single place where those conversations happen, unedited, in public. This podcast is the first attempt at that place.
Each episode is one conversation with one founder or builder. No script. What we ship, what we kill, what we learned the hard way.
You don't need permission to make something. You need someone to ask the right question, on the record, while you figure it out. from episode 01
What we cover.
How real founders ship.
Not the polished story. The 3 AM pivots, the customer calls that changed everything, the bet that paid off.
AI as leverage.
Not the tools they use. The workflows that compound. What changed in their team after adopting AI seriously.
The Italian angle.
Building from here, competing globally. What works, what breaks, what nobody tells you before you start.
Where ideas
meet people.
The back catalogue.
03 archive
Horizons 1st edition, Pisa
Roundtable Sant'Anna, Pisa
Want to co-host an event?
If you run a community, a university lab, or an early-stage company in Italy and want to put builders in the same room, write us. We co-build the format.
Free coaching
for founders.
Apply in one email.
Tell me what you are building and what is blocking you. If there is signal, you hear back within 48 hours. If it is not a fit, I point you somewhere better.
For you if you have started building and have a specific question. One 60-minute session on Google Meet, in Italian or English, then a note with three things to do.