Italy Population

Italy is world famous for the cities of Venice and Rome. In recent years, the policy has been characterized by great instability and change of government. It has been said that Italy is the doorstep of Europe. Every year, thousands of boat refugees cross the Mediterranean, from Africa to Italy, with life as an effort.

Key figures and facts

• Capital: Rome
• Ethnic groups: Italians
• Language: Italian, German, French, Slovenian
• Religion: Catholics 90%, other 10%
• Population: 61 142 221
• Control Form: Republic
• Area: 301 340 Km2
• Currency: euro
• GNP per capita: 38 380 PPP $
• National Day: June 2nd

Population of Italy

The population in Italy in 2018 was just over 60 million. The population increased from 37 million in 1920 and 44 million in 1940 (within current limits) to 50 million in 1960, and population growth was previously large in relation to resources. However, the birth surplus has diminished because the birth rate has dropped faster than mortality. Italy has a low population growth, with a birth rate of 8.74 ‰ in 2015. The population structure has a declining proportion of children and adolescents and an increasing proportion of the elderly.

Population of Italy by Year (Historical)

Year	Population	Annual Growth Rate	Population Density	Global Rank
2020	60,461,715	-0.150%	205.5546	23
2019	60,549,964	-0.130%	205.8546	23
2018	60,627,180	-0.080%	206.1171	23
2017	60,673,590	0.020%	206.2749	23
2016	60,662,949	0.140%	206.2387	23
2015	60,578,383	0.420%	205.9512	23
2010	59,325,118	0.360%	201.6904	23
2005	58,281,101	0.550%	198.1411	22
2000	56,692,067	-0.170%	192.7388	22
1995	57,174,297	0.040%	194.3782	21
1990	57,048,125	0.040%	193.9493	16
1985	56,936,663	0.210%	193.5703	14
1980	56,349,238	0.390%	191.5732	13
1975	55,265,173	0.640%	187.8877	14
1970	53,518,858	0.700%	181.9507	13
1965	51,677,146	0.780%	175.6893	11
1960	49,699,840	0.560%	168.9670	10
1955	48,335,467	0.730%	164.3285	10
1950	46,598,490	0.000%	158.4232	10

