FREE now and never miss the top politics stories again. SUBSCRIBE Invalid email Sign up fornow and never miss the top politics stories again. We will use your email address only for sending you newsletters. Please see our Privacy Notice for details of your data protection rights.

Getty Syrian refugees arrive in Rome

Asylum applications looks set to surpass the figure of 84,000 made last year. More than 60,000 requests were made up to July this year, the second highest of any country within the European Union, only Germany has received more. The figures were revealed by Giorgio Alleva, the president of ISTAT (The National Institute for Statistics) which supplies official figures and data for the government, during a hearing of the Parliamentary Commission.

Getty Migrants from north Africa arrive in Italy

Refugees seek peace in war torn Syria Tue, July 11, 2017 Devastating images of Syrian refugees seeking peace on their journey to Europe. Play slideshow REUTERS 1 of 53 Displaced people from the minority Yazidi sect, fleeing violence from forces loyal to the Islamic State

The real novelty of recent years is the growing number of young immigrants and second-generation immigrants who become Italian ISTAT President Giorgio Alleva

Alluvia said: “The real novelty of recent years is the growing number of young immigrants and second-generation immigrants who become Italian. “Those who obtain citizenship from their parents and those who were born in our country and at the age of eighteen choose to have Italian citizenship, increased from about 10,000 in 2011 to over 66,000 in 2015.” On January, 1 2016 the number of official ‘foreigners’ in the southern European country stood at 5,026,153, according to ISTAT, a rise of 12,000 compared to 2014.

Getty Migrants arrive by boat to Italy from north Africa

The figure represents 8.3 percent of Italy’s total population which compares to France’s 6.6 percent and Germany with 9.3 percent. Of those five million people, four million - 70 percent - come from outside the EU but have a regular residence permit. According to Alleva, the number of foreigners living in the country increased by five times since 1998, which is the largest growth of any country in Europe.

Getty Syrian refugees arrive in the Italian capital, Rome