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Italy Population and Religion Percentage
Italy, officially the Italian Republic is a country in Southern Europe. Italy is the fifth most populous country in Europe and the third-most populous member state of the European Union.
According to the Institute of National Statistics, The population of Italy on 1st January 2022 was 58,983,000 (59 million or 5.9 crores). As per the UN World Population Prospects report, the estimated population of Italy in 2023 is 58,870,762.
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Italy | Population |
Total Population | 59,037,474 (59 million) |
Global Rank | 25 |
Share of World Pop. | 0.78% |
Land Area | 294,140 sq. km (113,570 sq. mi) |
Area Rank | 71 |
Pop. Density | 200 person/sq.km ( 520/ sq. mi.) |
Growth Rate | -0.28% |
Fertility Rate* in Italy | 1.33 |
Infant mortality rate** in Italy | 2.2 |
Median Age in Italy | 47.3 years |
Life Expectancy in Italy | 84.01 years |
Urban Population of Italy | 69.5 |
Religion in Italy
Italy is officially a secular state. Christianity is the majority Religion followed by almost 84% of the population and Roman Catholicism is its main branch. Legislation prevents the Italian government from tracking the religious affiliations of its citizens. Therefore, all statistics on the religious demographics of Italians are approximations.
Around 12% of the population is unaffiliated with any religion and 3.2% identify as some other non-Christian faith.
Among Christians in Italy, Catholicism is followed by 79.20% of the population, Next comes Eastern Orthodoxy (3.5%), Protestantism (0.3o%), and other Christians.
Non-Christians based faiths include Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, Sikhism, Jews, and other smaller faiths.
Due to immigration from around the world, there has been an increase in non-Christian religions. As of 2020, there were 2 million Muslims in Italy; independent estimates put the Islamic population in Italy anywhere between 1 to 3% percent of the population.
There are more than half a million followers of the faith originating in the Indian subcontinent, including some 150,000 Sikhs, 177,200 Hindus, and 257,300 Buddhists. There are an estimated 4,900 Bahá’ís in Italy.
Religion Percentage in Italy
Religion/ Affiliations | Percentage |
Christianity | 84.4% |
Catholicism | -79.20% |
Eastern Orthodoxy | -3.50% |
Protestantism | -0.30% |
Other Christian | -1.40% |
Other Religions | 3.2% |
Islam | -1.00% |
Buddhism | -0.40% |
Hinduism/Sikhism | -0.30% |
Judaism | -0.10% |
Smaller faiths | -1.40% |
Unaffiliated | 12.6% |
Agnosticism | -7.50% |
Atheism | -4.10% |
Undeclared | -1.00% |
Source: Eurobarometer
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Top Cities in Italy by Population
# | Country | Region | Population |
1 | Rome | Lazio | 28,72,021 |
2 | Milan | Lombardy | 13,37,155 |
3 | Naples | Campania | 9,78,399 |
4 | Turin | Piedmont | 8,96,773 |
5 | Palermo | Sicily | 6,78,492 |
6 | Genoa | Liguria | 5,92,507 |
7 | Bologna | Emilia-Romagna | 3,86,181 |
8 | Florence | Tuscany | 3,81,037 |
9 | Bari | Apulia | 3,27,361 |
10 | Catania | Sicily | 3,15,601 |
11 | Venice | Veneto | 2,64,579 |
12 | Verona | Veneto | 2,60,125 |
13 | Messina | Sicily | 2,40,414 |
14 | Padua | Veneto | 2,11,210 |
15 | Trieste | Friuli-Venezia Giulia | 2,05,413 |
16 | Taranto | Apulia | 2,02,016 |
17 | Brescia | Lombardy | 1,96,058 |
18 | Prato | Tuscany | 1,91,002 |
19 | Parma | Emilia-Romagna | 1,90,284 |
20 | Modena | Emilia-Romagna | 1,85,148 |
Source: Census 2014
Source: United Nation World Populations Prospects; Institute of National Statistics, Italy
*Fertility rate, the average number of children born to women during their reproductive years.
**Infant mortality rate is the number of deaths per 1,000 live births of children under one year of age.