This article details the geographical distribution of speakers of the Italian language, regardless of the legislative status within the countries where it is spoken. In addition to the Italian-speaking area in Europe, Italian-speaking minorities are present in few countries. More than 67 million people in the world speak Italian as their first language and more than 80 million have it as either their first or second language.
Statistics
Native speakers by country The following table presents estimates of the number of people worldwide who speak Italian as their first language (mother tongue). The data are derived from a variety of sources, including national censuses, official surveys conducted by statistical agencies, and independent studies or estimates. Where sources do not account for the entire population (for example, by excluding children or focusing on specific age groups) estimates are projected to the total population. Since definitions vary across sources, the table includes the specific criteria used in each case (for example mother tongue or language spoken at home) for a better interpretation of the figures.
CountryAbsolute%SourceDefinitionNotes5230.02%2011 censusMother tongue1,500,0003.7%EstimateMother tongue290,3281.24%2016 censusLanguage spoken at homeThe reported population size was obtained by projecting the responded percentage to the total population, since the source either included the part of the population who didn't answer or didn't take into account some parts of the population, for example children.10,7420.13%2001 censusColloquial language190,8161.72%2012 surveyMother tonguePopulation data by Eurostat, using the source year. 4,050,0002.07%EstimateMother tongueIn Brazil, the Italian language is co-official in the municipalities of Encantado (Rio Grande do Sul),Lei n. 5.048/2023 - Do Município de Encantado / RS, Dispõe sobre a cooficialização da Língua Italiana e o Dialeto Talian, à língua portuguesa, no Município de Encantado. Repositório Brasileiro de Legislações Linguísticas José Boiteux (Santa Catarina),Lei n. 1.299/2025 - Do Município de José Boiteux / SC, Dispõe sobre a cooficialização das Línguas Xokleng, Italiana e Alemã no Município de José Boiteux e dá outras providências. Repositório Brasileiro de Legislações Linguísticas (RBLL) Santa Tereza (Espírito Santo),Lei n. 2.812/2021 - Do Município de Santa Teresa / ES, Dispõe sobre a co-oficialização da Língua Italiana no Município de Santa Teresa, Estado do Espírito Santo. Repositório Brasileiro de Legislações Linguísticas Santo Ângelo (Rio Grande do Sul),Lei n. 4.797/2025 - Do Município de Santo Ângelo / RS, Institui a cooficialização das Línguas Polonesa, Italiana e Alemã no Município de Santo Ângelo/RS. Repositório Brasileiro de Legislações Linguísticas (RBLL) São Bento do Sul (Santa Catarina)Lei n. 5.181/2025 - Do Município de São Bento do Sul / SC, Dispõe sobre a cooficialização das Línguas Alemã, Polonesa e Italiana no Município de São Bento do Sul e dá outras providências. Repositório Brasileiro de Legislações Linguísticas (RBLL) and Venda Nova do Imigrante (Espírito Santo).LEI Nº 1.676/2024, DISPÕE SOBRE A COOFICIALIZAÇÃO DA LÍNGUA ITALIANA E O DIALETO TALIAN, À LÍNGUA PORTUGUESA, NO MUNICÍPIO DE VENDA NOVA DO IMIGRANTE/ES. Prefeitura Municipal de Venda Nova do ImigranteVereadores aprovam projeto de lei que oficializa italiano e talian em Venda Nova do Imigrante, Câmara Municipal de Venda Nova do Imigrante375,6351.08%2016 censusMother tongue122,9010.30%2005 censusLanguage spokenThe reported population size was obtained by projecting the respondent percentage to the total population, since the source either included the part of the population who didn't answer or didn't take into account some parts of the population, for example children.18,5730.43%2011 censusMother tongue ()162,8430.29%2021 censusMain languagePopulation 3 years and older3,6590.07%2023 censusMother tongue655,9611.03%2007 surveyMother tongue632,9030.76%2010 surveyMother tongue18,7250.37%2022 censusLanguage spoken at home57,490,84196.8%2012 surveyMother tongue22,5300.40%2004 estimate5701.51%2015 censusMain language20,0213.55%2021 censusMain language13,3972.69%2021 censusMother tongue8,17221.9%2016 censusCitizenship8,2140.22%2018 censusLanguage spoken ()9390.05%2021 censusMain languagePopulation 3 years and older38,3880.10%2021 censusLanguage spoken at home9,4110.09%2012 surveyMother tongue4,1050.02%2021 censusMother tongue1,0130.001%2010 censusMother tongue25,00085.5%2004 estimate()9,1810.17%2022 censusMain LanguagePopulation 3 years and older1,4650.03%2021 censusMother tongue5,9720.31%2002 censusLanguage spoken at home5,7680.01%1996 censusMother tongue 191,294 0.41% 2021 official survey Mother tonguePopulation 2 years and older676,1157.72%2023 official surveyMain language32,0210.3%2011 survey21,0771.1%2019 official surveyLanguage spoken557,7090.17%2023 official surveyLanguage spoken at homePopulation 5 years and older ()2,4370.08%2021 censusMain languagePopulation 3 years and olderTotal67,179,249
Subnational territories In the following territories, Italian is an official language. Apart from Ticino, Italian is official alongside at least another language, such as German, Slovene, Croatian, Ladin and Romansh. Territory Country L1 speakers % Source DefinitionIstria County 14,205 6.8% 2011 censusMother tongueSouth Tyrol 141,300Based on a 2014 population of 515,714 (Statistiche demografiche ISTAT ) 27.4% 2014 official surveyMother tonguePiran/Pirano 1,871 11.2% 2002 censusLanguage spoken at homeIzola/Isola 1,118 7.7% 2002 censusLanguage spoken at homeKoper/Capodistria 2,015 4.2% 2002 censusLanguage spoken at homeTotal Slovene Istria5,0046.3%2002 censusLanguage spoken at homeGrigioni24,70612.3%2023 official surveyMain languageTicino 309,062 88.0% 2023 official surveyMain language
Unspecified CountryAbsolute%Source132,7580.42%94,4422.74%56,8340.32%39,5190.23%33,7160.06%32,3620.10%27,1780.31%16,2000.2%6,9000.01%
Total speakers by country
CountrySpeakers (L1+L2)SourceNotesNumber%799,41427.8%2016 official surveyPercentage refers to people who specify Italian as the 'foreign language known better'.Based on a 2016 population of 2,875,592 (Albanian Institute of Statistics)1,359,7913.48%2006 survey574,7251.67%2016 census122,9010.30%2005 census70,439,77315.7%2023 surveyEU countries with the highest percentages: Italy (95.0%), Malta (51.9%), Slovenia (12.9%), Luxembourg (10.2%), Austria (8.0%), Croatia (7.9%), Belgium (6.7%), France (5.3%).30,5534.58%2023 censusPopulation 15 years and older83,2020.06%2010 census1,277,41115.5%2014 official survey178,7949.6%2019 official survey1,335,7392.1%2012 survey3,820,4421.21%2013 survey600,0002.58%2010 estimateTotal80,622,745
Europe
Italian is an official language of Italy, San Marino and Switzerland. Italian is also used in administration and official documents in Vatican City.The Vatican City State appendix to the Acta Apostolicae Sedis is entirely in Italian.
