Rome, June 7 (IANS/AKI) The number of immigrants arriving in Italy fell in 2009 even though the total population rose to above 60 million people, the official statistics agency Istat said.
It said immigrants comprised 0.5 percent of the population, which totalled 60.34 million people.
Foreign arrivals comprised seven percent of the Italian population and most of them were concentrated in the northern and central regions of the country.
But the number of registered immigrants fell by 90,000 in 2009 compared to 2008.
–IANS/AKI
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