Demographics of Italy

This article is about the demographic features of the population of Italy, including population density, ethnicity, education level, health of the populace, economic status, religious affiliations and other aspects of the population.

Population density in Italy by province. Italy's three biggest metro are also visible: Milan (North), Rome (Centre) and Naples (South).

Population 1960–2006. Number of inhabitants in thousands.

Historical population

Year	Pop.	±%
500	7,000,000	—
1000	7,000,000	+0.0%
1500	11,000,000	+57.1%
1861	22,182,479	+101.7%
1871	27,303,509	+23.1%
1881	28,953,480	+6.0%
1901	32,965,504	+13.9%
1911	35,845,048	+8.7%
1921	39,943,528	+11.4%
1931	41,651,000	+4.3%
1936	42,943,602	+3.1%
1951	47,515,537	+10.6%
1961	50,623,569	+6.5%
1971	54,136,547	+6.9%
1981	56,556,911	+4.5%
1991	56,778,031	+0.4%
2001	56,995,744	+0.4%
2011	59,433,744	+4.3%
2018	60,483,973	+1.8%
2020	60,317,116	−0.3%
Source: ISTAT

At the beginning of 2020, Italy had an estimated population of 60.3 million. Its population density, at 201 inhabitants per square kilometre (520/sq mi), is higher than that of most Western European countries. However, the distribution of the population is widely uneven; the most densely populated areas are the Po Valley (that accounts for almost half of the national population) in northern Italy and the metropolitan areas of Rome and Naples in central and southern Italy, while other vast areas are very sparsely populated, like the plateaus of Basilicata, the Alps and Apennines highlands, and the island of Sardinia.

The population of the country almost doubled during the twentieth century, but the pattern of growth was extremely uneven due to large-scale internal migration from the rural South to the industrial cities of the North, a phenomenon which happened as a consequence of the Italian economic miracle of the 1950–1960s. In addition, after centuries of net emigration, from the 1980s Italy has experienced large-scale immigration for the first time in modern history. According to the Italian government, there were an estimated 5,234,000 foreign nationals resident in Italy on 1 January 2019.[1]

High fertility and birth rates persisted until the 1970s, after which they started to dramatically decline, leading to rapid population aging. At the end of the first decade of the 21st century, one in five Italians was over 65 years old.[2] However, as a result of the massive immigration of the last two decades, Italy has, in recent years, experienced a significant growth in birth rates.[3] The total fertility rate has also climbed from an all-time low of 1.18 children per woman in 1995 to 1.41 in 2008.[4]

Since the 1984 Lateran Treaty agreement, Italy has no official religion. However, it recognizes the role the Catholic Church plays in Italian society. In 2017, 78% of the population identified as Catholic, 15% as non-believers or atheists, 2% as other Christians and 6% adhered to other religions.[5]

Urbanization

70.4% of Italian population is classified as urban,[6] a relatively low figure among developed countries. During the last two decades, Italy underwent a devolution process, that eventually led to the creation of administrative metropolitan areas, in order to give major cities and their metropolitan areas a provincial status (somehow similar to PRC's direct-controlled municipality).

According to OECD,[7] the largest conurbations are:

• Milan – 7.4 million
• Rome – 3.7 million
• Naples – 3.1 million
• Turin – 2.2 million

Genetics and ethnic groups

Principal Component Analysis of the Italian population.[8]

Modern Italy and immigration

Little Italy in New York, ca.1900.

A group of young people at Piazza del Popolo, Rome.

African migrants in Milan

Italy used to be a country of mass emigration from the late 19th century until the 1970s. Between 1898 and 1914, the peak years of Italian diaspora, approximately 750,000 Italians emigrated each year.[9] Italian communities once thrived in the former African colonies of Eritrea (nearly 100,000 at the beginning of World War II),[10] Somalia and Libya (150,000 Italians settled in Libya, constituting about 18% of the total Libyan population).[11] All of Libya's Italians were expelled from the North African country in 1970.[12] In addition, after the annexation of Istria in 1945, up to 350,000 ethnic Italians left Titoist Yugoslavia.[13] Today, large numbers of people with full or significant Italian ancestry are found in Brazil (25 million),[14] Argentina (20 million),[15] US (17.8 million),[16] France (5 million),[17] Venezuela (2 million),[18][19] Uruguay (1.5 million),[20] Canada (1.4 million),[21] and Australia (800,000).[22]