Major Cities in Italy by Population

Rank	City	Population
1	Rome	2,318,784
2	Milan	1,236,726
3	Naples	959,359
4	Turin	870,345
5	Palermo	648,149
6	Genoa	580,112
7	Bologna	366,022
8	Florence	349,185
9	Catania	290,816
10	Bari	277,276
11	Messina	219,837
12	Verona	218,992
13	Padova	203,614
14	Trieste	186,945
15	Brescia	184,715
16	Prato	181,709
17	Taranto	180,971
18	Reggio Calabria	169,029
19	Modena	158,775
20	Livorno	153,662
21	Cagliari	149,146
22	Mestre	147,551
23	Parma	146,188
24	Foggia	136,921
25	Reggio nell’Emilia	133,185
26	Acilia-Castel Fusano-Ostia Antica	129,251
27	Salerno	125,686
28	Perugia	120,026
29	Monza	119,507
30	Rimini	118,562
31	Pescara	116,485
32	Bergamo	114,051
33	Vicenza	107,018
34	Bolzano	98,938
35	Andria	98,231
36	Udine	97,650
37	Siracusa	97,361
38	Terni	96,939
39	Forli	93,527
40	Novara	93,184
41	Barletta	93,168
42	Piacenza	93,117
43	Ferrara	92,691
44	Sassari	91,784
45	Ancona	89,883
46	La Spezia	88,380
47	Torre del Greco	85,786
48	Como	81,864
49	Lucca	81,637
50	Ravenna	80,757
51	Lecce	80,584
52	Trento	80,314
53	Giugliano in Campania	80,158
54	Busto Arsizio	79,408
55	Lido di Ostia	79,289
56	Cesena	79,287
57	Catanzaro	78,859
58	Brindisi	78,437
59	Marsala	77,804
60	Treviso	77,493
61	Pesaro	77,130
62	Pisa	76,896
63	Varese	76,740
64	Sesto San Giovanni	76,398
65	Arezzo	76,235
66	Latina	76,194
67	Gela	73,743
68	Pistoia	73,721
69	Caserta	72,733
70	Cinisello Balsamo	70,998
71	Lamezia Terme	70,390
72	Altamura	67,710
73	Guidonia Montecelio	67,405
74	Quartu Sant’Elena	66,509
75	Pavia	65,623
76	Castellammare di Stabia	65,619
77	Massa	64,672
78	Alessandria	64,067
79	Cosenza	63,741
80	Afragola	62,664
81	Ragusa	61,269
82	Asti	61,143
83	Grosseto	60,811
84	Cremona	59,450
85	Molfetta	59,446
86	Trapani	58,570
87	Carrara	58,555
88	Casoria	58,345
89	Savona	58,172
90	Vigevano	57,859
91	Legnano	57,478
92	Caltanissetta	56,604
93	Potenza	56,322
94	Portici	55,654
95	Matera	54,780
96	San Severo	54,769
97	Cerignola	53,945
98	Trani	53,870
99	Bisceglie	53,537
100	Acerra	53,467
101	Ercolano	53,465
102	Carpi Centro	52,913
103	Imola	52,870
104	Bagheria	52,841
105	Manfredonia	52,800
106	Aversa	52,719
107	Bitonto	51,550
108	Venice	51,187
109	Vittoria	50,741
110	Gallarate	50,328
111	Marano di Napoli	49,809
112	Pordenone	49,767
113	Acireale	49,366
114	Scafati	49,153
115	Moncalieri	49,042
116	Viareggio	48,988
117	Benevento	48,820
118	Crotone	48,593
119	Velletri	48,332
120	Cava De Tirreni	48,016
121	Avellino	47,993
122	Foligno	47,636
123	Nichelino	47,494
124	Civitavecchia	47,432
125	Viterbo	47,023
126	Battipaglia	46,993
127	Rho	46,975
128	San Remo	46,932
129	Lecco	46,469
130	Collegno	46,413
131	Corato	46,394
132	Cuneo	46,305
133	Paderno Dugnano	46,124
134	Rivoli	45,920
135	Paterno	45,919
136	Montesilvano Marina	45,880
137	Mazara del Vallo	45,842
138	San Benedetto del Tronto	45,762
139	Casalnuovo di Napoli	45,685
140	Cologno Monzese	45,675
