The Italians of Spain

The Italians of Spain, numbering approximately 229,000 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: Spain
People Cluster: Italian
Primary Language(s): Italian (ita)
Primary Religion(s): Roman Catholicism
Population: 229,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG049311
View on Joshua Project

Pray for the Italians of Spain

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

73%
%
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 Spain

"For it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God." Those who heard it said, "Then who can be saved?" But he said "What is impossible with man is possible with God."
readLuke 18:25-27

Pray that the lost who think they have everything they need will recognize their spiritual poverty apart from Jesus and turn to Him in faith.

Moses said, "Please show me your glory." And he said, "I will make all my goodness pass before you and will proclaim before you my name 'The LORD.' And I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show mercy on whom I will show mercy."
readExodus 33:18-19

Pray that many will come to know the glory of God, which is revealed in Jesus Christ, and that they will rejoice in the mercy He offers them.

But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself.
readPhilippians 3:20-21

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will remember their citizenship is in heaven.

Go on up to a high mountain, O Zion, herald of good news; lift up your voice with strength, O Jerusalem, herald of good news; lift it up, fear not; say to the cities of Judah, "Behold your God!"
readIsaiah 40:9

Pray for God to send and sustain believers to go and herald the good news to the lost here.

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

Strategic Progress Index
All

21 people groups

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