As a result of the profound economic and social changes brought about by postwar industrialization, including low birth rates, an aging population and thus a shrinking workforce, during the 1980s Italy became to attract rising flows of foreign immigrants. The present-day figure of about 5 million foreign residents, that make up some 8% of the total population, include 97,000 children born in Italy to foreign nationals (14% of total births in Italy) in 2014, but exclude foreign nationals who have subsequently acquired Italian nationality; this applied to 106,000 people in 2014.[23][24] The official figures also exclude illegal immigrants, the so-called clandestini, whose numbers are very difficult to determine. In May 2008 The Boston Globe quoted an estimate of 670,000 for this group.[25] Since the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, and more recently, the 2004 and 2007 enlargements of the European Union, the main waves of migration came from the former socialist countries of Eastern Europe (especially Romania, Albania, Ukraine and Poland). The second most important area of immigration to Italy has always been the neighbouring North Africa (in particular, Morocco, Egypt and Tunisia), with soaring arrivals as a consequence of the Arab Spring. Furthermore, in recent years, growing migration fluxes from the Far East (notably, China[26] and the Philippines) and Latin America (Ecuador, Peru) have been recorded. Currently, there are 1.2 million Romanian-born citizens living and working in Italy.[27] Today the Romanians make up the largest community in the country, followed by Albanians (441,027) and Moroccans (422,980).[28][29] The fourth largest community in Italy are the Chinese. The majority of Chinese living in Italy came from the city of Wenzhou in the province of Zhejiang.[30] Currently the foreign-born population of Italy was from: Europe (54%), Africa (22%), Asia (16%), the Americas (8%) and Oceania (0.06%). The distribution of immigrants is largely uneven in Italy: 84.9% of immigrants live in the northern and central parts of the country (the most economically developed areas), while only 15.1% live in the southern half of the peninsula.

Within the Italian population, there is enough cultural, linguistic, genetic and historical diversity for them to constitute several distinct groups throughout the peninsula.[31] In this regard, peoples like the Friulians, the Ladins, the Sardinians and the South Tyroleans, who also happen to constitute recognized linguistic minorities, or even the Sicilians who are not, are cases in point, attesting to such internal diversity.

Estimated foreign-born population by country of birth, 2006 figures.

National demographic balance[32][33]

Origin	Population	Percent
Italy	55,818,099	92.81%
Romania	604,832	1.00%
North Africa (Maghrebis)	646,624	1.07%
Albania	502,546	0.77%
China (Han Chinese)	265,820	0.28%
Ukraine	233,726	0.31%
non-Chinese Asia	499,013	0.83%
Sub-Saharan Africa	324,917	0.54%
Latin America	285,169	0.47%
Other	782,549	1.29%

Immigrants as of 2019:[34]

Country	Population
Romania	1,207,919
Albania	440,854
Morocco	432,458
China	305,089
Ukraine	240,428
Philippines	169,137
India	161,101
Bangladesh	147,872
Egypt	136,113
Pakistan	127,101
Moldova	124,545
Nigeria	117,809
Sri Lanka	114,910
Senegal	111,380
Tunisia	98,321
Peru	97,738
Poland	91,681
Ecuador	77,408
Bulgaria	59,806
North Macedonia	58,057
Brazil	54,556
Ghana	51,619
Kosovo	40,414
Russia	39,484
Germany	36,980
Serbia	35,064
France	31,400
United Kingdom	31,183
Ivory Coast	31,155
Dominican Republic	30,743

Historical data

Life expectancy at birth from 1871 to 2020

Sources: Our World In Data and the United Nations. 1871–1950

Years	1871	1872	1873	1874	1875	1876	1877	1878	1879	1880[35]
Life expectancy in Italy	29.8	29.7	31.6	31.8	31.3	33.6	34.9	34.3	34.0	32.8

Years	1881	1882	1883	1884	1885	1886	1887	1888	1889	1890[35]
Life expectancy in Italy	34.2	34.3	35.2	36.6	36.9	35.1	36.0	37.0	39.1	38.5

Years	1891	1892	1893	1894	1895	1896	1897	1898	1899	1900[35]
Life expectancy in Italy	38.5	38.9	39.8	40.0	39.6	40.7	43.3	42.3	43.7	41.7

Years	1901	1902	1903	1904	1905	1906	1907	1908	1909	1910[35]
Life expectancy in Italy	43.5	43.0	43.1	44.4	43.9	45.1	45.4	43.1	44.6	46.7

Years	1911	1912	1913	1914	1915	1916	1917	1918	1919	1920[35]
Life expectancy in Italy	44.7	48.9	48.4	49.9	42.5	39.6	38.1	25.8	42.3	45.5

