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

For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
readRomans 6:23

Pray that those who do know about God's free gift will hear and believe that the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord and that they will joyfully accept this gift.

Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; but his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night.
readPsalm 1:1-2

Pray that God will call out many sons and daughters from among them and give them a deep love for His Word.

Turn, O LORD, deliver my life; save me for the sake of your steadfast love.
readPsalm 6:4

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ and still struggle with the worries of this life, God will deliver them from worry for the sake of His steadfast love.

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the LORD forever.
readPsalm 23:6

Ask God to raise up believers who will share the hope that, for those who trust in Christ, goodness and love will follow them all the days of their lives, and they will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

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

Strategic Progress Index
All

21 people groups

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