In central-east Europe Italian is first in Montenegro, second in Austria, Croatia, Slovenia, and Ukraine after English, and third in Hungary, Romania and Russia after English and German. But throughout the world, Italian is the fifth most taught foreign language, after English, French, German, and Spanish.
In the European Union statistics, Italian is spoken as a native language by 13% of the EU population, or 65 million people, , February 2006 mainly in Italy. In the EU, it is spoken as a second language by 3% of the EU population, or 14 million people. Among EU states, the percentage of people able to speak Italian well enough to have a conversation is 66% in Malta, 15% in Slovenia, 14% in Croatia, 8% in Austria, 5% in France and Luxembourg, and 4% in the former West Germany, Greece, Cyprus, and Romania.
Albania In Albania, Italian is one of the most spoken languages. This is due to the strong historical ties between Italy and Albania but also the Albanian communities in Italy, and the 19,000 Italians living in Albania. It is reported that as much as 70% of the Albanian adult population has some knowledge of Italian. Furthermore, the Albanian government has pushed to make Italian a compulsory second language in schools. Today, Italian is the third most spoken language in the country after Albanian and Greek.
The Italian language is well known and studied in Albania, another non-EU member, due to its historical ties and geographical proximity to Italy and to the broadcasting of Italian television in the country.
Croatia, Slovenia and Montenegro Italian formerly had official status in Montenegro (because of the Venetian Albania), and in parts of Slovenia and Croatia (because of the Venetian Istria and Venetian Dalmatia). Italian language in Slovenia is an officially recognized minority language in the country. The official census, carried out in 2002, reported 2,258 ethnic Italians (Istrian Italians) in Slovenia (0.11% of the total population). Italian language in Croatia is an official minority language in the country, with many schools and public announcements published in both languages. The 2001 census in Croatia reported 19,636 ethnic Italians (Istrian Italians and Dalmatian Italians) in the country (some 0.42% of the total population). Their numbers dropped dramatically after World War II following the Istrian–Dalmatian exodus, which caused the emigration of between 230,000 and 350,000 Istrian Italians and Dalmatian Italians. Italian was the official language of the Republic of Ragusa from 1492 to 1807.
France and Monaco Italian is also spoken by a minority in Monaco and France, especially in the southeastern part of the country. Italian was the official language in Savoy and in Nice until 1860, when they were both annexed by France under the Treaty of Turin, a development that triggered the "Niçard exodus", or the emigration of a quarter of the Niçard Italians to Italy, and the Niçard Vespers. Giuseppe Garibaldi complained about the referendum that allowed France to annex Savoy and Nice, and a group of his followers (among the Italian Savoyards) took refuge in Italy in the following years. Corsica passed from the Republic of Genoa to France in 1769 after the Treaty of Versailles. Italian was the official language of Corsica until 1859.Abalain, Hervé, (2007) Le français et les langues historiques de la France, Éditions Jean-Paul Gisserot, p.113 Giuseppe Garibaldi called for the inclusion of the "Corsican Italians" within Italy when Rome was annexed to the Kingdom of Italy, but King Victor Emmanuel II did not agree to it. Today it is estimated that only 10% of Corsica's population speak the language natively, with 50% having some sort of proficiency in it. Italian is generally understood in Corsica by the population resident therein who speak Corsican, which is an Italo-Romance idiom similar to Tuscan. Francization occurred in Nice and Corsica cases, and caused a near-disappearance of the Italian language as many of the Italian speakers in these areas migrated to Italy. Ligurian is recognized as a regional language in the French department of the Alpes-Maritimes, furthermore, there is an autochthonous Italian population dating from the Savoyard Kingdom of Sardinia, which controlled the area until 1860, the year the Treaty of Turin entered into force, regardless the more recent Italian immigrants of the twentieth century.Sumien (2009) = Sumien, Domergue. "Classificacion dei dialèctes occitans" , Lingüistica Occitana 7, Septembre de 2009, p. 1-44. ISSN Italian was the official language in Monaco until 1860, when it was replaced by the French. This was due to the annexation of the surrounding County of Nice to France following the Treaty of Turin (1860).
Greece Italian formerly had official status in parts of Greece (because of the Venetian rule in the Ionian Islands and by the Kingdom of Italy in the Dodecanese).
Malta