Years	1921	1922	1923	1924	1925	1926	1927	1928	1929	1930[35]
Life expectancy in Italy	49.2	50.0	51.4	51.5	51.3	50.9	52.5	52.6	52.3	55.2

Years	1931	1932	1933	1934	1935	1936	1937	1938	1939	1940[35]
Life expectancy in Italy	54.8	54.7	56.3	56.8	56.2	56.7	55.5	56.1	57.6	57.0

Years	1941	1942	1943	1944	1945	1946	1947	1948	1949	1950[35]
Life expectancy in Italy	54.7	52.5	49.4	52.4	54.9	59.0	61.2	63.4	64.1	65.8

1950–2020

Period	Life expectancy in Years	Period	Life expectancy in Years
1950–1955	66.5	1985–1990	76.4
1955–1960	68.4	1990–1995	77.5
1960–1965	69.7	1995–2000	78.8
1965–1970	70.9	2000–2005	80.3
1970–1975	72.2	2005–2010	81.5
1975–1980	73.6	2010–2015	82.4
1980–1985	74.9	2015–2020	83.3

Source: UN World Population Prospects[36]

Total Fertility Rate from 1850 to 1899

The total fertility rate is the number of children born per woman. It is based on fairly good data for the entire period. Sources: Our World in Data and Gapminder Foundation.[37]

Years	1850	1851	1852	1853	1854	1855	1856	1857	1858	1859	1860[37]
Total Fertility Rate in Italy	5.47	5.42	5.38	5.33	5.29	5.24	5.19	5.15	5.1	5.06	5.01

Years	1861	1862	1863	1864	1865	1866	1867	1868	1869	1870[37]
Total Fertility Rate in Italy	4.96	4.93	4.9	4.9	4.91	4.91	4.92	4.92	4.91	4.9

Years	1871	1872	1873	1874	1875	1876	1877	1878	1879	1880[37]
Total Fertility Rate in Italy	4.9	4.89	4.88	4.89	4.9	4.9	4.91	4.92	4.95	4.98

Years	1881	1882	1883	1884	1885	1886	1887	1888	1889	1890[37]
Total Fertility Rate in Italy	5	5.03	5.06	5.05	5.04	5.04	5.03	5.02	4.98	4.95

The Sicilian photographer Giuseppe Riggio (1871-1960) with his large nuclear family in 1925

Years	1891	1892	1893	1894	1895	1896	1897	1898	1899[37]
Total Fertility Rate in Italy	4.91	4.88	4.84	4.79	4.74	4.69	4.64	4.59	4.56

Vital statistics since 1900

[38][39][40]

