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Italians
Nation and ethnic group native to Italy / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Italians (Italian: italiani, Italian: [itaˈljaːni]) are an ethnic group native to the Italian geographical region.[47] Italians share a common core of culture, history, ancestry, and often the usage of Italian language or regional Italian languages.
Italian: Italiani | |
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Total population | |
c. 140 million
| |
Regions with significant populations | |
Italy 55,551,000[1] | |
Brazil | 25–34 million (incl. ancestry)[3][4][5] |
Argentina | 20–25 million (incl. ancestry)[6][7] |
United States | 16–23 million (incl. ancestry)[8][9][10][11] |
France | 5–6 million (incl. ancestry)[12][5][13][14] |
Paraguay | 2.5 million (incl. ancestry)[15] |
Colombia | 2 million (incl. ancestry)[16] |
Canada | 1.5 million (incl. ancestry)[17] |
Uruguay | 1.5 million (incl. ancestry)[18] |
Venezuela | 1–2 million (incl. ancestry)[19][20][21][22][23] |
Australia | 1.1 million (incl. ancestry)[24][25] |
Germany | 801,082[26] |
Switzerland | 639,508[26] |
Chile | 600,000[27] |
Peru | 500,000[28] |
Belgium | 451,825[29] |
Costa Rica | 381,316[30] |
Spain | 350,981[31] |
United Kingdom | 280,000[32] |
Mexico | 85,000[33] |
South Africa | 77,400[5] |
Ecuador | 56,000[34] |
Russia | 53,649[35] |
Netherlands | 52,789[26] |
Austria | 38,904[26] |
San Marino | 33,400[36] |
Luxembourg | 30,933 |
Portugal | 30,819[37] |
Ireland | 22,160 |
Croatia | 19,636[38] |
Sweden | 19,087 |
Albania | 19,000[39] |
United Arab Emirates | 17,000[40] |
Israel | 16,255[26] |
Greece | 12,452[26] |
Denmark | 10,092[26] |
Poland | 10,000[41] |
Thailand | 10,000[42] |
Languages | |
Italian and other languages of Italy | |
Religion | |
Predominantly Roman Catholicism[43] Minority Irreligion[44] | |
Related ethnic groups | |
Corsicans, Sammarinese, Sicilians, Sardinians, Maltese people[45][46] |
The concept of Italia and the equivalent of "Italian" (such as Italic or Italiote) have existed since ancient times. The ancient peoples of Italy included the Etruscans, the Ligures, the Adriatic Veneti, the Sicani and Siculi (in Sicily), the Rhaetians, the Iapygians, the Nuragic peoples (in Sardinia), the Greek colonisers in Magna Graecia, the Phoenician settlers in the islands, the Rhaetians, the Cisalpine Gauls, the Latins and, among them, the Romans, who were able to unify the territory of Italy and make it the centre of a vast Mediterranean empire and civilisation.[48][49][50][51] In medieval times, parts of the peninsula have been occupied by foreign populations who were integrated in Italian culture, such as the Ostrogoths, Lombards, Franks, Normans, and Arabs. In the Modern age, other European countries such as France, Spain, and Austria controlled parts of the peninsula. All these populations have left a strong regional influence on the culture, history, ancestry, and dialects of Italian language. Finally, emigration and immigration played a crucial role in developing local cultures, with both immigrant and returning emigrants introducing new costumes.
Today, Italian nationals are citizens of Italy, regardless of ancestry or nation of residence. However, Italian nationality (or citizenship) is largely based on jus sanguinis, according to which a person can claim Italian citizenship if they have ancestors with such citizenship. Still, Italian nationality is not necessarily synonymous with Italian ethnicity, as there are ethnic Italians without Italian citizenship or descendants of Italians in territories that were once part of an Italian state and now belong to another country (for instance in Nice, Istria, and Dalmatia); and ethnic Italians without citizenship who descend from emigrants of the Italian diaspora.[52][53] In fact, is estimated that there are more people with the right to claim Italian nationality (~80 millions) than Italian nationals (~55 millions). It is also important to note that Italian nationality can be acquired by meeting other conditions, hinging on studying or working in Italy and passing an exam of language and culture.
The majority of Italian nationals are native speakers of the country's official language, Italian, a Romance language of the Indo-European language family that evolved from the Tuscanian dialects, themselves evolved from Vulgar Latin as most Italian dialects and minority languages. However, many Italians also speak a regional or minority language native to Italy, the existence of which predates the national language.[54][55] It is important to note that Standard Italian was adopted in the whole peninsula only after the formation of the Kingdom of Italy in 1861, while regional dialects and minority languages have been the native tongue of most Italians, especially prior to the advent of mandatory education and mass media. For this reason and due to the history of political division and foreign presence in various areas of the peninsula, Italian culture and traditions differ across regions. Although there is disagreement on the total number, according to UNESCO, there are approximately 30 languages native to Italy, although many are often misleadingly referred to as "Italian dialects".[56][50][57][58] The dialects and minority languages, together with foreign influences, affect the regional use of Italian.
Since 2017, in addition to the approximately 55 million Italians in Italy (91% of the Italian national population),[1][59] Italian-speaking autonomous groups are found in neighboring nations; about a half million are in Switzerland,[60] as well as in France,[61] the entire population of San Marino. In addition, there are also clusters of Italian speakers in the former Yugoslavia, primarily in Istria, located between in modern Croatia and Slovenia (see: Istrian Italians), and Dalmatia, located in present-day Croatia and Montenegro (see: Dalmatian Italians). Due to the wide-ranging diaspora in the late 19th century and early 20th century, (with over 5 million Italian citizens that live outside of Italy)[62] over 80 million people abroad claim full or partial Italian ancestry.[63] This includes about 60% of Argentina's population (Italian Argentines),[64][65] 44% of Uruguayans (Italian Uruguayans),[18] 15% of Brazilians (Italian Brazilians, the largest Italian community outside Italy),[66] more than 18 million Italian Americans, and people in other parts of Europe (e.g. Italians in Germany, Italians in France and Italians in the United Kingdom), the American Continent (such as Italian Venezuelans, Italian Canadians, Italian Colombians and Italians in Paraguay, among others), Australasia (Italian Australians and Italian New Zealanders), and to a lesser extent in the Middle East (Italians in the United Arab Emirates).
Italian people are generally known for their attachment to their family and local communities, expressed in the form of either regionalism or municipalism (in Italian, campanilismo, after the Italian word for bell tower (ita. campanile).[67] Italians have influenced and contributed to fields such as arts and music, science, technology, fashion, cinema, cuisine, restaurants, sports, jurisprudence, banking and business.[68][69][70][71][72]