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Chinese people in Italy

Chinese in Italy
Total population
(320,794 (2013)
0.5% of the Italian population)
Regions with significant populations
Flag of Lombardy.svg Lombardy, Flag of Tuscany.svg Tuscany, Flag of Veneto.svg Veneto
Languages
Wenzhounese · Mandarin Chinese · Italian
Religion
Chinese folk religion, Buddhism, Christianity
Related ethnic groups
Overseas Chinese
Chinese Italian
Traditional Chinese
Simplified Chinese
Alternative Chinese name
Traditional Chinese
Simplified Chinese

The community of Chinese people in Italy has grown rapidly in the past ten years. Official statistics indicate there are at least 320,794 Chinese citizens in Italy, although these figures do not account for illegal immigration, former Chinese citizens who have acquired Italian nationality, or Italian-born people of Chinese descent.

In 2010, an analysis conducted by the CESNUR and the University of Turin on the 4,000-strong Chinese community of Turin showed that at that time, 48% of this community was women and 30%, minors. Most of the Chinese in Italy -- and virtually all of the Turin community -- hail from the southeastern Chinese province of Zhejiang, primarily the city of Wenzhou. The community in Turin is younger than other Chinese settlements in Italy, and for this reason it depends as a branch of the community of Milan. Approximately 70% of the Chinese in Turin work in restaurant activity, and more than 20% work in commercial activity.

Prato, Tuscany has the largest concentration of Chinese people in Italy and all of Europe. It has the second largest population of Chinese people overall in Italy after Milan.

Religion of Chinese in Italy (2010)

The study of the CESNUR also surveyed religious affiliation and beliefs of the Chinese in Turin. It found that 31.6% identified as Buddhists, although the analyst concluded that only 13.7% had "a conscious Buddhist identity and practice" while the rest was ascribable to the Chinese folk religion incorporating Buddhist elements.

In total, approximately one quarter of the Chinese community was classified as belonging to the Chinese (folk) religion. The surveyors weren't able to determine a precise Taoist identity; only 1.1% of the surveyed people identified as such, and the analysts preferred to consider Taoism as an "affluent" of the Chinese religion. The survey found that 39.9% of the Chinese had a thoroughly atheist identity, not believing in any god, nor belonging to any religious organisation, nor practicing any religious activity.


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