The Austrians of Italy

The Austrians of Italy, numbering approximately 272,000 people, are Unengaged and Unreached. They are a German-speaking Central European ethnonational population whose identity is rooted in the historical territories of Austria and shaped by centuries of Habsburg rule. They mostly adhere to Roman Catholicism and Bavarian is their primary language.

Photo by Google. (2026). Image generated by Gemini 3.1 Flash: Austrian

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Eurasian Peoples
Country: Italy
People Cluster: Germanic
Primary Language(s): Bavarian (bar)
Primary Religion(s): Roman Catholicism
Population: 272,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Unengaged and Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG000314
View on Joshua Project

Pray for the Austrians of Italy

Join others around the world in praying for the lost to be saved, the gospel to advance, the global Church to grow, and for laborers to be sent out and sustained in the harvest.

Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Roman Catholicism
Religious Affiliation: Christianity

88%
%
Roman Catholicism Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Bavarian
Language Family: Indo-European

92%
%
Bavarian Speakers

Media Resources in Bavarian:

Films:

No film resources are listed for this language.

Bible Resources in Bavarian:

No Bible resources are listed for this language.

Or check out the Bavarian bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

Explore Lostness and Next Steps

Unengaged and Unreached

Strategic Priority Index (SPI): Unengaged and Unreached (SPI: 0), which means there are less than 2% evangelical Christian populations among which there are no known efforts focused on establishing self-sustaining churches consistent with evangelical faith and practice.
Lostness Priority Index (LPI): Frontier Unreached People Group, (LPI: 0), < 0.1% Evangelical.
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity (GSEC: 1), this people group is less than 2% evangelical, some evangelical resources are available, but there has been no active church planting among them within the past two years

Next steps for the Austrians:
Begin signifcant prayer and fasting for this group
Send cross-cultural teams to discover and research this people group
Begin gospel seed sowing and church planting among this group

Pray specifically for the Austrians of Italy

As it is written: “None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God".
readRomans 3:10-11

Pray that God will have mercy on those living in broken relationship with Him, and that He will bring many to surrender and repentance at the throne of grace.

I sought the LORD, and he answered me and delivered me from all my fears.
readPsalm 34:4

Pray for each who becomes a child of God to share the hope of eternity with family and friends.

Seek the LORD and his strength; seek his presence continually!
readPsalm 105:4

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ and may feel weak in their current circumstances, they will seek the Lord's presence and persevere in the Lord's strength.

The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world. He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him.
readJohn 1:9-10

Pray for those God might send to share the gospel here. Ask that they will grow closer to Jesus and be compelled to share His good news with people who don't know it.

Austrian, Bavarian Across Countries (ROP3 - 100626) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

4 people groups

PhotoPeople Group IDNameCountryPopulation ▼Strategic Progress IndexLanguageReligion
AustriansAustriansAustria7,255,000Engaged yet UnreachedGermanRoman Catholicism
AustriansAustriansItaly272,000Unengaged and UnreachedBavarianRoman Catholicism
AustriansAustriansUnited States40,000Engaged yet UnreachedGermanUnaffiliated
AustriansAustriansCanada23,000Unengaged and UnreachedBavarianRoman Catholicism

To download a comprehensive people group list in spreadsheet form, visit our Research Data page.

Peoplegroups.org relies on updates from the field and other organizations for much of our data, so if you have any updates, please contact us. We use various international naming standards. For a list of these standards and fields, visit our Data Standards section.

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