Nation and ethnic group native to Italy
Ethnic group
Italians c. 140 million
Italy 55,551,000[ 1] Brazil 32–34 million (incl. ancestry) [ 3] [ 4] [ 5] Argentina 20–25 million (incl. ancestry) [ 6] [ 7] United States 16–23 million (incl. ancestry) [ 8] [ 9] [ 10] [ 11] France 5–6 million (incl. ancestry) [ 12] [ 5] [ 13] [ 14] [ 15] Venezuela 1,500,000 (Italian Embassy, 2011).[ 16] – 2,000,000 (Italian Embassy, 2017).[ 17] (incl. ancestry) [ 18] [ 19] [ 20] [ 21] Paraguay 2[ 22]
– 2.5 million (incl. ancestry) [ 23] Colombia 2 million (incl. ancestry) [ 24] Canada 1.5 million (incl. ancestry) [ 25] Australia 1.1 million (incl. ancestry) [ 26] [ 27] Uruguay 1.0 million (incl. ancestry) [ 5] Germany 801,082[ 28] Switzerland 639,508[ 28] Chile 600,000[ 29] Peru 500,000[ 30] United Kingdom 481,382[ 28] Belgium 451,825[ 31] Costa Rica 381,316[ 32] Spain 350,981[ 33] Mexico 85,000[ 34] South Africa 77,400[ 5] Ecuador 56,000[ 35] Russia 53,649[ 36] Netherlands 52,789[ 28] Austria 38,904[ 28] San Marino 33,400[ 37] Luxembourg 30,933 Portugal 30,819[ 38] Ireland 22,160 Croatia 19,636[ 39] Sweden 19,087 Albania 19,000[ 40] Israel 16,255[ 28] Bolivia 15,000[ 28] Greece 12,452[ 28] United Arab Emirates 10,795 [ 28] Denmark 10,092[ 28] Poland 10,000[ 41] Thailand 10,000[ 42] Italian and other languages of Italy Predominantly Roman Catholicism [ 43] Minority Irreligion [ 44] Corsicans , Sammarinese
Italians (Italian : italiani , pronounced [itaˈljaːni] ) are an ethnic group native to the Italian geographical region .[ 45] Italians share a common culture , history , ancestry and language . Their predecessors differ regionally, but generally include native populations such as the Etruscans , the Rhaetians , the Ligurians , the Adriatic Veneti , and the Italic peoples , including the Latins , from which the Romans emerged and helped create and evolve the modern Italian identity.[ 46] [ 47] [ 48] [ 49] Foreign influences include the ancient Greeks in Magna Graecia , and the Phoenicians , who had a presence in Sicily and Sardinia , the Celts , who settled in parts of the north, the Germanics and the Slavs. Legally, Italian nationals are citizens of Italy , regardless of ancestry or nation of residence (in effect, however, Italian nationality is largely based on jus sanguinis ) and may be distinguished from ethnic Italians in general or from people of Italian descent without Italian citizenship and ethnic Italians living in territories adjacent to the Italian peninsula without Italian citizenship.[ 50] [ 51] The Latin equivalent of the term Italian had been in use for natives of the geographical region since antiquity.[ 52]
The majority of Italian nationals are native speakers of the country's official language, Italian, a Romance language of the Indo-European language family that evolved from the Vulgar Latin , or a variety thereof, that is regional Italian . However, some of them also speak a regional or minority language native to Italy, the existence of which predates the national language.[ 53] [ 54] Although there is disagreement on the total number, according to UNESCO , there are approximately 30 languages native to Italy , although many are often misleadingly referred to as "Italian dialects ".[ 55] [ 48] [ 56] [ 57]
Since 2017, in addition to the approximately 55 million Italians in Italy (91% of the Italian national population),[ 1] [ 58] Italian-speaking autonomous groups are found in neighboring nations; about a half million are in Switzerland ,[ 59] as well as in France ,[ 60] the entire population of San Marino . In addition, there are also clusters of Italian speakers in the former Yugoslavia , primarily in Istria , located between in modern Croatia and Slovenia (see: Istrian Italians ), and Dalmatia , located in present-day Croatia and Montenegro (see: Dalmatian Italians ). Due to the wide-ranging diaspora following Italian unification in 1861, World War I and World War II , (with over 5 million Italian citizens that live outside of Italy)[ 61] over 80 million people abroad claim full or partial Italian ancestry.[ 62] This includes about 60% of Argentina 's population (Italian Argentines ),[ 63] [ 64] 1/3 of Uruguayans (Italian Uruguayans ), 15% of Brazilians (Italian Brazilians , the largest Italian community outside Italy),[ 65] more than 18 million Italian Americans , and people in other parts of Europe (e.g. Italians in Germany , Italians in France and Italians in the United Kingdom ), the American Continent (such as Italian Venezuelans , Italian Canadians , Italian Colombians and Italians in Paraguay , among others), Australasia (Italian Australians and Italian New Zealanders ), and to a lesser extent in the Middle East (Italians in the United Arab Emirates ).
