Attachments
Executive Summary
Context
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In 2025, mixed migration journeys to Italy remained concentrated along the Central Mediterranean Route (CMR), which continues to be the key entry route to the European Union (EU) despite a sharp decline in sea arrivals since 2023, due to strengthened border controls and increased cooperation with North African states. While arrivals stabilized at around 66,000 in 2025, the CMR remains the deadliest migration route, with more than 26,500 dead and missing migrants recorded since 2014. Against this backdrop, IOM’s Flow Monitoring Surveys (FMS) and MED.E.A. (MEDiazione culturale E Ausilio agli Uffici Immigrazione in Italia) datasets play a critical role in documenting migrants’ profiles, drivers, vulnerabilities, and protection needs. Together, both datasets, covering over 3,300 interviews in 2025, offer a comprehensive picture of mixed migration dynamics to Italy, informing operational planning and protection responses.
Methodology
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The FMS and MED.E.A. datasets analyzed in this report offer complementary insights into migrants arriving in Italy, though with important methodological differences to be taken into consideration. FMS provide structured data on recent arrivals at key Flow Monitoring Points (FMPs), relying on structured, one-on-one interviews with recently arrived third-country nationals, using multilingual tools, and covers demographic profiles, drivers, journeys, risks, needs and intentions. In 2025, a total of 1,126 observations were recorded. The MED.E.A. data are collected by cultural mediators in parallel with operational procedures such as registration and identification and early protection screening. This dataset comprises 2,190 interviews conducted in 2025. Both FMS and MED.E.A. data rely on self-reported information, which may be subject to under- or over-reporting of sensitive experiences, especially among women and other vulnerable groups. Migrants travelling to Italy by sea and land In 2025, migration to Italy by sea and land was dominated by young male arrivals, primarily from Bangladesh, Egypt, Pakistan, Afghanistan, and several sub-Saharan African countries. Bangladesh is consistently the top nationality across FMS 2025 and MED.E.A. 2025 data, in line with the ones released by the Italian Ministry of Interior. Sea arrivals remained heavily concentrated along the CMR, while land arrivals accounted for one fifth of the FMS sample, showing similar but slightly more diverse nationalities. Demographically, FMS and MED.E.A. respondents were overwhelmingly young single men. For FMS 2025 respondents, educational profiles became more polarized compared with 2024, with increases both in respondents with no schooling and those with postsecondary or tertiary education. Employment patterns before departure also shifted sharply: self employment rose markedly while wage employment declined, with mainly work experiences in agriculture, construction and trade.
Drivers of migration
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FMS migrant respondents reported a combination of economic pressures, violence, and conflict as key drivers of movement, both at departure and along the journey. While many respondents cited economic hardship as an initial factor, particularly among men, experiences of violence, abuse, and protection risks, including in transit countries such as Libya, also play a critical role in shaping decisions to move onward. Women were especially likely to report fleeing personal or family-related violence, and those travelling via land routes reported particularly high levels of protection-related drivers. These findings highlight that, alongside economic motivations, protection needs often emerge or intensify during the journey, influencing onward movement. For respondents who had lived outside their country of origin before heading to Italy, decisions to continue were frequently driven by lack of documentation, fear of repatriation, conflict, and exposure to violence in countries of stay Additionally, around one quarter of respondents reported that recent environmental impacts contributed to their decision to migrate.