The Italians of United States

The Italians of United States, numbering approximately 551,000 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 Lite: Italian

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Eurasian Peoples
Country: United States
People Cluster: Italian
Primary Language(s): Italian (ita)
Primary Religion(s): Roman Catholicism
Population: 551,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG043282
View on Joshua Project

Pray for the Italians of United States

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 United States

But he said, "What is impossible with man is possible with God."
readLuke 18:27

Praise God that He is the God of impossible things and that He is able to save even those who seem beyond hope.

If I ascend to heaven, you are there. If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there!
readPsalm 139:8

Pray that the lost will recognize God's presence with them wherever they go, put their faith in Christ, and seek to live in a way that honors and glorifies Him.

The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures.
readPsalm 23:1

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will remember that the Lord is their shepherd, providing for their every need.

Is it not to share your bread with the hungry and bring the homeless poor into your house; when you see the naked, to cover him, and not to hide yourself from your own flesh?
readIsaiah 58:7

As believers cross cultures to share the good news of Christ, pray that God will sustain them and grow their faith as He gives them the compassion necessary to minister well to those in need.

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

Strategic Progress Index
All

21 people groups

PhotoPeople Group IDName ▲CountryPopulationStrategic Progress IndexLanguageReligion
ItaliansItaliansSlovenia2,300Engaged yet UnreachedItalianRoman Catholicism
ItaliansItaliansVatican City475No Longer UnreachedItalianRoman Catholicism
ItaliansItaliansVenezuela122,000Engaged yet UnreachedItalianRoman Catholicism
ItaliansItaliansSpain229,000Engaged yet UnreachedItalianRoman Catholicism
ItaliansItaliansArgentina2,185,000Engaged yet UnreachedItalianRoman Catholicism
ItaliansItaliansBrazil50,000Engaged yet UnreachedItalianRoman Catholicism
ItaliansItaliansCanada866,000No Longer UnreachedItalianRoman Catholicism
ItaliansItaliansUnited States551,000Engaged yet UnreachedItalianRoman Catholicism
ItaliansItaliansGermany710,000Engaged yet UnreachedItalianRoman Catholicism
ItaliansItaliansMonaco4,300Unengaged and UnreachedItalianRoman Catholicism
ItaliansItaliansNew Caledonia8,800Unengaged and UnreachedItalianRoman Catholicism
ItaliansItaliansAustria26,000Unengaged and UnreachedItalianRoman Catholicism
ItaliansItaliansUnited Kingdom243,000Engaged yet UnreachedItalianRoman Catholicism
ItaliansItaliansSwitzerland336,000Engaged yet UnreachedItalianUnaffiliated
ItaliansItaliansSan Marino31,000Unengaged and UnreachedItalianRoman Catholicism
ItaliansItaliansMalta11,000Unengaged and UnreachedItalianRoman Catholicism
ItaliansItaliansLuxembourg23,500Engaged yet UnreachedItalianRoman Catholicism
ItaliansItaliansLiechtenstein1,300Unengaged and UnreachedItalianRoman Catholicism
ItaliansItaliansItaly53,220,000Engaged yet UnreachedItalianRoman Catholicism
ItaliansItaliansFrance1,235,000No Longer UnreachedItalianRoman Catholicism
ItaliansItaliansBelgium289,000Engaged 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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