Venice has progressively lost its inhabitants living in the historical center. For 15 centuries, this area has been the cornerstone of the city's political, economic, and social life, with a peak of 174,800 residents reached in 1951. Since then, a substantial decline started in favor of the mainland. In 1960, it became more populous than the ancient settlement for the first time since the founding in the seventh century A.D. Over the last 20 years, the inhabitants of the dry land stabilized around 180,000 people. There they can find better and easily accessible public services and modern infrastructures while avoiding the problem of overtourism. On the contrary, in 2024 only 48,000 inhabitants lived in the center, more than 70 percent less than in 1952. The population residing in the estuary never exceeded 51,000 people, and the depopulation trend has been constant since the 1990s. The problem of overtourism Tourism is a crucial sector for the city’s economy. It contributes 1.67 billion euros to Venice’s Gross Domestic Product, and more than 1,260 hotels are located within the municipality. Despite being its largest economic resource, tourism has gradually become one of the greatest threats to Venice’s survival. Less than 50,000 people reside in the historical city center, which was visited by almost six million tourists in 2023. Overtourism, with an enormous disproportion between visitors and inhabitants, has significantly lowered Venice’s life quality, and relocating to the mainland appears to be the only feasible solution for many Venetians. Between April and July 2024, the municipality administration introduced a five-euro ticket that daily tourists had to purchase before entering Venice, with the objective of controlling the flow of tourism.

The population residing in Venice continuously grew from 1871, the year of the first census, reaching its peak in 1968 with ******* inhabitants right after the baby boom period. In the following decades, the municipality registered a slow but constant decline of residents, loosing ******* citizens in 55 years, especially in the historical city center. Depopulation of the historical city center Venice is one of the most visited cities in Italy. The San Marco square and the hundreds of bridges that connect the 118 islands of the historical city center attracted *** million people in 2023. However, given its geographical peculiarity, Venice is a fragile environment that must face the serious problem of overtourism. In fact, the city has the second-highest number of tourists per inhabitant in Europe. As a result, Venice is overcrowded and environmental pollution has risen, substantially decreasing the life quality of residents. Accessing to essential public services has become more difficult for inhabitants, and residential properties have been converted to accommodation facilities. As many residents have decided to relocate to the dry land, the historical city center recorded a dramatic depopulation trend. In 2023, less than ****** people still lived in the lagoon. Venice and Veneto: not only tourism Venice is the administrative center of Veneto, one of the most economically developed regions of the country. Veneto’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) amounted to *** billion euros in 2023. Only Lombardy, the most populated region, and Lazio, where Rome is located, recorded higher figures. North-eastern Italy, that comprises the regions of Veneto, Trentino-South Tyrol, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, and Emilia-Romagna, is the second economic driving force of the country. House furniture, wearing apparel, footwear, and clothing are the key business sectors of the regional industry. Internationally renowned companies and high-quality brands like Luxottica, Geox, and Calzedonia have their headquarters in Veneto.

The Italian city of Venice was one of the largest cities in medieval and Renaissance era Europe. It was the center of the Republic of Venice, a maritime empire in the Mediterranean, and had one of Europe's largest ports for exotic goods (particularly from Asia), or luxury goods such as glassware. Impact of plague While its population was relatively small by modern standards, it is believed that Venice was among the five most populous cities in Western Europe in the given years between 1050 and 1650. The city's population did fluctuate over time due to devastating pandemics, and it is believed that Venice was one of the main points of entry for the Black Death in Europe. Venice was one of the hardest-hit cities during the Black Death; estimates fluctuate greatly across sources, but it is believed that the city lost around 40 percent of its population during the initial outbreak in the 1340s. Decline Furthermore, Venice lost roughly a third of its population during further plague pandemics (both introduced via war) in the 1570s and 1630s. Because of this, the population was kept fairly consistent across the given years between 1600 and 1800. The 18th century also saw the decline of the Venetian Empire, as other states gained power and influence in the Mediterranean. Venice also lost its importance as the entry point of exotic goods into Europe, as other European powers had already established their own maritime empires and trade routes across the globe. Eventually, the crumbling Venetian Empire fell to Napoleon in 1796, and its overseas territories were gradually taken by or split among various other powers. While the empire fell, the city itself continued to be a center for art and culture in Europe, and it has maintained this status until today. In 2021, Venice had a population of more than 250,000 people.