Italians have influenced and contributed to fields like arts and music , science , technology , fashion , cinema , cuisine , restaurants , sports , jurisprudence , banking and business .[ 66] [ 67] [ 68] [ 69] [ 70] Furthermore, Italian people are generally known for their attachment to their locale, expressed in the form of either regionalism or municipalism .[ 71]
^ a b c "Indicatori demografici Istat (Italian)" (PDF) . Archived (PDF) from the original on 15 November 2018. Retrieved 14 November 2018 .
^ "Sono circa 80 milioni gli oriundi italiani nel mondo" (in Italian). 4 February 2020. Retrieved 10 November 2021 .
^ "República Italiana" . itamaraty.gov.br . Archived from the original on 25 October 2019. Retrieved 25 December 2019 .
^ "Rapporto italiani nel mondo" (PDF) . Progetto culturale (in Italian).
^ a b c d "Italiani nel Mondo: diaspora italiana in cifre" [Italians in the World: Italian diaspora in figures] (PDF) (in Italian). Migranti Torino. 30 April 2004. Archived from the original (PDF) on 27 February 2008. Retrieved 22 September 2012 .
^ "Rapporto italiani nel mondo" (PDF) . Progetto culturale (in Italian).
^ Departamento de Derecho y Ciencias Políticas de la Universidad Nacional de La Matanza (14 November 2011). "Historias de inmigrantes italianos en Argentina" . infouniversidades.siu.edu.ar (in Spanish). 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.
^ "Total ancestry categories tallied for people with one or more ancestry categories reported 2010 American Community Survey 1-Year Estimates" . United States Census Bureau . Archived from the original on 18 January 2015. Retrieved 30 November 2012 .
^ "The United States-Italy Relationship and Transatlantic Unity" . U.S. Department of State. 27 June 2021. Retrieved 29 July 2022 .
^ "Who We Are - The National Italian American Foundation" . Retrieved 4 December 2022 .
^ Gambino, Richard (30 April 1972). "Twenty Million Italian-Americans" . The New York Times . Retrieved 3 January 2023 .
^ Documento "Italiens" del CIRCE dell'Università Sorbona - Parigi 3
^ "Rapporto Italiano Nel Mondo 2019 : Diaspora italiana in cifre" (PDF) . Retrieved 1 January 2019 .
^ "Italiani Nel Mondo : Diaspora italiana in cifre" (PDF) . Archived from the original (PDF) on 27 February 2008. Retrieved 27 September 2015 .
^ Cohen, Robin (1995). Cambridge Survey . Cambridge University Press. p. 143 . ISBN 978-0-521-44405-7 . Retrieved 11 May 2009 . 5 million italians in france.
^ "Italianos celebran en Venezuela los 150 años de la Unificación" . El Universal. 17 March 2011. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 10 July 2015 .
^ Notargiovanni, Caterina (2017). "Por qué tantos en Venezuela están eligiendo Italia para huir de la crisis" (in Spanish). BBC. Retrieved 31 March 2021 . "Estimamos que hay 2 millones de descendientes de italianos en Venezuela", le explica a BBC Mundo el primer secretario Lorenzo Solinas, encargado de prensa de la Embajada de Italia en Caracas.
^ "Italianos celebran en Venezuela los 150 años de la Unificación" . El Universal . Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 10 July 2015 .
^ "Embajador de Italia en Caracas asegura que el sistema electoral venezolano es confiable" . Correo del Orinoco . Retrieved 10 July 2015 .