	Average population	Live births	Deaths	Natural change	Crude birth rate (per 1,000)	Crude death rate (per 1,000)	Natural change (per 1,000)	Total Fertility Rates[fn 1][37][41]
1900	32,377,000	1,067,376	768,917	298,459	33.0	23.7	9.2	4.53
1901	32,550,000	1,057,763	715,036	342,727	32.5	22.0	10.5	4.49
1902	32,787,000	1,093,074	727,181	365,893	33.3	22.2	11.2	4.46
1903	33,004,000	1,042,090	736,311	305,779	31.6	22.3	9.3	4.43
1904	33,237,000	1,085,431	698,604	386,827	32.7	21.0	11.6	4.44
1905	33,489,000	1,084,518	730,340	354,178	32.4	21.8	10.6	4.45
1906	33,718,000	1,070,978	696,875	374,103	31.8	20.7	11.1	4.45
1907	33,952,000	1,062,333	700,333	362,000	31.3	20.6	10.7	4.46
1908	34,198,000	1,138,813	770,054	368,759	33.3	22.5	10.8	4.47
1909	34,455,000	1,115,831	738,460	377,371	32.4	21.4	11.0	4.43
1910	34,751,000	1,144,410	682,459	461,951	32.9	19.6	13.3	4.39
1911	35,033,000	1,093,545	742,811	350,734	31.2	21.2	10.0	4.36
1912	35,246,000	1,133,985	635,788	498,197	32.2	18.0	14.1	4.32
1913	35,351,000	1,122,482	663,966	458,516	31.8	18.8	13.0	4.28
1914	35,701,000	1,114,091	643,355	470,736	31.2	18.0	13.2	4.04
1915	36,271,000	1,109,183	809,703	299,480	30.6	22.3	8.3	3.80
1916	36,481,000	881,626	854,703	26,923	24.2	23.4	0.7	3.56
1917	36,343,000	691,207	948,710	-257,503	19.6	26.1	-6.5	3.32
1918	35,922,000	640,263	1,268,290	-628,027	18.2	35.3	-17.1	3.08
1919	35,717,000	770,620	676,329	94,291	21.6	18.9	2.6	3.24
1920	35,960,000	1,158,041	681,749	476,292	32.2	19.0	13.2	3.41
1921	37,869,000	1,118,344	670,234	448,110	30.7	17.7	13.0	3.57
1922	38,196,000	1,127,444	690,054	437,390	30.8	18.1	12.7	3.74
1923	38,571,000	1,107,505	654,827	452,678	29.9	17.0	13.0	3.90
1924	38,927,000	1,124,470	663,077	461,393	28.9	17.0	11.9	3.81
1925	39,265,000	1,109,761	669,695	440,066	28.2	17.1	11.2	3.72
1926	39,590,000	1,094,587	680,274	414,313	27.7	17.2	10.5	3.64
1927	39,926,000	1,093,772	639,843	453,929	27.4	16.0	11.4	3.55
1928	40,281,000	1,072,316	645,654	426,662	26.6	16.0	10.6	3.46
1929	40,607,000	1,037,700	667,223	370,477	25.6	16.4	9.1	3.42
1930	40,956,000	1,092,678	576,751	515,927	26.7	14.1	12.6	3.38
1931	41,339,000	1,026,197	609,405	416,792	24.8	14.7	10.1	3.21
1932	41,584,000	990,995	610,646	380,349	23.8	14.7	9.1	3.06
1933	41,928,000	995,979	574,113	421,866	23.8	13.7	10.1	3.04
1934	42,277,000	992,966	563,339	429,627	23.5	13.3	10.2	3.00
1935	42,631,000	996,708	594,722	401,986	23.4	14.0	9.4	2.98
1936	42,965,000	962,686	593,380	369,306	22.4	13.8	8.6	2.87
1937	43,269,000	991,867	618,290	373,577	22.9	14.3	8.6	2.93
1938	43,596,000	1,037,180	614,988	422,192	23.8	14.1	9.7	3.05
1939	44,018,000	1,040,213	591,483	448,730	23.6	13.4	10.2	3.07
1940	44,467,000	1,046,479	606,907	439,572	23.5	13.6	9.9	3.07
1941	44,830,000	937,546	621,735	315,811	20.9	13.9	7.0	2.74
1942	45,098,000	926,063	643,607	282,456	20.5	14.3	6.3	2.69
1943	44,641,000	882,105	679,708	202,397	19.8	15.2	4.6	2.61
1944	44,794,000	814,746	685,171	129,575	18.3	15.3	3.0	2.39
1945	44,946,000	815,678	615,092	200,586	18.2	13.7	4.5	2.37
1946	45,253,000	1,036,098	547,952	488,146	23.0	12.1	10.9	3.01
1947	45,641,000	1,011,490	524,019	487,471	22.2	11.5	10.8	2.89
1948	46,381,000	1,005,851	490,450	515,401	21.8	10.6	11.2	2.83
1949	46,733,000	937,146	485,277	451,869	20.1	10.4	9.7	2.62
1950	47,104,000	908,622	455,169	453,453	19.4	9.7	9.7	2,50
1951	47,417,000	860,998	485,208	375,790	18.2	10.2	8.0	2,35
1952	47,666,000	844,447	477,894	366,553	17.8	10.0	7.8	2.34
1953	47,957,000	839,478	476,015	363,463	17.6	9.9	7.6	2.31
1954	48,299,000	870,689	441,897	428,792	18.0	9.1	8.9	2.35
1955	48,633,000	869,333	446,689	422,644	17.9	9.2	8.7	2.33
1956	48,920,000	873,608	497,550	376,058	17.9	10.2	7.7	2.34
