Catholicism is very much part of the warp and weft of Italian life, as an inevitable social, cultural and political force that Italians take for granted. The deep and old cultural ties are made visible by the presence of more than 100,000 Catholic churches in the country. Catholicism still has a near religious monopoly in Italy. There is a small but ancient Jewish community in the heart of Rome and elsewhere, a growing Muslim immigrant population, and sizeable numbers of agnostics and atheists to challenge that religious monopoly, but the monopoly is still very real. Protestantism, and the spirit of the Protestant Reformation, never took root in Italy. Read more...
National Demographics
Religious Affiliation
Chart source: Pew-Templeton Global Religious Futures Project, 2010
Total Population
59,290,969 1
Urban
70.4% 1
Rural
29.6% 1
Immigrants as % of Population
10.6% 2
Homicides
0.51 per 100,000 people (global median: 5.8) 3
Level of Public Corruption
56 (100 is very clean, 0 is highly corrupt) 4
Fertility Rate
1.30 live births per woman 5
Under-Five Mortality Rate
3.00 deaths per 1,000 live births 5
Life Expectancy at Birth
83 years 5
Adult Literacy Rate
99.07% 6
Male Youth Literacy Rate (15-24 years)
100% 5
Female Youth Literacy Rate (15-24 years)
100% 5
Internet Users
85% 6
GDP per Capita
US$33,226 5
Population Living Below US$2.15 per Day
0.8% 7
Gender Gap Ranking based on economy, health, education, and politics
79 (146 is the lowest ranked country; 1 is the highest ranked country) 8
Religious Freedom: Government Restrictions Index (GRI)
2.9 - Moderate
Religious Freedom: Social Hostilities Index (SHI)
3.1 - Moderate
- 1 United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division, World Urbanization Prospects: The 2018 Revision, Online Edition (New York: United Nations, 2018).
- 2 United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division, International Migrant Stock 2020 (New York: United Nations, 2020).
- 3 Data as of 2021. United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, "Intentional Homicide," United Nations, Accessed April 9, 2024; United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, Global Study on Homicide 2023 (Vienna: United Nations, 2023).
- 4 "2023 Corruption Perceptions Index," Transparency International, Accessed April 9, 2024.
- 5 United Nations Children's Fund, The State of the World's Children 2023 (Florence: UNICEF Innocenti – Global Office of Research and Foresight, 2023).
- 6 International Telecommunication Union, "Individuals using the Internet (% of population)," The World Bank, Accessed April 24, 2024.
- 7 Poverty and Inequality Platform, "Poverty headcount ratio at $2.15 a day (2017 PPP) (% of population)," The World Bank, Accessed April 24, 2024.
- 8 World Economic Forum, Global Gender Gap Report 2023 (Geneva: World Economic Forum, 2023).
- 9 As Pew describes it, "Government restrictions on religion include laws, policies and actions that regulate and limit religious beliefs and practices. They also include policies that single out certain religious groups or ban certain practices; the granting of benefits to some religious groups but not others; and bureaucratic rules that require religious groups to register to receive benefits." As noted on pp. 45-47 of the report, the index summarizes data from 19 sources. The index does not differentiate whether the laws are directed toward Catholics. Pew Research Center, Globally, Government Restrictions on Religion Reached Peak Levels in 2021, While Social Hostilities Went Down (Pew Research Center, 2024).
- 10 As Pew describes it, "Social hostilities include actions by private individuals or groups that target religious groups; they also include actions by groups or individuals who use religion to restrict others. The SHI captures events such as religion-related harassment, mob violence, terrorism/militant activity, and hostilities over religious conversions or the wearing of religious symbols and clothing." As noted on pp. 45-47 of the report, the index summarizes data from 19 sources. The index does not differentiate whether the hostilities are directed toward Catholics. Pew Research Center, Globally, Government Restrictions on Religion Reached Peak Levels in 2021, While Social Hostilities Went Down (Pew Research Center, 2024).
Catholic Demographics
These statistics are derived from the Vatican's official publication, Statistical Yearbook of the Church 2020 (Vatican City: Librera Editrice Vaticana, 2022). The numbers may differ from data reported by other sources on this site.
Baptized Catholics
57,954,000
Baptized Catholics as % of Total Population
97.17
Baptisms per Year (Under age 7)
279,174
Baptisms per Year (Over age 7)
3,724
First Communions per Year
361,834
Confirmations per Year
343,247
Students Enrolled in Catholic Primary Schools
123,331
Students Enrolled in Catholic Secondary Schools
127,952
Students Enrolled in Catholic Higher Education
331,693
Church Marriages per Year
80,993
Church Marriages in Which Both Spouses are Catholics
79,232
Priests
41,895
Women Religious (Nuns & Sisters)
70,020
Catholics per Priest
1,383
Parishes
25,581
Catholic Hospitals
89
Homes for Aged, Handicapped, Invalids
1,323