141	Sesto Fiorentino	45,545
142	Vercelli	45,482
143	Pozzuoli	45,464
144	Misterbianco	45,431
145	San Giorgio a Cremano	45,352
146	Anzio	45,292
147	Nocera Inferiore	44,975
148	Scandicci	44,840
149	Nettuno	44,645
150	Frosinone	44,394
151	Chieti	44,333
152	Alcamo	44,320
153	Settimo Torinese	44,011
154	Torre Annunziata	43,410
155	Biella	42,919
156	Olbia	42,819
157	Siena	42,756
158	Seregno	42,649
159	Gravina in Puglia	42,099
160	Chioggia	41,786
161	Ascoli Piceno	41,630
162	Faenza	41,603
163	Civitanova Marche	41,094
164	Modica	41,015
165	Capannori	41,005
166	Aprilia	40,983
167	Lodi	40,656
168	Cascina	40,401
169	Desio	40,226
170	Marcianise	40,128
171	Nicastro	39,889
172	Rozzano	39,620
173	Campobasso	39,612
174	Rovigo	39,236
175	Mantova	39,149
176	Rieti	38,957
177	Fano	38,888
178	Pomigliano d’Arco	38,810
179	Imperia	38,564
180	Bassano del Grappa	38,113
181	Saronno	37,988
182	Marino	37,902
183	Avezzano	37,697
184	Monopoli	37,627
185	Martina Franca	37,574
186	Quarto	37,572
187	Lissone	37,242
188	Cantu	37,162
189	Monterotondo	37,114
190	Cesano Maderno	36,875
191	Jesi	36,874
192	Melito di Napoli	36,822
193	Sassuolo	36,815
194	Sciacca	36,786
195	Licata	36,426
196	Modugno	36,273
197	Teramo	35,988
198	Voghera	35,943
199	Nuoro	35,837
200	Caltagirone	35,260
201	Bollate	35,124
202	Ciampino	35,063
203	Carini	34,971
204	Arzano	34,822
205	Gorizia	34,535
206	Caivano	34,493
207	Barcellona Pozzo di Gotto	34,487
208	Fiumicino-Isola Sacra	34,445
209	Maddaloni	34,435
210	Adrano	34,335
211	Empoli	34,283
212	Alghero	34,150
213	Mugnano di Napoli	34,120
214	Ladispoli	34,093
215	Pioltello	34,092
216	Rovereto	34,041
217	Casalecchio di Reno	33,678
218	Schio	33,629
219	L’Aquila	33,580
220	Corsico	33,558
221	Sant’Antimo	33,450
222	Venaria Reale	33,420
223	Merano	33,342
224	Francavilla Fontana	33,304
225	Grugliasco	32,989
226	Brugherio	32,950
227	Canicatti	32,807
228	Mira Taglio	32,770
229	Campi Bisenzio	32,760
230	Pagani	32,724
231	San Dona di Piave	32,708
232	Riccione	32,633
233	Casal Palocco	32,595
234	Agrigento	32,403
235	Somma Vesuviana	32,373
236	Aosta	32,184
237	Lucera	32,111
238	Chieri	32,058
239	Favara	31,999
240	Limbiate	31,951
241	Milazzo	31,660
242	Santa Maria Capua Vetere	31,632
243	Angri	31,521
244	Crema	31,370
245	Grottaglie	31,209
246	Casale Monferrato	31,164
247	Verbania	30,959
248	San Giuliano Milanese	30,939
249	Termoli	30,933
250	Terracina	30,869
251	Senigallia	30,771
252	Massafra	30,764
253	Pinerolo	30,755
254	Macerata	30,731
255	Conegliano	30,654
256	Augusta	30,612
257	Lanciano	30,594
258	Abbiategrasso	30,548
259	Vasto	30,256
260	Piombino	29,992
261	Canosa di Puglia	29,935
262	Mascalucia	29,799
263	Marigliano	29,790
264	Frattamaggiore	29,711
265	San Paolo	29,689
266	Nardo	29,557
267	Monterusciello	29,014
268	Gragnano	28,971
269	Cernusco sul Naviglio	28,967
270	Pallanza-Intra-Suna	28,800
271	Sarno	28,726
