# Italian cities with a language census: the short list

> Only South Tyrol counts its language groups: Bolzano city is 74.71% Italian, the province 68.61% German. Aosta and Calabria protect, but do not count.

URL: https://myitalia.it/best/cities-with-a-linguistic-census
Last updated: 2026-09-11

Only one part of Italy counts its language groups by census, the province of Bolzano, where the 2024 count found the city of Bolzano 74.71% Italian-speaking and the province 68.61% German-speaking; Valle d'Aosta and Calabria protect their languages by law but don't count their speakers.

## The criterion: a public act that counts speakers

A place makes this list if a public authority counts how many people belong to each language group, not only if a law recognizes the language. Recognition is common in Italy; counting is not.

That distinction shortens the list to one province. The other entries below are the places where a law protects or makes official a second language, ranked by how close they come to a number.

## Ranked by how precisely languages are counted

| Rank | Place | What exists | Number published |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | City of Bolzano | language census, 2024 | 74.71% Italian, 24.74% German, 0.55% Ladin |
| 2 | Province of Bolzano | language census, 2024 | 68.61% German, 26.98% Italian, 4.41% Ladin |
| 3 | Aspromonte, Calabria | description in a UNESCO geopark file | about a thousand Greek speakers |
| 4 | Aosta, Valle d'Aosta | French official since 1948 | none |
| 5 | Calabria's three minorities | regional law, 2003 | none |

Only the first two rows come from a count. The third is an approximation in a description, the fourth and fifth are laws.

## Bolzano: the only city that counts, and the surprise it finds

Bolzano, with 107,236 residents at May 31, 2026, declared itself 74.71% Italian, 24.74% German and 0.55% Ladin at the 2024 census. The province around it declared almost the opposite: 68.61% German, 26.98% Italian, 4.41% Ladin.

Against 2011, the provincial Italian group grew by 0.92 points, the German group lost 0.80 and the Ladin group 0.12. The census is compulsory for Italian citizens resident in the province, has a reference date of September 30, 2023, and was published as astat info 56/2024.

It exists because it decides something. Group membership sets the ethnic proportional system that allocates public jobs and resources, and that's why it's counted to two decimals rather than estimated.

## Aspromonte: a number, but not a census

The Aspromonte, at the southern tip of Calabria, has been a UNESCO Global Geopark since 2021, and its description counts about a thousand speakers of the ancient Greek language of Calabria among 256,087 inhabitants on 64,541 ha.

It's the only figure on speakers we have outside South Tyrol, and it's an approximation, not a census. Treat it as an order of magnitude: a language spoken by roughly one person in 250 in its own territory, by our arithmetic.

## Aosta: two official languages, no count

Valle d'Aosta has had a special statute since February 26, 1948, and French stands equal to Italian as an official language of the region. That's parity, not minority protection, which is a stronger status than anything Calabria or the national law provides.

The city of Aosta, 33,124 residents at May 31, 2026, at 583 m, carries both names, Aosta and Aoste. What nobody publishes is how many of those residents speak French at home. Official bilingualism tells you what the signs and the offices must do, not what people speak. More on [Aosta](/towns/aosta).

## Calabria: three minorities protected, none counted

Calabria is the only Italian region to protect three historic language minorities together: Arbëreshë Albanian, the Greek of Calabria and Occitan. Regional law no. 15 of October 30, 2003, which applies national law 482 of 1999, set up three institutes, at San Demetrio Corone for the Arbëreshë, Bova Marina for the Greek community and Guardia Piemontese for the Occitan one.

The national law behind it recognizes twelve minority languages, from Albanian and Catalan to Friulian, Ladin and Sardinian, and counts speakers of none. Even the list of Arbëreshë municipalities isn't in the Calabrian law: it's left to provincial boundaries, which is why we can't give you a number. The story of the law is on [three minority languages, one law](/stories/three-minority-languages-one-law).

## FAQ

### Which Italian cities have a language census?

Only those in the province of Bolzano, South Tyrol. The 2024 census found the city of Bolzano 74.71% Italian, 24.74% German and 0.55% Ladin, and the province as a whole 68.61% German, 26.98% Italian and 4.41% Ladin. No other Italian region runs an official language count.

### Is French an official language in Aosta?

Yes. Under Valle d'Aosta's special statute of February 26, 1948, French has equal standing with Italian as an official language of the region, and the city has a double name, Aosta and Aoste. No census counts how many residents actually speak French.

