In January, more than a million children were registered with local authorities in Italy - one-fifth of the total number of foreign residents, according to data issued by the ISMU Foundation on Monday.
Over 815,000 foreign children aged over five were enrolled in Italian schools and around 70,000 children are born each year in Italy to foreign parents - 14 percent of total births, said ISMU.
Foreign-descended children now make up 40 percent of new Italian citizens and the number being granted Italian citizenship is growing every year, the ISMU figures showed.