demographics of Italy

{{main|Italian diaspora}}

File:Map of the Italian Diaspora in the World.svg in the world]]

From its unification in 1861 to the Italian economic miracle of the 1950s and 1960s, Italy has been a country of mass emigration. Between 1898 and 1914, the peak years of Italian diaspora, approximately 750,000 Italians emigrated each year.{{cite web|url=http://library.thinkquest.org/26786/en/articles/view.php3?arKey=4&paKey=7&loKey=0&evKey=&toKey=&torKey=&tolKey= |title=Causes of the Italian mass emigration |publisher=ThinkQuest Library |date=15 August 1999 |access-date=30 October 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20101010015938/http://library.thinkquest.org/26786/en/articles/view.php3?arKey=4&paKey=7&loKey=0&evKey=&toKey=&torKey=&tolKey= |archive-date=10 October 2010}} As a consequence, large numbers of people with full or significant Italian ancestry are found in Brazil (32 million Italian Brazilians),{{cite web|url=http://www.ambbrasilia.esteri.it/Ambasciata_Brasilia/Menu/I_rapporti_bilaterali/Cooperazione_politica/Storia/|title=Dati dell'ambasciata italiana in Brasile|access-date=10 February 2018|language=it|archive-date=15 July 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150715015426/http://www.ambbrasilia.esteri.it/Ambasciata_Brasilia/Menu/I_rapporti_bilaterali/Cooperazione_politica/Storia/|url-status=dead}}{{cite web|url=http://www.italplanet.it/interna.asp?sez=143&info=2344&ln=0|title=Italiani in Brasile|access-date=10 February 2018|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090203232051/http://www.italplanet.it/interna.asp?sez=143&info=2344&ln=0|archive-date=3 February 2009|language=it}} Argentina (25 million Italian Argentines),{{cite web|url =http://infouniversidades.siu.edu.ar/noticia.php?titulo=historias_de_inmigrantes_italianos_en_argentina&id=1432#.U2cKkYHa70s |title=Historias de inmigrantes italianos en Argentina |date=14 November 2011 |author =Departamento de Derecho y Ciencias Políticas de la Universidad Nacional de La Matanza |publisher=infouniversidades.siu.edu.ar |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150715055112/http://argentinainvestiga.edu.ar/noticia.php?titulo=historias_de_inmigrantes_italianos_en_argentina&id=1432#.VaX01KR9VPw |archive-date=15 July 2015 |language=es |url-status=dead |quote=Se estima que en la actualidad, el 90% de la población argentina tiene alguna ascendencia europea y que al menos 25 millones están relacionados con algún inmigrante de Italia.}} United States (18 million Italian Americans),{{cite web|url=https://www.italianamericanstudies.net/blogs/welcome-to-the-most-italian-place-in-the-united-states-its-in-new-jersey|title=Welcome to the most Italian place in the United States. It's in New Jersey|access-date=18 April 2023}} France (5 million Italian French),"[https://books.google.com/books?id=BLo2RqGdv_wC&pg=PA143 The Cambridge survey of world migration]". Robin Cohen (1995). Cambridge University Press. p. 143. {{ISBN |0-521-44405-5}} Venezuela (5 million Italian Venezuelans),{{Cite web|title="Noi veneti del Venezuela, siamo i nuovi profughi fantasma"|url=https://www.ilgazzettino.it/nordest/venezia/veneti_venezuela_profughi_fantasma-5025889.html|access-date=14 November 2021|website=www.ilgazzettino.it|date=3 February 2020|language=it}} Paraguay (2.5 million Italian Paraguayans),{{Cite web|url=http://www.abc.com.py/articulos/los-italianos-y-su-aporte-a-la-nacion-259396.html|title = Los italianos y su aporte a la nación - Articulos - ABC Color}}{{cite web|url=https://www.abc.com.py/nacionales/nacionalidad-italo-paraguaya-es-un-hecho-segun-embajador-italiano-1758782.html|title=Ya se puede sacar la nacionalidad italiana|access-date=29 May 2020|language=es}}{{cite web|url=https://www.ultimahora.com/destacan-influencia-migracion-italiana-la-sociedad-paraguaya-n1106382.html|title=Destacan influencia de migración italiana en la sociedad paraguaya|date=7 September 2017 |access-date=18 June 2020|language=es}} Colombia (2 million Italian Colombians),{{cite web|url=http://www.ilmondo.tv/it/notizie-emigrazione/3410-convenzioni-inps-estere-fedi-sollecita-nuova-zelanda-ma-anche-cile-e-filippine.html|title=Convenzioni Inps estere, Fedi sollecita Nuova Zelanda ma anche Cile e Filippine|access-date=10 February 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180209002829/http://www.ilmondo.tv/it/notizie-emigrazione/3410-convenzioni-inps-estere-fedi-sollecita-nuova-zelanda-ma-anche-cile-e-filippine.html|archive-date=9 February 2018|url-status=dead|language=it}} Uruguay (1.5 million Italian Uruguayans),{{Cite web|url=https://www.hotelsclick.com/hoteles/UY/Uruguay-DEMOGRAF%C3%ADA-5.html|title=- Uruguay - Info|website=www.hotelsclick.com}} Peru (1.5 million Italian Peruvians),{{cite news|url=https://elcomercio.pe/mundo/europa/embajador-italia-aca-hay-muchas-oportunidades-empresas-noticia-461242-noticia/ | title=Embajador de Italia en Perú: Acá hay muchas oportunidades para nuestras empresas | date=27 September 2017 | newspaper=El Comercio | access-date=22 December 2019 | last1=Giner Vásquez | first1=Renzo}} Canada (1.5 million Italian Canadians),{{Cite web|url=https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/t1/tbl1/en/tv.action?pid=9810033801|title=Ethnic or cultural origin by generation status: Canada, provinces and territories, census metropolitan areas and census agglomerations with parts|last=Government of Canada|first=Statistics Canada|date=2022-10-26|website=www12.statcan.gc.ca|access-date=2022-10-26}} Germany (1.2 million Italian Germans){{Cite web|last1=Recchi|first1=Ettore|last2=Baglioni|first2=Lorenzo Gabrielli e Lorenzo G.|date=2021-04-16|title=Italiani d'Europa: Quanti sono, dove sono? Una nuova stima sulla base dei profili di Facebook|url=https://www.neodemos.info/2021/04/16/italiani-deuropa-quanti-sono-dove-sono-una-nuova-stima-sulla-base-dei-profili-di-facebook/|access-date=2022-01-31|website=Neodemos|language=it-IT}} and Australia (1 million Italian Australians).{{cite web |url=http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/Lookup/2071.0main+features902012-2013 |title=ABS Ancestry |year=2012}} In addition, Italian communities once thrived in the former African colonies of Eritrea (nearly 100,000 at the beginning of World War II),{{cite web|url=http://www.ilcornodafrica.it/rds-01emigrazione.pdf |title=Essay on Italian emigration to Eritrea (in Italian)|access-date=30 October 2010}} Somalia and Libya (150,000 Italians settled in Libya, constituting about 18% of the total Libyan population).[https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/339574/Libya/46562/Italian-colonization Libya – Italian colonization]. Britannica Online Encyclopedia.