### Which minority languages are protected in Calabria?

Three: Arbëreshë Albanian, the Greek of Calabria and Occitan, under regional law no. 15 of October 30, 2003. The law created three regional institutes, at San Demetrio Corone, Bova Marina and Guardia Piemontese. Calabria is the only region that protects three historic minorities together.

### Why does South Tyrol count its language groups?

Because the declaration decides the ethnic proportional system that allocates public sector jobs and resources in the province. It's compulsory for Italian citizens resident there, and the 2024 results, with a reference date of September 30, 2023, were published as astat info 56/2024.

## Sources

| Fact | Source | Confidence | Valid until |
|---|---|---|---|
| Il censimento linguistico 2024 dell'Alto Adige, con data di riferimento 30 settembre 2023, ha assegnato il 68,61% dei dichiaranti al gruppo linguistico tedesco, il 26,98% a quello italiano e il 4,41% a quello ladino: rispetto al 2011 il gruppo italiano cresce di 0,92 punti, il tedesco cala di 0,80 e il ladino di 0,12 | [ASTAT - Istituto provinciale di statistica di Bolzano](https://astat.provincia.bz.it/it/pubblicazioni/risultati-censimento-linguistico-2024) | medium | 2035-12-31 |
| Bolzano e' il capoluogo di lingua italiana dell'Alto Adige: al censimento linguistico 2024 il 74,71% dei residenti del comune si e' dichiarato del gruppo italiano, il 24,74% di quello tedesco e lo 0,55% di quello ladino | [Wikipedia (dati ASTAT censimento 2024)](https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bolzano); [ASTAT - Istituto provinciale di statistica di Bolzano](https://astat.provincia.bz.it/it/pubblicazioni/risultati-censimento-linguistico-2024) | medium | 2035-12-31 |
| Bolzano ha 107.236 abitanti al 31 maggio 2026 e sorge a 262 metri sul livello del mare, la quota piu' bassa fra i capoluoghi alpini italiani | [Wikipedia (dati ISTAT)](https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bolzano) | medium | 2027-12-31 |
| La Valle d'Aosta ha statuto speciale dal 26 febbraio 1948 e il francese e' parificato all'italiano come lingua ufficiale della regione | [Consiglio Valle - Statuto speciale (legge costituzionale 26 febbraio 1948, n. 4), art. 38](https://www.consiglio.vda.it/app/statuto); [Wikipedia](https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valle_d%27Aosta) | medium | 2099-12-31 |
| Aosta ha 33.124 abitanti al 31 maggio 2026 e sorge a 583 metri di quota; italiano e francese sono entrambi lingue ufficiali e la citta' ha doppia denominazione, Aosta e Aoste | [Wikipedia (dati ISTAT)](https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aosta) | medium | 2027-12-31 |
| La Calabria e l'unica regione italiana che tutela per legge tre minoranze linguistiche storiche insieme: con la legge regionale 30 ottobre 2003 n. 15, in attuazione della legge statale 482/1999, riconosce le parlate albanese (arbereshe), grecanica e occitanica, e istituisce tre istituti regionali - a San Demetrio Corone per gli arbereshe, a Bova Marina per la comunita greca, a Guardia Piemontese per quella occitana. | [Consiglio regionale della Calabria - Banca dati leggi regionali](https://www.consiglioregionale.calabria.it/bdf/api/BDF?numero=15&anno=2003); [Normattiva - Presidenza del Consiglio dei Ministri](https://www.normattiva.it/atto/caricaDettaglioAtto?atto.dataPubblicazioneGazzetta=1999-12-20&atto.codiceRedazionale=099G0557&atto.articolo.numero=2&atto.articolo.sottoArticolo=1) | high | 2029-12-31 |
| L'Aspromonte e UNESCO Global Geopark dal 2021: 64.541 ettari all'estremita meridionale della Calabria, con 256.087 abitanti, rocce metamorfiche paleozoiche formate fra 540 e 250 milioni di anni fa, e circa mille parlanti dell'antica lingua grecanica. | [UNESCO - International Geoscience and Geoparks Programme](https://www.unesco.org/en/iggp/aspromonte-unesco-global-geopark); [Commissione Nazionale Italiana per l'UNESCO](https://www.unesco.it/it/unesco-vicino-a-te/geoparchi/aspromonte/) | high | 2029-12-31 |

## Image

https://media.myitalia.it/media/city.bolzano.v2.1600.jpg
Author: User:Mattes. License: Public domain.
Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Bozen_Waltherplatz.jpg

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