The Italians of Italy

The Italians of Italy, numbering approximately 53,220,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are a Southern European people whose culture has been shaped by the legacy of the Roman world, centuries of regional development, Mediterranean interactions, Christianity, urban life, and strong family networks. They mostly adhere to Roman Catholicism and Italian is their primary language.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Eurasian Peoples
Country: Italy
People Cluster: Italian
Primary Language(s): Italian (ita)
Primary Religion(s): Roman Catholicism
Population: 53,220,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG000331
View on Joshua Project

Pray for the Italians 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

81%
%
Roman Catholicism Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Italian
Language Family: Indo-European

100%
%
Italian Speakers

Media Resources in Italian:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film
MagdalenaView Film

2 films

Bible Resources in Italian:

2 entries

Or check out the Italian bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Italians are Engaged yet Unreached, which means there are less than 2% evangelical Christian populations but there are sustained efforts at establishing self-sustaining churches consistent with evangelical faith and practice.

Next steps for the Italians:
Continue prayer and fasting for this group
Continue gospel seed sowing and church planting among this group
Begin training up local leaders to lead and develop strategies to reach their own people

Pray specifically for the Italians of Italy

In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.
read1 John 4:10

Pray for those without the hope of Christ to understand the depth of God's love and the sacrifice He made for them.

Let the nations be glad and sing for joy, for you judge the peoples with equity and guide the nations upon earth.
readPsalm 67:4

Pray that God will use ways from in-person witnesses to digital gospel resources to bring the joy of His salvation to everyone so that they can be glad in Him and sing for joy.

And many nations shall join themselves to the LORD in that day, and shall be my people. And I will dwell in your midst, and you shall know that the LORD of hosts has sent me to you.
readZechariah 2:11

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will have a heart that longs to see all people from all parts of the world worshiping Jesus as He deserves.

For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.
readHebrews 4:12

Pray that God will make His living and active Word available to everyone in this people group so that many will respond to the gospel. Ask Him to provide Jesus-followers to walk with new believers as they grow in Him.

Italian Across Countries (ROP3 - 104096) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

21 people groups

PhotoPeople Group IDNameCountryPopulation ▼Strategic Progress IndexLanguageReligion
ItaliansItaliansItaly53,220,000Engaged yet UnreachedItalianRoman Catholicism
ItaliansItaliansArgentina2,185,000Engaged yet UnreachedItalianRoman Catholicism
ItaliansItaliansFrance1,235,000No Longer UnreachedItalianRoman Catholicism
ItaliansItaliansCanada865,000No Longer UnreachedItalianRoman Catholicism
ItaliansItaliansGermany709,000Engaged yet UnreachedItalianRoman Catholicism
ItaliansItaliansUnited States551,000Engaged yet UnreachedItalianRoman Catholicism
ItaliansItaliansSwitzerland336,000Engaged yet UnreachedItalianUnaffiliated
ItaliansItaliansBelgium289,000Engaged yet UnreachedItalianRoman Catholicism
ItaliansItaliansUnited Kingdom243,000Engaged yet UnreachedItalianRoman Catholicism
ItaliansItaliansSpain229,000Engaged yet UnreachedItalianRoman Catholicism
ItaliansItaliansVenezuela122,000Engaged yet UnreachedItalianRoman Catholicism
ItaliansItaliansBrazil50,000Engaged yet UnreachedItalianRoman Catholicism
ItaliansItaliansSan Marino31,000Unengaged and UnreachedItalianRoman Catholicism
ItaliansItaliansAustria26,000Unengaged and UnreachedItalianRoman Catholicism
ItaliansItaliansLuxembourg23,500Engaged yet UnreachedItalianRoman Catholicism
ItaliansItaliansMalta11,000Unengaged and UnreachedItalianRoman Catholicism
ItaliansItaliansNew Caledonia8,800Unengaged and UnreachedItalianRoman Catholicism
ItaliansItaliansMonaco4,300Unengaged and UnreachedItalianRoman Catholicism
ItaliansItaliansSlovenia2,300Engaged yet UnreachedItalianRoman Catholicism
ItaliansItaliansLiechtenstein1,300Unengaged and UnreachedItalianRoman Catholicism
ItaliansItaliansVatican City475No Longer UnreachedItalianRoman 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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