File:Italians leave Pola.jpg leave Pola in 1947 during the Istrian-Dalmatian exodus]]

After Tito's annexation of Istria, Kvarner, most of the Julian March as well as the Dalmatian city of Zara following the Treaty of Peace with Italy, 1947, up to 350,000 local ethnic Italians (Istrian Italians and Dalmatian Italians) left communist Yugoslavia (Istrian–Dalmatian exodus).{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1_VCBtYq1H4C&pg=PA11|title=Istria|page=11|author1=Thammy Evans |author2=Rudolf Abraham |year=2013|publisher=Bradt Travel Guides |isbn=9781841624457|name-list-style=amp}}{{cite news|url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html|title=Election Opens Old Wounds in Trieste|author=James M. Markham|date=6 June 1987|newspaper=The New York Times|access-date=9 June 2016}} Furthermore, all of Libya's Italians were expelled after Muammar Gaddafi's takeover in 1970.[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/4380360.stm Libya cuts ties to mark Italy era.]. BBC News. 27 October 2005.

As a result of the profound economic and social changes brought by rapid postwar economic growth, including low birth rates, an aging population and thus a shrinking workforce, by the 1970s emigration had all but stopped and Italy started to have a positive net migration rate.{{cite web |last1=Bonifazi |first1=Corrado |last2=Heins |first2=Frank |last3=Strozza |first3=Salvatore |last4=Vitiello |first4=Mattia |title=Italy: The Italian transition from an emigration to immigration country |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/267773953 |website=ResearchGate.net |publisher=Idea Working Papers |access-date=17 May 2021}} The nation's immigrant population reached 5 million by 2015, making up some 8% of the total population.{{cite web |url=http://www.istat.it/it/archivio/149003 |title=La popolazione straniera residente in Italia nel 2014 |language=it |date=12 February 2015 |publisher=National Institute of Statistics (Italy) |access-date=24 April 2015}} However, the long-lasting effects of the Eurozone crisis double-dip recession strongly slowed down immigration rates in Italy in the 2010s.{{cite web |last1=Caponio |first1=Tiziana |last2=Cappiali |first2=Teresa |title=Italian Migration Policies in Times of Crisis: The Policy Gap Reconsidered |url=https://cadmus.eui.eu/bitstream/handle/1814/60036/Main_article_Caponio_Cappiali_post-print.pdf?sequence=1 |publisher=European University Institute |access-date=17 May 2021}}

In calendar years 2020 and 2021, as a direct effect of COVID-19 pandemic and Deltacron hybrid variant, Italy has registered at least 178,000 excess deaths, a reduction of about 1.4 years in the average life expectancy, a noticeable decrease in birth rates and a marked decrease in immigration rates. Thus, there's a record natural population decline of 342,042 units in that{{clarify|date=April 2024}} year, the largest ever recorded since the start of the pandemic. During the first two years of the pandemic, Italy is one of the total number of highest excess deaths from all causes was the highest recorded since World War I, Spanish flu pandemic, Great Depression, and World War II.{{cite web|access-date=3 May 2021|url=https://www.istat.it/it/files//2021/05/REPORT_INDICATORI-DEMOGRAFICI-2020.pdf|title=Indicatori demografici, anno 2020}}

In November 2022, Italy's birth rate declined to its lowest level on record since 1861, with fewer than 400,000 births recorded that year.{{Cite web |last=S.A |first=Telewizja Polska |title=Italian population keeps shrinking as birth rate hits record low in 2022 |url=https://tvpworld.com/69039959/italian-population-keeps-shrinking-as-birth-rate-hits-record-low-in-2022 |access-date=2023-05-10 |website=tvpworld.com |language=en |archive-date=24 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230424122019/https://tvpworld.com/69039959/italian-population-keeps-shrinking-as-birth-rate-hits-record-low-in-2022 |url-status=dead }}{{Cite news |date=2023-04-07 |title=Italian births drop to lowest level since country's unification |work=Financial Times |url=https://www.ft.com/content/cf234ec0-ce06-4ce4-bd3c-e33f28680005 |access-date=2023-05-10}}{{Cite web |title=Population collapse imminent? Italy's birth rate drops to historic low in 2022 |url=https://www.wionews.com/world/population-collapse-imminent-italys-birth-rate-drops-to-historic-low-in-2022-580435 |access-date=2023-05-10 |website=WION |date=8 April 2023 |language=en-us}}{{Citation |last1=April 08 |title=Italy's national birth rate declared a national emergency |date=2023-04-08 |url=https://www.skynews.com.au/world-news/global-affairs/italys-national-birth-rate-declared-a-national-emergency/video/038ec54e4d96aa6658ea51a0e656789a |access-date=2023-05-10 |language=en |last2=2023 - 5:27pm}}{{Cite news |date=2023-04-07 |title=Italy's Birth Rate Slumps to a Historical Low, Istat Says |language=en |work=Bloomberg.com |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-04-07/italy-s-birth-rate-slumps-to-a-historical-low-istat-says |access-date=2023-05-10}}{{Cite news |last= |date=2023-04-07 |title=Births in Italy hit record low in 2022, population shrinks further |language=en |work=Reuters |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/births-italy-hit-record-low-2022-population-shrinks-further-2023-04-07/ |access-date=2023-05-10}}

