How Many People Live in Italy?

Italy has a population of approximately 58.9 million people, and it is declining. Italy has one of the lowest fertility rates on Earth (1.24 in 2023, recently hit a record low of 1.20) and one of the oldest populations. Without immigration, Italy would be losing about 300,000 people per year. Even with immigration, the population has been shrinking since 2015.

Italy's demographic crisis has been called a "demographic winter" by Pope Francis (himself Argentine-Italian). The country recorded only 379,000 births in 2023, the fewest since unification in 1861. Meanwhile, deaths exceeded 660,000. For every baby born in Italy, nearly two people die. The south (Calabria, Sicily, Sardinia) is emptying out as young people move to Milan, Rome, or abroad. Entire hill towns have been abandoned, and some have started selling houses for €1 to attract new residents.

Italy has also become a major destination for immigrants, though the politics around it are explosive. About 5.2 million foreign residents live in Italy (8.6%), mainly from Romania, Albania, Morocco, China, and Ukraine. Immigration is the only reason Italy's population decline is not catastrophic, but anti-immigration sentiment has driven recent elections and policy shifts.

📊 Key Demographics

🏙️ What Are Italys Largest Cities?

The €1 house problem

Dozens of Italian towns now sell abandoned houses for €1. Sambuca in Sicily, Mussomeli, Zungoli, Presicce: the names are beautiful and the properties are cheap because nobody wants to live there. The young have left for cities or abroad, the old are dying, and the infrastructure (schools, hospitals, shops) closes when the population drops below a critical mass. Italy loses about 100 small towns per decade to depopulation. The €1 house programs generate headlines but rarely reverse the trend: most buyers are foreigners seeking vacation homes, not full-time residents.

🍝 Italy Has More UNESCO World Heritage Sites Than Any Country

Italy holds 59 UNESCO World Heritage Sites, the most of any country. The list includes the Colosseum, Pompeii, the canals of Venice, the historic centers of Florence and Rome, and dozens of lesser-known gems. This density of cultural heritage is partly why Italy receives 60+ million tourists per year and why preservation costs consume a significant portion of government budgets. Venice alone spends hundreds of millions on flood barriers to keep rising seas from destroying irreplacable architecture.