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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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Table of Contents

Italy Demographics
ItalyPopulation
Total Population59,037,474 (59 million)
Global Rank25
Share of World Pop.0.78%
Land Area 294,140 sq. km (113,570 sq. mi)
Area Rank71
Pop. Density200 person/sq.km ( 520/ sq. mi.)
Growth Rate-0.28%
Fertility Rate* in Italy1.33
Infant mortality rate**  in Italy2.2
Median Age in Italy47.3 years
Life Expectancy in Italy 84.01 years
Urban Population of Italy69.5 

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/ AffiliationsPercentage
Christianity84.4%
  Catholicism -79.20%
  Eastern Orthodoxy -3.50%
  Protestantism -0.30%
  Other Christian -1.40%
Other Religions3.2%
  Islam -1.00%
  Buddhism -0.40%
  Hinduism/Sikhism -0.30%
  Judaism -0.10%
  Smaller faiths-1.40%
Unaffiliated12.6%
  Agnosticism -7.50%
  Atheism -4.10%
  Undeclared -1.00%

Source: Eurobarometer

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Top Cities in Italy by Population
#CountryRegionPopulation
1RomeLazio28,72,021
2MilanLombardy13,37,155
3NaplesCampania9,78,399
4TurinPiedmont8,96,773
5PalermoSicily6,78,492
6GenoaLiguria5,92,507
7BolognaEmilia-Romagna3,86,181
8FlorenceTuscany3,81,037
9BariApulia3,27,361
10CataniaSicily3,15,601
11VeniceVeneto2,64,579
12VeronaVeneto2,60,125
13MessinaSicily2,40,414
14PaduaVeneto2,11,210
15TriesteFriuli-Venezia Giulia2,05,413
16TarantoApulia2,02,016
17BresciaLombardy1,96,058
18PratoTuscany1,91,002
19ParmaEmilia-Romagna1,90,284
20ModenaEmilia-Romagna1,85,148

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.

Population of Italy 2024 | Religion in Italy

Rajeev Rana

Rajeev Rana loves reading about history and demography and has been writing on these topics for five years. While not a certified expert, he has a deep understanding of demography in India. Rajeev contributes to several websites and has extensive knowledge of the Delhi NCR area.