File:Historic population of Italy.svg{{anchor|History}}

{{Historical populations

| percentages = pagr

|1861 | 21,777,334

|1871 | 26,801,154

|1881 | 28,459,628

|1901 | 32,475,253

|1911 | 34,671,377

|1921 | 37,973,977

|1931 | 41,176,671

|1936 | 42,993,602

|1951 | 47,515,537

|1961 | 50,623,569

|1971 | 54,136,547

|1981 | 56,556,911

|1991 | 56,778,031

|2001 | 56,995,744

|2011 | 59,433,744

|2021 |59030133|2025|58934177|source=ISTAT{{cite web |title=L'Italia in 150 anni. Sommario di statistiche storiche 1861–2010 |url=https://www.istat.it/it/files//2019/03/cap_2.pdf |publisher=Istat |access-date=17 May 2021}}{{cite web |title=Dashboard Permanent census of population and housing|url=https://esploradati.censimentopopolazione.istat.it/databrowser/#/en/censtest/dashboards|publisher=ISTAT}}{{cite web|title=Monthly Demographic Balance|url=https://demo.istat.it/app/?l=en&a=&i=D7B|publisher=ISTAT}}}}

{{Further|Italians}}

{{See also|List of Italian provinces by life expectancy}}

File:Life expectancy map of Italy 2022 -regions, names.png |access-date=14 February 2024 |trans-title=Demographic indicators}}]]

File:Life expectancy map of Italy 2022 -provinces, names.png

File:Life expectancy by WBG -Italy -diff.png

File:Life expectancy in Italy.svg

Sources: Our World In Data and the United Nations.

1871–1950

1950–2020

Source: UN World Population Prospects{{cite web|url=https://esa.un.org/unpd/wpp/DataQuery/|title=World Population Prospects – Population Division – United Nations|access-date=15 July 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160919061238/https://esa.un.org/unpd/wpp/DataQuery/|archive-date=19 September 2016|url-status=dead}}

By 2021, the number of births had fallen to 400,249, a decrease of 25% compared to 2011. If the trend is not reversed, it may adversely affect GDP growth and social security benefits.{{cite web|url=https://torinonews24.it/news/italia-crollo-natalita-in-dieci-anni-i-nuovi-nati-scendono-del-25-ecco-i-motivi/|title=Italia, crollo natalità – In dieci anni i nuovi nati scendono del 25%. Ecco i motivi|date=21 February 2023|website=torinonews24.it}} The reasons that Italians give for not having children are economic costs, fear of losing their job and lack of services for families, but it is claimed that these problems have ceased to be the main motivation for childlessness.{{dubious|date=April 2024}} Other countries such as Sweden and France with superior childcare service and better job conditions also have birth rates below the population replacement level, which is approximately 2.1.

File:Total fertility rate of Italy overtime to 2016.svg

The total fertility rate is the number of children born per woman. This table is based on fairly good data for the entire period. Sources: Our World in Data and Gapminder Foundation.{{citation|url=https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/children-born-per-woman?year=1800&country=ITA|title=Total Fertility Rate around the world over the last centuries|author=Max Roser|date=2014|work=Our World in Data, Gapminder Foundation|access-date=7 August 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180807185906/https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/children-born-per-woman?year=1800&country=ITA|archive-date=7 August 2018|url-status=dead}}

File:Famiglia Giuseppe Riggio 2.jpg in 1925]]

In 2021 this was 1.47 children born/woman.

Mother's mean age at first birth; 31.1 years (2017 est.)

{{main|Internal migration in Italy}}

File:Centrale termica falck.jpg in Sesto San Giovanni, in Lombardy]]

Internal migration in Italy is a human migration within the Italian geographical region that occurred for similar reasons to emigration, primarily socioeconomic.{{cite web|url=http://www.salogentis.it/2012/11/16/lemigrazione-interna-italiana-negli-anni-50-e-60/|title=L'emigrazione interna italiana negli anni '50 e '60|date=16 November 2012 |accessdate=8 February 2018|language=it}} Its largest wave consisted of 4 million people moving from Southern Italy to Northern Italy (and mostly to Northern or Central Italian industrial cities like Rome or Milan, etc.), between the 1950s and 1970s.{{cite web|url=https://www.uniud.it/it/ateneo-uniud/ateneo-uniud-organizzazione/dipartimenti/dies/ricerca/allegati_wp/wp_2013/wp04_2013.pdf|title=Una indagine CATI per lo studio della mobilità interna in Italia in un'ottica longitudinale|accessdate=8 February 2018|language=it|archivedate=20 April 2021|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20210420020548/https://www.uniud.it/it/ateneo-uniud/ateneo-uniud-organizzazione/dipartimenti/dies/ricerca/allegati_wp/wp_2013/wp04_2013.pdf|url-status=dead}}

