Published by Italian statistics institute ISTAT, the report found 28,000 graduates migrated abroad in 2017, an increase of 4 per cent on 2016.
In 2017, the total immigration flow in Italy amounted to over 343 thousand people, showing a sharp increase of 14 per cent over the previous year.
Of these, 301,000 immigrants were foreign citizens.
The most consistent flows were those of Romanian citizens, followed by Nigerians and Moroccans.
People migrating within Italy amounted to 1,335,000, around the same as in 2016.
Foreigners were twice more likely to move within Italy than the Italian citizens (4.6 per cent).
The most popular regions to migrants were Emilia-Romagna, followed by Trentino-Alto Adige, Lombardy and Friuli-Venezia Giulia.
Meanwhile, the least popular regions were in the south: Calabria, followed by Basilicata and Molise.
ISTAT found that changes of residence were age-related: almost half of those who moved in 2017 were aged between 15 and 39.
Younger migrants moved closer to large urban cities, while older migrants relocated to small regional towns.