272	Partinico	28,597
273	Avola	28,555
274	Formia	28,410
275	San Donato Milanese	28,240
276	Segrate	28,185
277	Castelvetrano	27,961
278	Manduria	27,300
279	Cisterna di Latina	27,251
280	Rapallo	26,882
281	Niscemi	26,782
282	San Giuseppe Vesuviano	26,777
283	Boscoreale	26,750
284	Triggiano	26,700
285	Camaiore	26,635
286	Monfalcone	26,595
287	Albano Laziale	26,573
288	Montebelluna	26,559
289	Fondi	26,523
290	Chiavari	26,461
291	Gravina di Catania	26,413
292	Mesagne	26,386
293	San Miniato Basso	26,254
294	Parabiago	26,253
295	Formigine	26,213
296	Comiso	26,187
297	Eboli	26,072
298	San Giovanni Rotondo	26,068
299	Romano Banco	26,052
300	Mondragone	25,965
301	Garbagnate Milanese	25,863
302	Novi Ligure	25,846
303	Falconara Marittima	25,837
304	Terlizzi	25,700
305	Bresso	25,601
306	Bacoli	25,479
307	Castelfranco Veneto	25,434
308	Assemini	25,146
309	Villaricca	24,963
310	Belluno	24,953
311	Lainate	24,900
312	Marina di Carrara	24,889
313	Treviglio	24,826
314	Alba	24,812
315	Santeramo in Colle	24,811
316	Vittorio Veneto	24,678
317	Orta di Atella	24,639
318	Mola di Bari	24,571
319	Bagnoli	24,560
320	Aci Catena	24,552
321	Oristano	24,530
322	Giussano	24,246
323	Gioia del Colle	24,073
324	Ostuni	24,046
325	Giarre	24,027
326	Lentini	23,991
327	Nola	23,990
328	Bra	23,961
329	Ruvo di Puglia	23,827
330	Pompei	23,791
331	Casa Santa	23,769
332	Rossano Stazione	23,713
333	Sora	23,647
334	Qualiano	23,641
335	Lumezzane	23,601
336	Spinea-Orgnano	23,599
337	Putignano	23,550
338	Seriate	23,441
339	Copertino	23,378
340	Nocera Superiore	23,341
341	Ottaviano	23,285
342	Cesano Boscone	23,257
343	Selargius	23,174
344	Ivrea	23,167
345	Fabriano	23,119
346	San Sebastiano	23,117
347	Muggio	23,082
348	Biancavilla	23,077
349	Chivasso	22,906
350	Carmagnola	22,901
351	Enna	22,887
352	Termini Imerese	22,846
353	Volla	22,800
354	Quattromiglia	22,778
355	Dalmine	22,770
356	Tortona	22,632
357	Seveso	22,622
358	Vimercate	22,616
359	Desenzano del Garda	22,554
360	Meda	22,554
361	Conversano	22,550
362	Iglesias	22,548
363	Palma di Montechiaro	22,543
364	Mariano Comense	22,532
365	Fasano	22,482
366	Magenta	22,455
367	Valdagno	22,444
368	Citta di Castello	22,386
369	Vignola	22,286
370	San Lazzaro	22,239
371	Pomezia	22,235
372	Nova Milanese	22,199
373	Cardito	22,128
374	Porto Sant’Elpidio	22,122
375	Floridia	21,978
376	San Cataldo	21,968
377	San Giovanni la Punta	21,935
378	Cecina	21,907
379	Tivoli	21,907
380	Mogliano Veneto	21,880
381	Noicattaro	21,877
382	Monreale	21,853
383	Fidenza	21,841
384	Castel Volturno	21,770
385	Mondovi	21,769
386	Orbassano	21,702
387	Poggibonsi	21,581
388	Carbonia	21,553
389	Porto Torres	21,542
390	Legnago	21,535
391	Lugo	21,162
392	Arzignano	21,136
393	Cassano Magnago	21,097
394	Follonica	21,052
395	San Nicola la Strada	21,036
396	Thiene	21,034
397	Francavilla al Mare	20,984
398	Sulmona	20,975
399	Cassino	20,963
400	Guidonia	20,832

