The majority of Albanians in Italy arrived in 1991 and have since surpassed the older populations of Arbëreshë.
After the breakdown of the communist regime in Albania in 1990, Italy had been the main immigration target for Albanians leaving their country.
Between the 11th and 18th centuries, sizeable numbers of Albanians migrated from the area of contemporary Albania to escape either various sociopolitical difficulties or the Ottoman conquest.The largest and influential communities of the Albanian diaspora are present in Australia, Argentina, Bulgaria, Canada, Croatia, Greece, Italy, Germany, Egypt, Turkey, Romania, Switzerland and the United States.Albanians produced many prominent figures such as Skanderbeg, leader of the medieval Albanian resistance to the Ottoman conquest, and others during the Albanian National Awakening seeking self-determination.During the 17th and 18th century, Albanians in large numbers converted to Islam, often to escape higher taxes levied on Christian subjects as well as a plethora of other reasons including ecclesiastical decay, Albania gained its independence in 1912, and from 1945 to 1992 Albanians lived under a communist government.Albanians within Yugoslavia underwent periods of discrimination and eventual self-determination that concluded with the breakup of that state in the early 1990s culminating with Albanians living in new countries and Kosovo.