1957	49,181,000	878,906	484,190	394,716	17.9	9.8	8.0	2.33
1958	49,475,000	870,468	457,690	412,778	17.6	9.3	8.3	2.31
1959	49,831,000	901,017	454,740	446,277	18.1	9.1	9.0	2.38
1960	50,198,000	910,192	480,932	429,260	18.1	9.6	8.6	2.41
1961	50,523,000	929,657	468,455	461,202	18.4	9.3	9.1	2.41
1962	50,843,000	937,257	509,174	428,083	18.4	10.0	8.4	2.46
1963	51,198,000	960,336	516,377	443,959	18.8	10.1	8.7	2.56
1964	51,600,000	1,016,120	490,050	526,070	19.7	9.5	10.2	2.70
1965	51,987,000	990,458	518,008	472,450	19.1	10.0	9.1	2.66
1966	52,332,000	979,940	496,281	483,659	18.7	9.5	9.2	2.63
1967	52,667,000	948,772	510,122	438,650	18.0	9.7	8.3	2.54
1968	52,987,000	930,172	532,571	397,601	17.6	10.1	7.5	2.49
1969	53,317,000	932,466	539,129	393,337	17.5	10.1	7.4	2.51
1970	53,661,000	901,472	521,096	380,376	16.8	9.7	7.1	2.43
1971	54,074,000	906,182	522,654	383,528	16.8	9.7	7.1	2.41
1972	54,381,000	888,203	523,828	364,375	16.3	9.6	6.7	2.36
1973	54,751,000	874,546	547,487	327,059	16.0	10.0	6.0	2.34
1974	55,111,000	868,882	532,052	336,830	15.8	9.7	6.1	2.33
1975	55,441,000	827,852	554,346	273,506	14.9	10.0	4.9	2.21
1976	55,718,000	781,638	550,565	231,073	14.0	9.9	4.1	2.11
1977	55,955,000	741,103	546,694	194,409	13.2	9.8	3.5	1.97
1978	56,155,000	709,043	540,671	168,372	12.6	9.6	3.0	1.87
1979	56,318,000	670,221	538,352	131,869	11.9	9.6	2.3	1.76
1980	56,434,000	640,401	554,510	85,891	11.3	9.8	1.5	1.68
1981	56,502,000	623,103	545,291	77,812	11.0	9.7	1.4	1.60
1982	56,544,000	619,097	522,332	96,765	10.9	9.2	1.7	1.60
1983	56,564,000	601,928	553,568	48,360	10.6	9.8	0.8	1.54
1984	56,577,000	587,871	534,676	53,195	10.4	9.5	0.9	1.48
1985	56,593,000	577,345	547,436	29,909	10.2	9.7	0.5	1.45
1986	56,596,000	555,445	537,453	17,992	9.8	9.5	0.3	1.37
1987	56,602,000	551,539	524,999	26,540	9.8	9.3	0.5	1.35
1988	56,629,000	569,698	539,426	30,272	10.1	9.5	0.5	1.38
1989	56,672,000	560,688	525,960	34,728	9.8	9.3	0.5	1.35
1990	56,719,000	569,255	543,708	25,547	10.0	9.5	0.5	1.36
1991	56,751,000	562,787	553,833	8,954	9.9	9.8	0.2	1.33
1992	56,797,000	567,841	545,038	22,803	10.1	9.6	0.5	1.31
1993	56,832,000	549,484	555,043	-5,559	9.7	9.8	-0.0	1.26
1994	56,843,000	533,050	557,513	-24,463	9.4	9.8	-0.4	1.22
1995	56,844,000	525,609	555,203	-29,594	9.3	9.8	-0.5	1.19
1996	56,860,000	528,103	557,756	-29,653	9.4	9.8	-0.4	1.22
1997	56,890,000	534,462	564,679	-30,217	9.5	9.9	-0.4	1.23
1998	56,907,000	531,548	576,911	-45,363	9.4	10.1	-0.8	1.21
1999	56,917,000	537,242	571,356	-34,114	9.4	10.0	-0.6	1.23
2000	56,942,000	532,528	560,241	-27,713	9.5	9.8	-0.3	1.26
2001	56,960,000	529,156	548,227	-19,071	9.4	9.6	-0.2	1.25
2002	56,987,000	530,443	557,393	-26,950	9.4	9.8	-0.3	1.27
2003	57,130,000	531,274	586,468	-55,194	9.5	10.2	-0.7	1.29
2004	57,495,000	553,770	546,658	7,112	9.8	9.5	0.3	1.34
2005	57,874,000	544,030	567,304	-23,274	9.6	9.8	-0.2	1.34
2006	58,064,000	552,019	557,892	- 5,873	9.6	9.6	- 0.0	1.37
2007	58,223,000	555,589	570,801	-15,212	9.7	9.8	-0.1	1.40
2008	58,652,000	570,179	585,126	-14,947	9.8	9.9	-0.1	1.45
2009	59,000,000	560,259	591 663	-31,404	9.6	10.0	-0.4	1.45
2010	59,190,000	549,794	587,488	-37,694	9.5	9.9	-0.4	1.46
2011	59,364,000	530,770	593,402	-62,632	9.2	10.0	-0.8	1.44
2012	59,394,000	521,855	612,883	-91,028	9.0	10.3	-1.3	1.42
2013	59,685,000	498,172	600,744	-102,572	8.5	10.0	-1.5	1.39
2014	60,782,000	494,550	598,364	-103,814	8.3	9.8	-1.6	1.37
2015	60,795,000	480,292	647,571	-167,279	8.0	10.7	-2.7	1.35
2016	60,665,000	468,345	615,261	-146,916	7.8	10.1	-2.3	1.34
2017	60,484,000	453,628	649,061	-195,433	7.6	10.7	-3.2	1.32
2018	60,433,360	440,780	633,133	-192,353	7.3	10.5	-3.2	1.29
2019	60,244,639	420,170	634,432	-214,262	7.0	10.5	-3.5	1.27