The oldest migration goes back to the 11th century when soldiers and settlers from Northern Italy (at the time collectively called "Lombardy"{{Cite web|url=http://www.treccani.it/vocabolario/lombardo/|title=Lombardo|accessdate=15 April 2022|work=treccani.it|language=it}}), settled the central and eastern part of Sicily during the Norman conquest of southern Italy. After the marriage between the Norman king Roger I of Sicily with Adelaide del Vasto, member of Aleramici family, many Lombard colonisers left their homeland, in the Aleramici's possessions in Piedmont and Liguria, to settle on the island of Sicily.{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1IBspuVRwnUC&pg=PA323|title=The Society of Norman Italy|author1=Graham A. Loud|author2=Alex Metcalfe|date=2002|publisher=BRILL|isbn=9004125418}}These Lombard colonisers were native northern Italians and should not be confused with the Germanic tribe the Lombards, who were referred to as longobardi to distinguish them from the Italians of the region who were known as lombardi. The migration of people from Northern Italy to Sicily continued until the end of the 13th century.{{Cite book|author = Fiorenzo Toso |title = Le minoranze linguistiche in Italia |publisher = Il Mulino |year = 2008 |page = 137 |isbn = 978-88-15-12677-1|language=it}}

: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.)

Median age

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

:male: 45.4 years

:female: 47.5 years (2020 est.)

{{See also|Metropolitan areas in Italy|List of cities in Italy by population}}

70.4% of Italian population is classified as urban,{{cite web |title=The World Factbook – Central Intelligence Agency |url=https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/fields/2212.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190122160008/https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/fields/2212.html |archive-date=22 January 2019 |access-date=19 December 2011 |website=cia.gov}} a relatively low figure among developed countries. Italy's administrative boundaries have seen significant devolution in recent decades; the metropolitan area was created as a new administrative unit, and major cities and metro areas now have a provincial status.

According to OECD,{{cite web |author=OECD |title=Competitive Cities in the Global Economy |url=http://213.253.134.43/oecd/pdfs/browseit/0406041E.PDF |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081001192936/http://213.253.134.43/oecd/pdfs/browseit/0406041E.PDF |archive-date=1 October 2008 |access-date=30 April 2009}} the largest conurbations are:

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

Urbanization

:

:urban population: 71% of total population (2020)

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

File:Map of population density in Italy (2011 census) alt colours.jpg

B. R. Mitchell. European historical statistics, 1750–1975.{{Cite web|url=http://unstats.un.org/unsd/demographic/products/dyb/dybsets/1948%20DYB.pdf|title=United nations. Demographic Yearbook 1952}}{{cite web|url=http://demo.istat.it/|title=Demo-Geodemo. – Mappe, Popolazione, Statistiche Demografiche dell'ISTAT|first=Vincenzo Patruno, Marina Venturi, Silvestro|last=Roberto|website=demo.istat.it}}{{Cite web |last=Arachi |first=Alessandra |date=2022-12-15 |title=Siamo sempre meno e sempre più anziani, calano gli stranieri |url=https://roma.corriere.it/notizie/cronaca/22_dicembre_15/istat-siamo-sempre-meno-sempre-piu-anziani-calano-stranieri-censimento-anche-senza-fissa-dimora-17bbf18a-7c59-11ed-840c-2c5260b7208b.shtml |access-date=2022-12-15 |website=Corriere della Sera}}{{Cite web |title=Population on 1 January by age and sex |url=https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/demo_pjan__custom_8900247/default/table?lang=en |access-date=2023-12-07 |website=ec.europa.eu}}

In the year 2023, 80,942 babies were born to at least one foreign parent which makes up 21.31% of all newborns in that year (20,084 or 5.29% were born to foreign mothers, 9,411 or 2.48% to foreign fathers, and 51,447 or 13.54% to two foreign parents). In Southern Italy (including Sicily and Sardinia) only 9.01 percent of all newborns had 1 or 2 foreign parents, while in Central and Northern Italy their share reached 23.72 and 30.01 percent, respectively.{{cite web|url = https://demo.istat.it/?l=en|title=Birthrate and fertility}}

{{Cite web|url=https://demo.istat.it/app/?i=D7B&l=en|title=Monthly Demographic Balance|website=demo.istat.it}}

Total fertility rate (TFR) in Italy by region as of 2024:

{{Cite web |title=Fertility |url=https://demo.istat.it/app/?i=FE1&l=en |access-date=2025-05-03 |website=demo.istat.it}}

{{Hidden begin

|title= Population Estimates by Sex and Age Group (01.I.2021):{{cite web |title=Demographic and Social Statistics |url=https://unstats.un.org/unsd/demographic-social/products/dyb/#statistics |website=United Nations Statistics Division |access-date=18 March 2025}}

|titlestyle = background:#EEBC35;

}}

{{Hidden end}}

Obesity – adult prevalence rate

:

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

Unemployment, youth ages 15–24:

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

:male: 30.4%

:female: 34.8% (2018 est.)

{{main|Immigration to Italy}}

Since the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, and more recently, the 2004 and 2007 enlargements of the European Union, Italy received growing flows of migrants from the former socialist countries of Eastern Europe (especially Romania, Albania, Ukraine and Poland).{{cite web |title=Emigration and Its Economic Impact on Eastern Europe |url=https://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/sdn/2016/sdn1607.pdf |access-date=17 May 2021 |publisher=International Monetary Fund}} The second most important area of immigration to Italy has always been the neighboring North Africa (especially Morocco, Egypt, Tunisia and Algeria).{{cite web |title=Migration from the Middle East and North Africa to Europe |url=https://library.oapen.org/bitstream/handle/20.500.12657/33374/496763.pdf?sequence=1 |access-date=17 May 2021 |publisher=Amsterdam University Press}} Furthermore, in recent years, growing migration fluxes from the Far East (notably, China{{cite web |title=Chinese immigration into the Eu: new trends, dynamics and implications |url=https://www.chathamhouse.org/sites/default/files/public/Research/Asia/0313ecran_lathamwu.pdf |access-date=17 May 2021 |publisher=The Europe China Research and Advice Network (ECRAN)}} and the Philippines) and Latin America (Ecuador, Peru) have been recorded.