Emigration

Population pressure was previously relieved of emigration, which was greater than in any other European country. Since the 1870s, approximately 12 million people emigrated, including 6 million to the United States, almost 3 million to Argentina, 1.3 million to Brazil and almost 1 million each to Australia and Canada. The emigration reached a maximum in 1913, when 900,000 emigrated (2% of the population), but were later reduced by war, crisis, US immigration law and the fascist population policy. Many Italians are guest workers in, among others, Switzerland, France, Germany and the Benelux countries. They come mainly from southern Italy, which also sends a stream of emigrants to the industrial areas of northern Italy. In total, approximately 30 million Italians or people of Italian descent outside Italy.

Immigration

In the period after 2000, there has been a not insignificant immigration to Italy. The largest immigrant groups have been Romanians, Albanians, Moroccans, Chinese and Ukrainians. According to official figures, over five million foreign nationals lived in Italy in 2017. In addition, hundreds of thousands of immigrants who have been granted Italian citizenship during the last decades.

The cities with the most foreign nationals are Rome, Milan, Turin, Florence, Bologna and Genoa. As a percentage of the population, Milan, Brescia, Prato and Piacenza (all over 18%) have the largest share of foreign nationals.

Ethnic conditions

Although the country’s population is largely uniform in common language, religion and culture, significant regional contrasts prevail. In the north, Celtic and Germanic immigration has left strong footprints, while in the south, Greek and Arabic elements are prevalent. Linguistically and nationally, however, the population has become more uniform after the Second World War, because it has lost foreign elements (Slovenes, Croats, French speakers).

Languages boundary between Italian and German are pushed northward, but in South Tyrol is still around 300,000 German-speaking residents. There are also many rhetorical speakers (Friuli and Ladinians), and in Friuli-Venezia Giulia slaves (including 120,000 Slovenians in the Trieste area). In the Valle d’Aosta and Piedmont there is a French-speaking minority, in southern Italy Albanian- and Greek-speaking groups, in Sardinia a few Catalan speakers.

Settlement

The population density in 2005 was 192.9 per km². Regionally, the population density ranges from 35 per km² in the Valle d’Aosta and 60-65 in Trentino-Alto Adige, Sardinia and Basilicata, to 350-400 in Lombardy, Liguria and Campania. While population density elsewhere in Europe is highest in clean industrial areas, in Italy it is also very high in agricultural districts. The fertile plains between Naples and Capua in Campania are with 500-700 people per km²Europe and one of the world’s most densely populated agricultural areas. As elsewhere in southern Europe, the peasant population is to a large extent gathered in some very large villages. This is particularly pronounced in the south and in Sardinia, while the settlement is predominantly spread in Central Italy – from Rome to Po.

Since 1950, there has been a general escape from the rural to the big cities; especially people from the south have flowed to the major industrial centers of northern Italy. About 67% of the population lives in urban areas (2005).

Language

The official language is Italian. The Italian written language is based on the Tuscan dialect.

Italy has some linguistic minorities. In South Tyrol, approximately 300,000 German, approximately 300,000 speak French and Occitan in the northwest of the Valle d’Aosta and along the border with France. In northeastern Italy, rhetorical dialects, Friulian of about 700,000, are spoken. In the Trieste area, Slovenian is spoken by approximately 120,000. In southern Italy there are minorities who speak Albanian (120,000) and Greek (40,000), and in Sardinia Catalan (12,000).

Sardinian, which is spoken in the central and southern part of Sardinia by approximately 1.5 million, is often considered a separate Romanian language and is closer to classical Latin than any other Romanian language. It has the status of the second official language in Sardinia after Italian.

Biggest cities

Residents (2016)Sort
Rome	2 870 336
Milan	1 349 912
Naples	971 097
Turin	887 849
Palermo	671 696
Genoa	585 081
Bologna	388 257
Florence	383 083
Bari	324 788
Catania	313 540
Venice	262 246
Verona	258 274
Messina	237 603
Padova	209 829
Trieste	204 292
Taranto	200 385

Italy regions

RegionSort	CapitalSort	Area km²	Residents (2007)
Abruzzi	L’Aquila	10 798	1 309 800
Basilicata	Potenza	9 992	591 300
Calabria	Catanzaro	15 080	1 998 050
Campania	Naples	13 595	5 790 200
Emilia-Romagna	Bologna	22 124	4 223 300
Friuli-Venezia Giulia	Trieste	7 855	1 212 600
Lazio	Rome	17 207	5 493 300
Liguria	Genoa	5 421	1 607 900
Lombardy	Milan	23 861	9 545 400
Marche	Ancona	9 694	1 536 100
Molise	Campobasso	4 438	320 100
Piemonte	Turin	25 399	4 352 800
Puglia	Bari	19 362	4 069 900
Sardinia (Sardegna)	Cagliari	24 090	1 659 400
Sicily	Palermo	25 708	5 016 900
Tuscany	Florence	22 997	3 638 200
Trentino-Alto Adige	Trento	13 607	994 700
Umbria	Perugia	8 456	873 000
Valle d’Aosta	Aosta	3 263	124 800
Veneto	Venice	18 390	4 773 550