Current natural increase

[42]

• Number of births in January–October 2019 = 351,193
• Number of births in January–October 2020 = 341,756

• Number of deaths in January–October 2019 = 530,786
• Number of deaths in January–October 2020 = 582,884

• Natural growth in January–October 2019 = -179,593
• Natural growth in January–October 2020 = -241,128

In the year 2019 92,360 babies were born to at least one foreign parent which makes up 22% of all new borns in that year (21,853 or 5.2% were born to foreign mothers, 7,589 or 1.8% to foreign fathers and 62,918 or 15% to two foreign parents. [43]

Demographic statistics

Demographic statistics according to the World Population Review in 2019.[44]

• One birth every 1 minute
• One death every 50 seconds
• Net loss of one person every 7 minutes
• One net migrant every 7 minutes

The following demographic statistics are from Italy's Istituto Nazionale di Statistica[45] and Cia World Factbook.[41]

Population

62,246,674 (July 2018 est.)

62,137,802 (July 2017 est.)

60,674,003 (Jan 2016 est.)

Age structure

Population pyramid of Italy in 2017

0-14 years: 0-14 years: 13.45% (male 4,292,431/female 4,097,732)

15-24 years: 9.61% (male 3,005,402/female 2,989,764)

25-54 years: 40.86% (male 12,577,764/female 12,921,614)

55-64 years: 14% (male 4,243,735/female 4,493,581)

65 years and over: 22.08% (male 5,949,560/female 7,831,076) (2020 est.)

0-14 years: 13.65% (male 4,334,457/female 4,146,726)

15-24 years: 9.66% (male 3,008,228/female 2,996,854)

25-54 years: 42.16% (male 12,933,634/female 13,265,541)

55-64 years: 12.99% (male 3,914,061/female 4,159,859)

65 years and over: 21.53% (male 5,758,197/female 7,620,245) (2017 est.)

0-14 years: 13.5% (men 4,056,156/women 3,814,070)

15-64 years: 66.3% (men 19,530,696/women 18,981,084)

65 years and over: 20.2% (men 4,903,762/women 6,840,444) (2010 est.)

Median age

total: 46.5 years. Country comparison to the world: 5th

male: 45.4 years

female: 47.5 years (2020 est.)

total: 45.5 years (2017 est.)

men: 44.4 years

women: 46.5 years

total: 44.2 years (2015 est.)

Birth rate

8.37 births/1,000 population (2021 est.) Country comparison to the world: 217th

8.94 births/1,000 population (2013 est.)[46]

Death rate

10.7 deaths/1,000 population (2021 est.) Country comparison to the world: 25th

10.01 deaths/1,000 population (2013 est.)

Total fertility rate

1.39 children born/woman (Italian citizens)

1.91 children born/woman (Foreign citizens)

1.39 children born/woman (total citizens) (2014)[47]

1.47 children born/woman (2021 est.) Country comparison to the world: 217th

Net migration rate

3.21 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2021 est.) Country comparison to the world: 34th

3.7 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2017 est.)

4.47 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2013 est.)

Population growth rate

0.09% (2021 est.) Country comparison to the world: 189th

0.19% (2017 est.)

0.03% (2016 est.)

Life expectancy at birth

total population: 82.67 years. Country comparison to the world: 18th

male: 80.01 years

female: 85.49 years (2021 est.)

Mother's mean age at first birth

31.1 years (2017 est.)

Infant mortality rate

total: 3.14 deaths/1,000 live births. Country comparison to the world: 219th

men: 3.4 deaths/1,000 live births

women: 2.87 deaths/1,000 live births (2021 est.)

Urbanization

urban population: 71% of total population (2020)

rate of urbanization: 0.29% annual rate of change (2015-20 est.)