Italy does not collect data on ethnicity or race of the country, but does collect data on nationality of its residents.{{Cite web |last=Shendruk |first=Amanda |date=2021-07-08 |title=Are you even trying to stop racism if you don't collect data on race? |url=https://qz.com/2029525/the-20-countries-that-dont-collect-racial-and-ethnic-census-data/ |access-date=2022-07-04 |website=Quartz}}

In 2021, Istat estimated that 5,171,894 foreign citizens lived in Italy, representing about 8.7% of the total population. These figures do not include naturalized foreign-born residents (121,457 foreigners acquired Italian citizenship in 2021){{Cite web |date=2021 |title=Acquisitions of citizenship : Most relevant country of citizenship |url=http://dati.istat.it/index.aspx?lang=en&SubSessionId=2da4a73f-72e4-46b4-a3dc-1b66e6c78dc7&themetreeid=-200 |access-date=29 November 2022}} as well as illegal immigrants, the so-called clandestini, whose numbers, difficult to determine, are thought to be at least 670,000.Elisabeth Rosenthal, "[http://www.boston.com/news/world/europe/articles/2008/05/16/italy_cracks_down_on_illegal_immigration/ Italy cracks down on illegal immigration]". The Boston Globe. 16 May 2008. Romanians made up the largest community in the country (1,145,718; around 10% of them being ethnic Romani people"[http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=42404 EUROPE: Home to Roma, And No Place for Them]". IPS ipsnews.net. {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120305064429/http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=42404|date=5 March 2012}}), followed by Albanians (441,027) and Moroccans (422,980).{{cite web |date=31 December 2018 |title=Cittadini stranieri. Popolazione residente e bilancio demografico |url=http://demo.istat.it/str2018/ |access-date=24 January 2019 |website=istat.it |publisher=istat |language=it}}{{cite web |author=Lanni, Alessandro |date=27 December 2015 |title=From Morocco to Romania: how immigration to Italy has changed over 10 years |url=https://openmigration.org/en/analyses/from-morocco-to-romania-marocco-how-immigration-to-italy-changed-in-10-years/ |access-date=10 March 2016 |work=Open Migration}}

The fourth largest community of foreign residents in Italy was represented by the Chinese.{{cite news |date=20 September 2019 |title=Società Stranieri in Italia, 5,2 milioni i residenti regolari. Romania e Cina le provenienze con i maggiori incrementi negli ultimi 8 anni |agency=Il Fatto Quotidiano |url=https://www.ilfattoquotidiano.it/2019/09/20/stranieri-in-italia-52-milioni-i-residenti-regolari-romania-e-cina-le-provenienze-con-i-maggiori-incrementi-negli-ultimi-8-anni/5465956/ |access-date=15 May 2021}} The majority of Chinese living in Italy are from the city of Wenzhou in the province of Zhejiang.{{cite web |author=Chang, Angela |date=24 February 2012 |title=20th Century Chinese Migration to Italy: The Chinese Diaspora Presence within European International Migration |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/264706975 |access-date=11 March 2015 |work=ResearchGate}} Breaking down the foreign-born population by continent, in 2020 the figures were as follows: Europe (54%), Africa (22%), Asia (16%), the Americas (8%) and Oceania (0.06%). The distribution of immigrants is largely uneven in Italy: 83% of immigrants live in the northern and central parts of the country (the most economically developed areas), while only 17% live in the southern half of the peninsula.{{cite web |date=9 December 2020 |title=I numeri degli stranieri residenti in Italia |url=https://www.youtrend.it/2020/12/09/i-numeri-degli-stranieri-residenti-in-italia/ |access-date=15 May 2021 |website=Youtrend.it}}

;Net migration rate

:

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

:

{{table alignment}}

File:COB data Italy.PNG

There are, as of 2022, 5,030,716 Foreign-born residents, accounting for 8.5% of the total population.

Their distribution by country of origin was as follows:

{{cite web |title=International Migration |url=https://demo.istat.it |publisher=Istat |access-date=2024-05-31}}

{{Main|Regional Italian|Languages of Italy|Languages of Italy#Historical linguistic minorities|l3=Historical linguistic minorities of Italy}}

File:Linguistic_map_of_Italy_-_Legend.svg]]

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.[http://www.ethnologue.com/show_language.asp?code=ita Ethnologue report for language code:ita (Italy)] – Gordon, Raymond G., Jr. (ed.), 2005. Ethnologue: Languages of the World, Fifteenth edition. Dallas, Tex.: SIL International. Online version 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,{{Cite web|url=https://www.ethnologue.com/language/ita/|title=Italian | Ethnologue Free|website=Ethnologue (Free All)}} even though an estimated 90% of Italians speak Italian as their L1 nowadays.{{cite web|url=https://www.istat.it/it/archivio/207961|title=L'uso della lingua italiana, dei dialetti e di altre lingue in Italia|date=9 March 2018|publisher=Istat}}

