ITALIAN LANGUAGE STATISTICS

Italian Language Statistics

Italian is the official language of Italiy and is spoken by about 70 million people, primarily in this country.

It's the official language of San Marino as well, and one of the official languages of Switzerland, spoken mainly in Ticino and Grigioni cantons. It is also the second official language in Vatican City and in some areas of Istria in Slovenia and Croatia with an Italian minority. It is also widely known and taught in Monaco and Malta.[1] It is also widely spoken in Corsica and Nice (for both were former Italian possessions before being handed over to France), and Albania.

Italian is most closely related to the other two Italo-Dalmatian languages, Sicilian and the extinct Dalmatian. The three are part of the Italo-Western grouping of the Romance languages, which are a subgroup of the Italic branch of Indo-European.

To see detailed statistics click in the following sections:


  • Classification

    Linguistically speaking, the Italian language is a member of the Italo-Dalmatian group of languages, which is part of the Italo-Western grouping of the Romance languages, which are a subgroup of the Italic branch of Indo-European...


  • Geographic distribution

    Italian is an official language of Italy, San Marino, Switzerland, Slovenia, Vatican City and in some areas of Istria in Slovenia and Croatia with an Italian minority. It is also widely known and taught in Monaco and Malta. It is also widely spoken in Corsica and Nice (for both were former Italian possessions before being handed over to France), and Albania...


  • Official status

    Italian is the official language of Italy, San Marino and an official language in the Ticino and Grigioni cantons or regions of Switzerland...


  • Dialects

    Dialects of Italian are regional varieties (Tuscan, Central Italian) which are closely related to Standard Italian, while the terms Dialects of Italy is suggested for those idioms, such as Neapolitan, Sicilian, and Gallo-Italian languages which show considerable differences in grammar, syntax and vocabulary.


  • Statistics of the Italian language

    See the stats