Sex ratio

under 15 years: 1.05 men(s)/women

15-64 years: 0.97 men(s)/women

65 years and over: 0.76 men(s)/women

total population: 0.93 men(s)/women (2020 est.)

Health expenditures

8.8% of total GDP (2017)

Physicians density

3.98 physicians/1,000 population (2017)

Hospital bed density

3.2 beds/1,000 population (2017)

HIV/AIDS

Adult prevalence rate: 0.3% (2019 est.)

People living with HIV/AIDS: 130,000 (2019 est.)

Deaths: fewer than 1,000 (2019 est.)

Obesity – adult prevalence rate

19.9% (2016) Country comparison to the world: 108

Religions

Christian 83,3% (overwhelmingly Roman Catholic with very small groups of Jehovah's Witnesses and Protestants), Muslim 3.7%, unaffiliated 12.4%, other 0.6% (2010 est.)

Education expenditure

4.0% of total GDP (2017). Country comparison to the world: 98

Languages and regional varieties in Italy

Literacy

definition: age 15 and over can read and write

total population: 99.2%

male: 99.4%

female: 99% (2018 est.)

total population: 98.6% (2003 est.)

School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education)

total: 16 years

male: 16 years

female: 17 years (2018)

Unemployment, youth ages 15–24:

total: 32.2%. Country comparison to the world: 26th

male: 30.4%

female: 34.8% (2018 est.)

Nationality

noun: Italian(s)

adjective: Italian

Historical language minorities of Italy

Languages

Italy's official language is Italian; Ethnologue has estimated that there are about 55 million speakers of Italian in the country and a further 6.7 million outside of it, primarily in the neighboring countries and in the Italian diaspora worldwide.[48] Italian, adopted by the central state after the unification of Italy, is a language based on the Florentine variety of Tuscan and is somewhat intermediate between the Italo-Dalmatian languages and the Gallo-Romance languages. Its development was also influenced by the Germanic languages of the post-Roman invaders. When Italy unified in 1861, only 3% of the population spoke Italian,[49] even though an estimated 90% of Italians speak Italian as their L1 nowadays.[50]

Italy is in fact one of the most linguistically diverse countries in Europe,[51] as there are not only varieties of Italian specific to each cultural region, but also distinct regional and minority languages. The establishment of the national education system has led to the emergence of the former and a decrease in the use of the latter. The spread of Italian was further expanded in the 1950s and 1960s, because of the economic growth and the rise of mass media and television, with the state broadcaster (RAI) setting a colloquial variety of Italian to which the population would be exposed.

As a way to distance itself from the Italianization policies promoted because of nationalism, Italy recognized twelve languages as the Country's "historical linguistic minorities",[52] which are promoted alongside Italian in their respective territories. French is co-official in the Aosta Valley as the province's prestige variety, under which the more commonly spoken Franco-Provencal dialects have been historically roofed.[53] German has the same status in the province of South Tyrol as, in some parts of that province and in parts of the neighbouring Trentino, does Ladin.[54] Slovene[55] and Friulian are officially recognised in the provinces of Trieste, Gorizia and Udine in Venezia Giulia. In Sardinia, the Sardinian language has been the language traditionally spoken and is often regarded by linguists as constituting its own branch of Romance;[56] in the 1990s, Sardinian has been recognized as "having equal dignity" with Italian,[57] the introduction of which to the island officially started under the rule of the House of Savoy in the 18th century.

In these regions, official documents are either bilingual (trilingual in Ladin communities) in the co-official language(s) by default, or available as such upon request. Traffic signs are also multilingual, except in the Valle d’Aosta where French toponyms are generally used, with the exception of Aosta itself, which has retained its Latin form in Italian as well as English. Attempts to Italianize them, especially during the Fascist period, have been formally abandoned. Education is possible in minority languages where such schools are operating.

UNESCO and other authories recognize a number of other languages which are not legally protected by Italian government: Piedmontese, Venetian, Ligurian, Lombard, Emilian-Romagnolo, Neapolitan and Sicilian.

Religion

Religion in Italy in 2018[5]

  Catholicism (78%)

  No religion (15%)

  Other religions (5.0%)

  Other Christian (2%)

Roman Catholicism is by far the largest religion in the country, although the Catholic Church is no longer officially the state religion. In 2006, 87.8% of Italy's population self-identified as Roman Catholic,[58] although only about one-third of these described themselves as active members (36.8%). In 2016, 71.1% of italian citizens self-identified as Roman Catholic,.[59]

Most Italians believe in God, or a form of a spiritual life force. According to the most recent Eurobarometer Poll 2005:[60] 74% of Italian citizens responded that 'they believe there is a God', 16% answered that 'they believe there is some sort of spirit or life force' and 6% answered that 'they do not believe there is any sort of spirit, God, or life force'. There are no data collected through census.