Italy is in fact one of the most linguistically diverse countries in Europe,«Italy holds especial treasures for linguists. There is probably no other area of Europe in which such a profusion of linguistic variation is concentrated into so small a geographical area». Martin Maiden, M. Mair Parry (1997), The Dialects of Italy, Psychology Press, p. 1 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",{{citation |url=http://www.parlamento.it/parlam/leggi/99482l.htm |title=Norme in materia di tutela delle minoranze linguistiche storiche |publisher=Italian parliament |access-date=17 October 2015}} 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.L.cost. 26 febbraio 1948, n. 4, Statuto speciale per la Valle d'Aosta German has the same status in the province of name=Bolzano as, in some parts of that province and in parts of the neighbouring Trentino, does Ladin.L.cost. 26 febbraio 1948, n. 5, Statuto speciale per il Trentino-Alto Adige SloveneL.cost. 31 gennaio 1963, n. 1, Statuto speciale della Regione Friuli-Venezia Giulia 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;Martin Maiden, M. Mair Parry (1997), The Dialects of Italy, Psychology Press, p. 2 in the 1990s, Sardinian has been recognized as "having equal dignity" with Italian,{{Cite web|url=http://www.regione.sardegna.it/j/v/86?v=9&c=72&s=1&file=1997026|title=Legge Regionale 15 ottobre 1997, n. 26-Regione Autonoma della Sardegna|access-date=19 November 2019|archive-date=1 March 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210301195804/http://www.regione.sardegna.it/j/v/86?v=9&c=72&s=1&file=1997026|url-status=dead}} 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 authorities recognize a number of other languages which are not legally protected by Italian government: Piedmontese, Venetian, Ligurian, Lombard, Emilian-Romagnolo, Neapolitan and Sicilian.

{{Main|Religion in Italy}}

{{Pie chart

|thumb = right

|caption = Religion in Italy according to the Eurobarometer survey, 2021{{cite web|url=https://data.europa.eu/data/datasets/s2237_95_2_516_eng?locale=en|via=European Data Portal (see Volume C: Country/socio-demographics: IT: Question D90.2.)|title=Special Eurobarometer 516|publisher=European Union: European Commission|date=September 2021|access-date=24 September 2021}}

|label1 = Catholicism

|value1 = 79.2

|color1 = SkyBlue

|label2 = Eastern Orthodoxy

|value2 = 3.5

|color2 = Blue

|label3 = Protestantism

|value3 = 0.3

|color3 = DarkBlue

|label4 = Other Christian

|value4 = 1.4

|color4 = DarkGreen

|label5 = Islam

|value5 = 1.0

|color5 = Green

|label6 = Buddhism

|value6 = 0.4

|color6 = Yellow

|label7 = Hinduism

|value7 = 0.3

|color7 = Orange

|label8 = Judaism

|value8 = 0.1

|color8 = Red

|label9 = Other

|value9 = 1.4

|color9 = GreenYellow

|label10 = Agnosticism

|value10 = 7.5

|color10 = White

|label11 = Atheism

|value11 = 4.1

|color11 = Black

|label12 = Undeclared

|value12 = 1.0

|color12 = Grey

|label13 = Sikhism

|value13 = 0.3

|color13 = red

}}

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,{{cite news|url=http://www.corriere.it/Primo_Piano/Cronache/2006/01_Gennaio/17/cattolici.shtml|title=Italy: 88% of Italy's population declare themselves Catholic|publisher=Corriere della Sera|date=18 January 2006|access-date = 10 May 2009|language=it}} 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.{{cite web|url=http://eurispes.eu/content/rapporto-italia-2016-la-sindrome-del-palio|title=Rapporto Italia 2016. La sindrome del Palio|date=28 January 2016 |access-date = 10 November 2018|language=it}} This increased again to 78% in 2018.

Most Italians believe in God, or a form of a spiritual life force. According to a Eurobarometer Poll in 2005:{{Cite web|url=http://ec.europa.eu/public_opinion/archives/ebs/ebs_225_report_en.pdf|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20060524004644/http://ec.europa.eu/public_opinion/archives/ebs/ebs_225_report_en.pdf|url-status=dead|title=ReportDGResearchSocialValuesEN2.PDF|archivedate=24 May 2006}} 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.

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.{{cite news| url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/country_profiles/1066140.stm|publisher=BBC News|title=Country profile: Vatican|date=26 October 2009|access-date=5 May 2010}}

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,{{cite web|authorlink=Salvador Miranda (historian) |last=Miranda |first=Salvador |title= Living cardinals arranged by country|url=https://cardinals.fiu.edu/countrynow.htm#Top|work=The Cardinals of the Holy Roman Church |publisher=Florida International University|oclc=53276621}} and is the country with the greatest number of Roman Catholic churches per capita.{{cite web |url=http://www.kwintessential.co.uk/resources/global-etiquette/italy-country-profile.html |title=Italy – Italian Language, Culture, Customs and Business Etiquette |publisher=Kwintessential.co.uk |access-date=2 August 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100812211310/http://www.kwintessential.co.uk/resources/global-etiquette/italy-country-profile.html |archive-date=12 August 2010 |url-status=dead}}

File:Santa Maria del Fiore.jpg cathedral in Florence, which has the biggest brick dome in the world,{{cite web |url=http://www.tripleman.com/index.php?showimage=737 |title=The Duomo of Florence {{pipe}} Tripleman |publisher=tripleman.com |access-date=25 March 2010 |archive-date=6 December 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091206202243/http://www.tripleman.com/index.php?showimage=737 |url-status=dead}}{{cite web|url=http://www.brunelleschisdome.com/ |title=brunelleschi's dome – Brunelleschi's Dome |publisher=Brunelleschisdome.com |access-date=25 March 2010}} and is considered a masterpiece of Italian architecture.]]

