Population and Demographics

The latest population estimate done by ISTAT (Italian Statistics Office) stated that there were 58,462,375 inhabitants in Italy in 2005, making it the fourth largest population in the European Union (after Germany, France and the United Kingdom), and the 22nd in the world. In 2006, the Italian population climbed to an estimated 58,751,711, an increase of 0.5%, mainly supplemented by immigrants, and an increasing life expectancy of 79.81 years. Despite population growth, Italy is rapidly aging, with 1 in 5 inhabitants pensioners.

Italy has the 5th highest population density in all of Europe with 193 persons per square kilometre. The highest density is in Northwestern Italy, as two regions out of twenty (Lombardia and Piemonte) combined, contain one quarter of the Italian population, where an estimated 9.4 million people live in the metropolitan Milan area. The literacy rate in Italy is 98% overall as school is mandatory for children aged 6 to 18.

Immigration

Italy's position in Europe and the northern Mediterranean basin meant many influences, invasions and migrations over thousands of years. As a result, the Italian people are a fusion of various ethnic stocks such as the ancient Italic peoples, Etruscan, Roman, Greek, Gaul, Germanic, Norman French and Catalan peoples who all colonised, invaded or plundered Italy for more than 3,000 years.

During the 1800s and early 1900s, Italy was a major sender of migrants to the Americas, and other nations in Western Europe. However, Italy is now a major destination for immigrants from all over the world with Eastern Europe, North Africa and Asia being the chief areas. As of 2005, 4.56% or 2,670,514 foreigners live in Italy, an increase of 268,357 or 10% from the previous year. In many northern Italian cities, like Padua, Milan, and Brescia, migrants make up 33%, 15%, and 13% of their total populations.

The most recent wave of migration has been from Eastern Europe, replacing North Africans as a major source of migrants. As of 2005, some 1,025,874 Eastern Europeans live in Italy, 40% of the total population migrants in Italy. The Top 5 foreign nationalities in Italy are: Albanian: 348,813, Moroccan: 319,537, Romanian: 297,570, Chinese: 127,822 and Ukrainian: 107,188.

Religion

Roman Catholicism is by far the largest religion in the country. Although the Catholic Church has never been the state religion, it still plays a role in the nation's political affairs, partly due to the Holy See's location in Rome. 87.8% of Italians identified as Roman Catholic, although only about one-third of these described themselves as active members (36.8%).

Other Christian groups in Italy include more than 700,000 Eastern Orthodox Christians (1.2%), 550,000 Pentecotals and Evangelicals (0.8%), 500,000 Jehovah's Witnesses (0.9%), 30,000 Waldensians , 25,000 Seventh-day Adventists, 22,000 Mormons, 15,000 Baptists (plus some 5,000 Free Baptists), 7,000 Lutherans and 5,000 Methodists (affiliated to the Waldensian Church).

The most historical religious minority is the Jewish community, comprising roughly 45,000 Jews. It is no longer the strongest non-Christian group. Indeed, in the past two decades, Italy has been receiving many waves of immigrants from all over the world, especially Eastern Europe and North Africa. As a result some 825,000 Muslims (1.4%), of which only 50,000 are Italian citizens, live in Italy, as well as 110,000 Buddhists (0.2%), and, 70,000 Sikhs, 70,000 Hindus (0.1%).

Facts and Figures

• Population: 58,751,711
• Age Structure:
  • 0-14 years: 13.8% (male 4,147,149/female 3,899,980)
  • 15-64 years: 66.5% (male 19,530,512/female 19,105,841)
  • 65 years and over: 19.7% (male 4,771,858/female 6,678,169)
• Median Age:
  • Total: 42.2 years
  • Male: 40.7 years
  • Female: 43.7 years
• Population Growth Rate: 0.04%
• Birth Rate: 8.72 births/1,000 population
• Death Rate: 10.4 deaths/1,000 population
• Net Migration Rate: 2.06 migrant(s)/1,000 population
• Sex Ratio:
  • At birth: 1.07 male(s)/female
  • Under 15 years: 1.06 male(s)/female
  • 15-64 years: 1.02 male(s)/female
  • 65 years and over: 0.72 male(s)/female
  • Total population: 0.96 male(s)/female
• Infant Mortality Rate:
  • Total: 5.83 deaths/1,000 live births
  • Male: 6.42 deaths/1,000 live births
  • Female: 5.19 deaths/1,000 live births
• Life Expectancy at Birth:
  • Total population: 79.81 years
  • Male: 76.88 years
  • Female: 82.94 years
• Total fertility rate: 1.28 children born/woman
• HIV/AIDS:
  • Adult prevalence rate: 0.5%
  • People living with HIV/AIDS: 140,000
• Ethnic Groups:
  • Italian (includes small clusters of German-, French-, and Slovene-Italians in the north and Albanian-Italians and Greek-Italians in the south)
• Religions:
  • Roman Catholic 90% (approximately; about one-third regularly attend services)
  • other 10% (mature Protestant and Jewish communities and a growing Muslim immigrant community)
• Languages:
  • Italian (official)
  • German (parts of Trentino-Alto Adige region are predominantly German speaking)
  • French (small French-speaking minority in Valle d'Aosta region)
  • Slovene (Slovene-speaking minority in the Trieste-Gorizia area)
• Literacy:
  • Total population: 98.6%
  • Male: 99%
  • Female: 98.3%