Christianity

The Santa Maria del Fiore cathedral in Florence, which has the biggest brick dome in the world,[61][62] and is considered a masterpiece of Italian architecture.

The Italian Catholic Church is part of the global Roman Catholic Church, under the leadership of the Pope, curia in Rome, and the Conference of Italian Bishops. In addition to Italy, two other sovereign nations are included in Italian-based dioceses, San Marino and Vatican City. There are 225 dioceses in the Italian Catholic Church, see further in this article and in the article List of the Roman Catholic dioceses in Italy. Even though by law Vatican City is not part of Italy, it is in Rome, and along with Latin, Italian is the most spoken and second language of the Roman Curia.[63]

Italy has a rich Catholic culture, especially as numerous Catholic saints, martyrs and popes were Italian themselves. Roman Catholic art in Italy especially flourished during the Middle Ages, Renaissance and Baroque periods, with numerous Italian artists, such as Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci, Raphael, Caravaggio, Fra Angelico, Gian Lorenzo Bernini, Sandro Botticelli, Tintoretto, Titian and Giotto. Roman Catholic architecture in Italy is equally as rich and impressive, with churches, basilicas and cathedrals such as St Peter's Basilica, Florence Cathedral and St Mark's Basilica. Roman Catholicism is the largest religion and denomination in Italy, with around 71.1% of Italians considering themselves Catholic. Italy is also home to the greatest number of cardinals in the world,[64] and is the country with the greatest number of Roman Catholic churches per capita.[65]

Even though the main Christian denomination in Italy is Roman Catholicism, there are some minorities of Protestant, Waldensian, Eastern Orthodox and other Christian churches.

In the 20th century, Jehovah's Witnesses, Pentecostalism, non-denominational Evangelicalism, and Mormonism were the fastest-growing Protestant churches. Immigration from Western, Central, and Eastern Africa at the beginning of the 21st century has increased the size of Baptist, Anglican, Pentecostal and Evangelical communities in Italy, while immigration from Eastern Europe has produced large Eastern Orthodox communities.

In 2006, Protestants made up 2.1% of Italy's population, and members of Eastern Orthodox churches comprised 1.2% or more than 700,000 Eastern Orthodox Christians including 180,000 Greek Orthodox,[66] 550,000 Pentecostals and Evangelists (0.8%), of whom 400,000 are members of the Assemblies of God, about 250,000 are Jehovah's Witnesses (0.4%),[67] 30,000 Waldensians,[68] 25,000 Seventh-day Adventists, 22,000 Mormons, 15,000 Baptists (plus some 5,000 Free Baptists), 7,000 Lutherans, 4,000 Methodists (affiliated with the Waldensian Church).[69]

Other religions

The longest-established religious faith in Italy is Judaism, Jews having been present in Ancient Rome before the birth of Christ. Italy has seen many influential Italian-Jews, such as Luigi Luzzatti, who took office in 1910, Ernesto Nathan served as mayor of Rome from 1907 to 1913 and Shabbethai Donnolo (died 982). During the Holocaust, Italy took in many Jewish refugees from Nazi Germany. However, with the creation of the Nazi-backed puppet Italian Social Republic, about 15% of 48,000 Italian Jews were killed. This, together with the emigration that preceded and followed the Second World War, has left only a small community of around 45,000 Jews in Italy today.

Due to immigration from around the world, there has been an increase in non-Christian religions. As of 2009, there were 1.0 million Muslims in Italy[70] forming 1.6 percent of population; independent estimates put the Islamic population in Italy anywhere from 0.8 million[71] to 1.5 million.[72] Only 50,000 Italian Muslims hold Italian citizenship.

There are more than 200,000 followers of faith originating in the Indian subcontinent, including some 70,000 Sikhs with 22 gurdwaras across the country,[73] 70,000 Hindus, and 50,000 Buddhists.[74] There are an estimated some 4,900 Bahá'ís in Italy in 2005.[75]

See also

• List of Italians
• Italian diaspora
• Italian Brazilians
• Italian Argentines
• Romani people in Italy

Footnotes

1. In fertility rates, 2.1 and above is a stable population and has been marked blue, 2 and below leads to an aging population and the result is that the population decreases.

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External links

• Demographic page
• Demographic Profile Italy Allianz Knowledge