^ Notargiovanni, Caterina (2017). "Por qué tantos en Venezuela están eligiendo Italia para huir de la crisis" (in Spanish). BBC. Retrieved 31 March 2021 . "Estimamos que hay 2 millones de descendientes de italianos en Venezuela", le explica a BBC Mundo el primer secretario Lorenzo Solinas, encargado de prensa de la Embajada de Italia en Caracas.
^ Scalzotto, Davide. "Noi veneti del Venezuela, siamo i nuovi profughi fantasma" . Il Gazzettino (in Italian). Retrieved 10 May 2021 . I veneti in Venezuela sono invece 5 milioni: un quinto della popolazione.
^ "CIUDADANÍA ITALIANA EN PARAGUAY" . Archived from the original on 6 December 2024. Retrieved 27 September 2024 .
^ "Ya se puede sacar la nacionalidad italiana" . ABC Color . Retrieved 29 May 2020 .
^ "Convenzioni Inps estere, Fedi sollecita Nuova Zelanda ma anche Cile e Filippine" . 9 February 2018. Archived from the original on 9 February 2018. Retrieved 31 March 2021 .
^ Government of Canada, Statistics Canada (26 October 2022). "Ethnic or cultural origin by generation status: Canada, provinces and territories, census metropolitan areas and census agglomerations with parts" . www12.statcan.gc.ca . Retrieved 26 October 2022 .
^ Community profiles 2021
^ "ABS Ancestry" . 2012. Archived from the original on 1 July 2016. Retrieved 12 October 2014 .
^ a b c d e f g h i j "PARTE QUINTA ALLEGATI SOCIO-STATISTICI" (PDF) .
^ Parvex R. (2014). Le Chili et les mouvements migratoires , Hommes & migrations, Nº 1305, 2014. doi: 10.4000/hommesmigrations.2720 .
^ Perú, Redacción El Comercio (27 September 2017). "Embajador de Italia: "Acá hay muchas oportunidades para nuestras empresas" " . El Comercio . Archived from the original on 22 December 2019. Retrieved 22 December 2019 .
^ "Vreemde afkomst 01/01/2012" . Npdata.be . Archived from the original on 8 September 2012. Retrieved 29 March 2015 .
^ Ramírez, Kevin (11 June 2012). "Costa Rica e Italia: países unidos por la historia y la cultura" . Distance State University (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 8 January 2017. Retrieved 12 August 2022 .
^ "Italianos en España" (PDF) .
^ "Episodio 10: Italianos" . Canal Once . Archived from the original on 5 March 2016. Retrieved 6 July 2015 .
^ "Le comunità italiane in Cile ed Ecuador — Lombardi nel Mondo" . portale.lombardinelmondo.org . Archived from the original on 16 April 2014.
^ "ФМС России" . Fms.gov.ru . Archived from the original on 30 April 2016. Retrieved 12 December 2017 .
^ "San Marino country profile" . BBC News . 18 May 2018. Archived from the original on 14 June 2018. Retrieved 18 May 2018 .
^ Relatório de Imigração, Fronteiras e Asilo (PDF) , Serviço de Estrangeiros e Fronteiras
^ "SAS Output" . www.dzs.hr . Archived from the original on 15 May 2019. Retrieved 23 August 2019 .
^ "Italians looking for work in Albania – 19,000, says minister" . ANSAmed . 15 May 2014. Archived from the original on 12 June 2014. Retrieved 14 June 2014 .
^ redazione. "Z miesiąca na miesiąc rośnie liczba Włochów w Polsce" . Nasz Swiat (in Polish). Retrieved 16 February 2022 .
^ "House of Italy" . The Cloud . 8 February 2021. Retrieved 2 May 2021 .
^ "L'Italia e le religioni nel 2016" . Italofilia.Pl . 12 November 2016. Archived from the original on 22 July 2019. Retrieved 12 November 2016 .
^ "Religion in Italy: History and Statistics" .
