Italy is highly industrialised and is the world’s seventh largest economy. It is one of the world’s favourite countries; we love its food, art, culture, language and cars. Italy is very affluent in the north but much poorer in the south.
Italians love life. But they live in great need of the saving gospel of Jesus Christ. Despite the appearance of being a very Christianised nation, very few Italians actually believe what the Bible says about Jesus. Most Italians are Roman Catholic in culture, but deeply cynically about the Church. Church attendance is decreasing, as are the number of priests. There are three times as many full-time consulting magicians in Italy as there are Catholic priests.
Of the 1.6 million university students in the country, only 100 or so are involved with groups that study the Bible at university. Italian students are a needy mission field. For the few who are Christian, university can be a tough time. Exposed to many worldly challenges on campus, Christians need to be encouraged and spurred on to keep being godly.
Country Facts
- Region: Europe
- Capital: Rome
- Population: 59.7 million
- Area: 301,340 km2
- Religions: Roman Catholic 74.9%, no religion 14.3%
- Languages: Italian