Even though the main Christian denomination in Italy is Roman Catholicism, there are some minorities of Protestant, Waldensian, Eastern Orthodox and other Christian 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,[http://www.ortodossia.it/The%20Holy%20Orthodox%20Archdiocese%20of%20Italy%20ed%20Malta.htm The Holy Orthodox Archdiocese of Italy and Malta] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090305214703/http://www.ortodossia.it/The%20Holy%20Orthodox%20Archdiocese%20of%20Italy%20ed%20Malta.htm |date=5 March 2009}} 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%),{{cite book|title=2015 Yearbook of Jehovah's Witnesses|publisher=Watch Tower Society|page=182}} 30,000 Waldensians,{{Cite web|url=http://www.chiesavaldese.org/pages/storia/dove_viviamo.php|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20060211233818/http://www.chiesavaldese.org/pages/storia/dove_viviamo.php|url-status=dead|title=Waldensian Evangelical Church|archivedate=11 February 2006}} 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).{{Cite web|url=http://www.oikoumene.org/en/member-churches/regions/europe/italy/evangelical-methodist-church-in-italy.html|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20130325172232/http://www.oikoumene.org/en/member-churches/regions/europe/italy/evangelical-methodist-church-in-italy.html|url-status=dead|title=World Council of Churches|archivedate=25 March 2013}}

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 prime minister 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{{cite web|url=http://www.adnkronos.com/AKI/English/Religion/?id=3.0.3202304679|title=Italy: Country's muslims raise funds to help quake victims – Adnkronos Religion|website=adnkronos.com}} forming 1.6 percent of population; independent estimates put the Islamic population in Italy anywhere from 0.8 million{{cite news| url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/4385768.stm|publisher=BBC News|title=Muslims in Europe: Country guide|date=23 December 2005|access-date=5 May 2010}} to 1.5 million.{{cite news| url=https://www.nytimes.com/2005/07/24/world/europe/24iht-rome.html?_r=1|work=The New York Times|date=25 July 2005|access-date=31 March 2010|first=Elisabeth|last=Rosenthal|title=Pressure is growingon Muslims in Italy}} 50,000 Italian Muslims hold Italian citizenship.

There are more than 200,000 followers of faiths originating in the Indian subcontinent, including some 70,000 Sikhs with 22 gurdwaras across the country,{{cite web|url=http://www.nriinternet.com/EUROPE/ITALY/2004/111604Gurdwara.htm|title=NRI Sikhs in Italy|website=nriinternet.com}} 70,000 Hindus, and 50,000 Buddhists.{{Cite web|url=http://www.buddhismo.it/ente.htm|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20070404034319/http://www.buddhismo.it/ente.htm|url-status=dead|title=Unione Buddhista Italiana – UBI: L'Ente|archivedate=4 April 2007|website=www.buddhismo.it}} There were an estimated 4,900 Bahá'ís in Italy in 2005.{{cite web|title = Most Baha'i Nations (2005)|work = QuickLists > Compare Nations > Religions >|publisher = The Association of Religion Data Archives|year = 2005|url = http://www.thearda.com/QuickLists/QuickList_40c.asp|access-date = 30 January 2010|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20100414021730/http://www.thearda.com/QuickLists/QuickList_40c.asp|archive-date = 14 April 2010|url-status = dead}}

Literacy

:

: definition: age 15 and over can read and write

:total population: 99.2%

:male: 99.4%

:female: 99% (2018 est.)

School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education)

:

:total: 16 years

:male: 16 years

:female: 17 years (2018)

{{Main|Genetic history of Italy}}

File:Principal Component Analysis of the Italian population.png of the Italian population.{{cite journal|title=Characterization of the biological processes shaping the genetic structure of the Italian population|year=2015|journal=BMC Genetics|doi=10.1186/s12863-015-0293-x|last1=Parolo|first1=Silvia|last2=Lisa|first2=Antonella|last3=Gentilini|first3=Davide|last4=Di Blasio|first4=Anna Maria|last5=Barlera|first5=Simona|last6=Nicolis|first6=Enrico B.|last7=Boncoraglio|first7=Giorgio B.|last8=Parati|first8=Eugenio A.|last9=Bione|first9=Silvia|volume=16|page=132|doi-broken-date=5 December 2024 |pmid=26553317|pmc=4640365|s2cid=17969623 |doi-access=free}}]]