^ Minahan, James (2000). One Europe, Many Nations: A Historical Dictionary of European National Groups . Greenwood Publishing Group . p. 156. ISBN 0313309841 . Archived from the original on 21 March 2015. Retrieved 10 July 2018 . The Italians are a Latin people, also known as Mediterranean people
^ Miti e simboli della rivoluzione nazionale Archived 10 August 2018 at the Wayback Machine . Treccani.it
^ Ethnic and Cultural Diversity by Country, James D. Fearon Archived 13 November 2018 at the Wayback Machine . Department of Political Science, Stanford University
^ a b : The usage of Italian language, dialects and other languages in Italy Archived 10 December 2018 at the Wayback Machine . Istat.it
^ Giuliano Procacci (ed.) (2009) Storia degli Italiani (In Italian: History of the Italian People). Rome, Italy: Editori Laterza.
^ "Criteria underlying legislation concerning citizenship" . Italian Ministry of Interior . Archived from the original on 22 June 2012. Retrieved 22 September 2012 .
^ Ruggiero Romano, Corrado Vivanti, (1972). 'I caratteri originali'. In: Giulio Einaudi Editore (ed), Storia d'Italia Einaudi. 1st ed. Torino: Einaudi. pp.958–959.
^ Pliny the Elder , Letters 9.23.
^ "Italy, Languages – Encyclopædia Britannica" . britannica.com . Archived from the original on 12 July 2018. Retrieved 7 November 2018 .
^ "What languages are spoken in Italy?" . worldatlas.com . Archived from the original on 15 January 2019. Retrieved 7 November 2018 .
^ "The usage of Italian language, dialects and other languages in Italy" . istat.it . 30 October 2016. Archived from the original on 4 January 2018. Retrieved 3 January 2018 .
^ Maiden, Dr. Martin; Parry, Mair (7 March 2006). The Dialects of Italy . Routledge. p. 2. ISBN 9781134834365 . Archived from the original on 9 January 2020. Retrieved 7 February 2017 .
^ "UNESCO Atlas of the World's Languages in danger" . unesco.org . Archived from the original on 18 December 2016. Retrieved 7 November 2018 .
^ "Foreign citizens 2017" . ISTAT . Archived from the original on 6 August 2017. Retrieved 15 June 2018 .
^ "Italian — University of Leicester" . .le.ac.uk. Archived from the original on 2 May 2014. Retrieved 22 October 2015 .
^ Cohen, Robin (1995). The Cambridge survey of world migration . Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. pp. 142 –144. ISBN 0-521-44405-5 .
^ "Italiani nel Mondo" . esteri.it. Archived from the original on 22 March 2020. Retrieved 11 March 2020 .
^ "Rapporto Italiani nel Mondo 2010" (PDF) . Progettoculturale.it . Archived (PDF) from the original on 25 May 2017. Retrieved 12 December 2017 .
^ Bridger, Gordon A. (2013). Britain and the Making of Argentina . WIT Press. p. 101. ISBN 9781845646844 . Some 86% identify themselves as being of European descent, of whom 60% would claim Italian links
^ Marcello De Cecco. "La Argentina y los Europeos sin Europa" . Zingerling (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 26 June 2017. Retrieved 24 November 2020 .
^ "Brazil – the Country and its People" (PDF) . www.brazil.org.uk. Archived from the original (PDF) on 21 October 2014. Retrieved 20 December 2014 .
^ Barone, Michael (2 September 2010). "The essence of Italian culture and the challenge of the global age" . Council for Research in Values and philosophy. Archived from the original on 22 September 2012. Retrieved 22 September 2012 .
^ Macesich, George (2000). Issues in Money and Banking . United States: Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 42. ISBN 0-275-96777-8 . Archived from the original on 15 September 2015. Retrieved 29 October 2015 .
^ Related Articles (2 January 2009). "Italian cuisine" . Britannica Online Encyclopedia . Britannica.com. Archived from the original on 16 July 2010. Retrieved 24 April 2010 .
^ Cocco, Sean (29 November 2012). Watching Vesuvius: A History of Science and Culture in Early Modern Italy . University of Chicago Press. ISBN 9780226923710 . Archived from the original on 23 August 2019. Retrieved 16 September 2019 .
^ Peter Bondanella (2009). A History of Italian Cinema . A&C Black. ISBN 9781441160690 . Archived from the original on 1 April 2019. Retrieved 16 September 2019 .
^ Keating, Michael (2004). Regions and regionalism in Europe . Cheltenham: Edward Elgar Publishing. p. 378. ISBN 1-84376-127-0 . Archived from the original on 24 April 2016. Retrieved 12 December 2015 .