Italy

Italians share a strong national culture forged from many regional identities, the country having unified only in the 1860s. Italian is the national language, alongside regional languages and dialects, and immigration has added newer communities.

Roman Catholicism, centered on the Vatican in Rome, is the historic faith, though religious practice has declined and society is largely secular.

Society

Italy enjoys high life expectancy and a rich cultural heritage, but has one of the world's lowest birth rates and oldest populations, driving steady demographic decline despite immigration.