The genetic history of Italy is greatly influenced by geography and history. The ancestors of Italians are mostly Indo-European speakers (Italic peoples such as Latins, Umbrians, Samnites, Oscans, Sicels and Adriatic Veneti, as well as Celts, Iapygians and Greeks) and pre-Indo-European speakers (Etruscans, Ligures, Rhaetians and Camunni in mainland Italy, Sicani and Elymians in Sicily and the Nuragic people in Sardinia). During the imperial period of Ancient Rome, the city of Rome was also home to people from various regions throughout the Mediterranean basin, including Southern Europe, North Africa and the Middle East.{{cite journal | vauthors = Antonio ML, Gao Z, Moots HM, Lucci M, Candilio F, Sawyer S, Oberreiter V, Calderon D, Devitofranceschi K, Aikens RC, Aneli S, Bartoli F, Bedini A, Cheronet O, Cotter DJ, Fernandes DM, Gasperetti G, Grifoni R, Guidi A, La Pastina F, Loreti E, Manacorda D, Matullo G, Morretta S, Nava A, Fiocchi Nicolai V, Nomi F, Pavolini C, Pentiricci M, Pergola P, Piranomonte M, Schmidt R, Spinola G, Sperduti A, Rubini M, Bondioli L, Coppa A, Pinhasi R, Pritchard JK | display-authors = 6 | title = Ancient Rome: A genetic crossroads of Europe and the Mediterranean | journal = Science | volume = 366 | issue = 6466 | pages = 708–714 | date = November 2019 | pmid = 31699931 | pmc = 7093155 | doi = 10.1126/science.aay6826 | publisher = American Association for the Advancement of Science | hdl-access = free | publication-date = November 8, 2019 | bibcode = 2019Sci...366..708A | hdl = 2318/1715466 | quote = Interestingly, although Iron Age individuals were sampled from both Etruscan (n=3) and Latin (n=6) contexts, we did not detect any significant differences between the two groups with f4 statistics in the form of f4(RMPR_Etruscan, RMPR_Latin; test population, Onge), suggesting shared origins or extensive genetic exchange between them. ... In the Medieval and early modern periods (n = 28 individuals), we observe an ancestry shift toward central and northern Europe in PCA (Fig. 3E), as well as a further increase in the European cluster (C7) and loss of the Near Eastern and eastern Mediterranean clusters (C4 and C5) in ChromoPainter (Fig. 4C). The Medieval population is roughly centered on modern-day central Italians (Fig. 3F). It can be modeled as a two-way combination of Rome's Late Antique population and a European donor population, with potential sources including many ancient and modern populations in central and northern Europe: Lombards from Hungary, Saxons from England, and Vikings from Sweden, among others (table S26).}} Based on DNA analysis, there is evidence of ancient regional genetic substructure and continuity within modern Italy dating to the pre-Roman and Roman periods.{{cite journal | vauthors = Ralph P, Coop G | title = The geography of recent genetic ancestry across Europe | journal = PLOS Biology | volume = 11 | issue = 5 | pages = e1001555 | year = 2013 | pmid = 23667324 | pmc = 3646727 | doi = 10.1371/journal.pbio.1001555 |ref = {{Harvid|Antonio et al.|2019}} | doi-access = free}}{{cite journal | vauthors = Raveane A, Aneli S, Montinaro F, Athanasiadis G, Barlera S, Birolo G, Boncoraglio G, Di Blasio AM, Di Gaetano C, Pagani L, Parolo S, Paschou P, Piazza A, Stamatoyannopoulos G, Angius A, Brucato N, Cucca F, Hellenthal G, Mulas A, Peyret-Guzzon M, Zoledziewska M, Baali A, Bycroft C, Cherkaoui M, Chiaroni J, Di Cristofaro J, Dina C, Dugoujon JM, Galan P, Giemza J, Kivisild T, Mazieres S, Melhaoui M, Metspalu M, Myers S, Pereira L, Ricaut FX, Brisighelli F, Cardinali I, Grugni V, Lancioni H, Pascali VL, Torroni A, Semino O, Matullo G, Achilli A, Olivieri A, Capelli C | display-authors = 6 | title = Population structure of modern-day Italians reveals patterns of ancient and archaic ancestries in Southern Europe | journal = Science Advances | volume = 5 | issue = 9 | pages = eaaw3492 | date = September 2019 | pmid = 31517044 | pmc = 6726452 | doi = 10.1126/sciadv.aaw3492 | bibcode = 2019SciA....5.3492R}}{{cite journal | vauthors = Capocasa M, Anagnostou P, Bachis V, Battaggia C, Bertoncini S, Biondi G, Boattini A, Boschi I, Brisighelli F, Caló CM, Carta M, Coia V, Corrias L, Crivellaro F, De Fanti S, Dominici V, Ferri G, Francalacci P, Franceschi ZA, Luiselli D, Morelli L, Paoli G, Rickards O, Robledo R, Sanna D, Sanna E, Sarno S, Sineo L, Taglioli L, Tagarelli G, Tofanelli S, Vona G, Pettener D, Destro Bisol G | display-authors = 6 | title = Linguistic, geographic and genetic isolation: a collaborative study of Italian populations | journal = Journal of Anthropological Sciences | volume = 92 | issue = 92| pages = 201–31 | date = 2014 | pmid = 24607994 | doi = 10.4436/JASS.92001 | url = https://www.researchgate.net/publication/259623141}}{{cite journal | vauthors = Modi A, Lancioni H, Cardinali I, Capodiferro MR, Rambaldi Migliore N, Hussein A, Strobl C, Bodner M, Schnaller L, Xavier C, Rizzi E, Bonomi Ponzi L, Vai S, Raveane A, Cavadas B, Semino O, Torroni A, Olivieri A, Lari M, Pereira L, Parson W, Caramelli D, Achilli A | display-authors = 6 | title = The mitogenome portrait of Umbria in Central Italy as depicted by contemporary inhabitants and pre-Roman remains | journal = Scientific Reports | volume = 10 | issue = 1 | pages = 10700 | date = July 2020 | pmid = 32612271 | pmc = 7329865 | doi = 10.1038/s41598-020-67445-0 | bibcode = 2020NatSR..1010700M}}

Within the Italian population, there is enough cultural, linguistic, genetic and historical diversity for them to constitute several distinct groups throughout the peninsula.«Italians, though often described as a homogeneous people, are divided into several culturally, socially, and politically diverse groups throughout the peninsula.» Jeffrey Cole (edited by), Ethnic Groups of Europe: An Encyclopedia, Santa Barbara (California), ABC-CLIO, 2011, p.204 In this regard, peoples like the Friulians, the Ladins, the Sardinians and the name=Bolzano eans, who also happen to constitute recognized linguistic minorities, or even the Sicilians who are not, are cases in point, attesting to such internal diversity.

Linguistic minorities in Italy include Sardu-speakers 1 million, Tyrolese German-speakers 350,000, Albanians 70,000 – 100,000, Slovenes 60,000, Franco-Provençal-speakers 50,000 – 70,000, Occitans 20,000 – 40,000, Ladins 30,000, Catalans 15,000, Greek-speakers 12,000, Croatians 3,000 and Friulians 600,000. The Roma community is one of the largest ethnic minorities in Italy. Due to the lack of disaggregated data the size of the Italian Roma community remains unknown. The Council of Europe estimates that between 120,000 and 180,000 Roma live in Italy. A significant proportion of Roma in Italy do not have Italian citizenship.{{cite web|url= https://minorityrights.org/country/italy/|title= Italy - World Directory of Minorities & Indigenous Peoples|date= 2 November 2023}}

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• [http://knowledge.allianz.com/en/globalissues/demographic_profiles/italy/italy_population_demographics_aging.html Demographic Profile Italy] Allianz Knowledge

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