Foreign residents in Messina
Messina, in the province of Messina, is home to 111 Argentinians — 0.05% of its 217,033 residents. That is the 1022nd-highest concentration of Argentinians of any of the 5,872 Italian comuni with at least 1,000 residents, and 73rd within Sicilia.
Across the nationalities we track, Messina counts 540 foreign residents in total, 0.25% of the population. The largest groups are Argentinians (111), Russians (96), Brazilians (54).
Over the period 2019–2025, the number of Argentinians in Messina has risen, from 6 to 111 (+1750%).
Separately, ISTAT's census data shows 6.7% of Messina's population was born outside Italy — 5.6% outside the EU and 1.2% elsewhere in the EU. ISTAT does not publish this broken down by specific country at comune level, so it isn't directly comparable to the per-nationality citizenship figures above.
Population over time
By nationality
| Nationality | Citizens | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Argentina | 111 | 0.05% |
| Russia | 96 | 0.04% |
| Brazil | 54 | 0.02% |
| Greece | 47 | 0.02% |
| United States | 32 | 0.01% |
| Germany | 31 | 0.01% |
| France | 29 | 0.01% |
| United Kingdom | 26 | 0.01% |
| Spain | 25 | 0.01% |
| Venezuela | 25 | 0.01% |
| Mexico | 12 | 0.01% |
| Belgium | 8 | 0.00% |
| Portugal | 8 | 0.00% |
| Ireland | 6 | 0.00% |
| Austria | 5 | 0.00% |
| Netherlands | 4 | 0.00% |
| Canada | 3 | 0.00% |
| Switzerland | 3 | 0.00% |
| Denmark | 3 | 0.00% |
| Finland | 3 | 0.00% |
| Japan | 3 | 0.00% |
| Sweden | 3 | 0.00% |
| Australia | 1 | 0.00% |
| South Korea | 1 | 0.00% |
| Norway | 1 | 0.00% |
Country of birth
| Group | Residents | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Born in Italy | 202,407 | 93.26% |
| Born elsewhere in the EU | 2,573 | 1.19% |
| Born outside the EU | 12,053 | 5.55% |
Argentinians over time
Quality of life in Messina
Full BES profile for Messina →Messina on cost vs quality of life (province-level) →
Property prices
About the Messina average of €941/m². Averaged across 16 OMI micro-zones, which can differ substantially within the same town.
16.5 years of rent here equal the purchase price — below the national median of 22.2 years.
A ratio between two OMI prices, not a return on investment. It leaves out purchase taxes, IMU, maintenance, financing and the months a place sits empty — all of which push the real figure up. Useful for the question it does answer: whether this town looks expensive to buy relative to what renting in it costs.
A detached house here averages €1,256/m², against €969 for an apartment.
Compared street for street — houses and flats priced in the same neighbourhood — a house costs 30% more per square metre.
OMI prices “Ville e Villini” separately from the apartments every other figure on this page describes. Nationally a house costs about 14% more per square metre, but in 450 comuni it costs less — worth checking rather than assuming.