language knowledge /eu

home · countries · languages · about

Explore italian language knowledge in Europe

language knowledge /eu publishes the latest language knowledge statistics for italian in the European Union using European Commission data published in 2024. Explore which countries italian is most spoken in, compare native with foreign speakers, and compare age groups to see where italian is gaining or losing popularity.

Ages
Speakers
Year of publication
italy
94.3%
malta
33.6%
european union
14.5%
slovenia
8.4%
luxembourg
7.6%
croatia
6.1%
austria
4.3%
belgium
4.2%
france
2.5%
spain
2.3%
romania
2.0%
germany
1.9%
greece
1.6%
slovakia
1.3%
sweden
1.3%
czech republic
1.1%
lithuania
0.9%
ireland
0.9%
cyprus
0.8%
hungary
0.7%
bulgaria
0.7%
poland
0.6%
portugal
0.5%
finland
0.5%
denmark
0.5%
netherlands
0.4%
latvia
0.4%
estonia
0.3%

Frequently Asked Questions

Which European countries have the most Italian speakers?

According to European Commission Eurobarometer survey data (2024), the European countries with the highest proportion of Italian speakers are Italy (94.3%), Malta (33.6%), and Slovenia (8.4%).

What percentage of the European Union speaks Italian?

14.5% of the European Union population speaks Italian (12.8% as a native language and 1.6% as a foreign language).

How does Italian knowledge compare across age groups in Europe?

In the European Union, 13.4% of 15–34 year olds speak Italian, compared to 15.1% of people aged 55 and over.