The number of non-Italian citizens residing in Venice continuously grew over the past 20 years, from 5,600 in 2000 to 42,000 inhabitants in 2024. Only between 2012 and 2014, there was no increment; in fact, the city's foreign population slightly decreased, with a steady growth since 2015.

In 2024, the municipality of Venice collects 30 percent of the total population of the community. This causes an evident disproportion in the distribution of the citizens between the main urban area and the smaller peripheral centers. In fact, the inhabitants of Chioggia, the second-largest municipality, represented only six percent compared to the 835,405 residents of the metropolitan area. The city is often called the “Little Venice”, as its historical center is located in the Venetian lagoon and built on several small islands. San Donà di Piave and Mira host around 40,000 inhabitants, while other municipalities are well below 30,000 residents. Hence, the majority of the metropolitan city consists of middle- and small-sized towns.

The population residing in the municipality of Venice has progressively aged from 2013 to 2024. In fact, the share of young citizens between zero and 13 years old, who constitute ********* of the total, decreased by ***********. On the contrary, the inhabitants aged 65 years or more augmented their share by almost ***********. However, the one of adults between 14 and 64 years old remained stable, constituting ********** of the city's population. Similar figures can be found when comparing Venice with Milan and the whole country. In fact, the population is progressively aging, as the number of elderly increases given the low birth rate, harming the younger generations.

During the Medieval period, the Italian state of Venice grew into one of the most powerful empires in the Mediterranean. Its merchants, most famously Marco Polo, were some of the most important importers of exotic goods into Europe via their trade connections through the Black Sea and along the Silk Road. The city itself was among the most populous in Europe from the 12th to 16th centuries, its territories in the Italian mainland (terraferma) grew in the early 1400s, as well as its control over much of the Adriatic coast in the Balkans. By the mid-16th century, the population of the Venetian Republic was roughly 2.3 million people, at a time when Europe's population was around 70 million. 1.7 million of this population was concentrated in northeast Italy, while the islands of Crete and Cyprus were the most populous overseas territories.

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In 2024, the number of tourist arrivals in Venice, including international and domestic visitors, reached nearly *** million. This figure, the highest reported over the period considered, represented an annual increase in tourist arrivals of roughly **** percent. How many international tourists visit Venice? In 2024, the number of international tourist arrivals in Venice exceeded **** million, showing the key role played by inbound visitors for the city's travel and tourism industries. That year, the United States was by far the leading inbound tourist market for Venice, with over *** million arrivals. How many hotels are there in Venice? In 2023, there were approximately ***** hotels in Venice, denoting a slight annual decline. Considering the popularity of the destination, it does not surprise that Venice was the most expensive Italian city based on the average price per night in a four-star hotel in 2024, ahead of Florence.

BackgroundBirths by cesarean section (CS) usually require longer recovery time, and as a result women remain hospitalized longer following CS than vaginal delivery (VD). A number of strategies have been proposed to reduce avoidable health care costs associated with childbirth. Among these, the containment of length of hospital stay (LoS) has been identified as an important quality indicator of obstetric care and performance efficiency of maternity centres. Since improvement of obstetric care at hospital level needs quantitative evidence, we compared the maternity services of an Italian region on LoS post CS.MethodsWe conducted a population-based study in Friuli Venezia Giulia (FVG), a region of North-Eastern Italy, collecting data from all its 12 maternity centres (coded from A to K) during 2005–2015. We fitted a multivariable logistic regression using LoS as a binary outcome, higher/lower than the international early discharge (ED) cutoffs for CS (4 days), controlling for hospitals as well as several factors related to the clinical conditions of the mothers and the newborn, the obstetric history and socio-demographic background. Results were expressed as adjusted odds ratios (aOR) with 95% confidence interval (95%CI). Population attributable risks (PARs) were also calculated as proportional variation of LoS>ED for each hospital in the ideal scenario of having the same performance as centre J (the reference) during calendar year 2015. Results were expressed as PAR with 95%CI. Differences in mean LoS were also investigated with a multivariable linear regression model including the same explanatory factors of the above multiple logistic regression. Results were expressed as adjusted regression coefficients (aRC) with 95%CI.ResultsAlthough decreasing over the years (5.0 ± 1.7 days in 2005 vs. 4.4 ± 1.7 days in 2015), the pooled mean LoS in the whole FVG during these 11 years was still 4.7 ± 1.7 days, higher than respective international ED benchmark. The significant decreasing trend of LoS>ED over time in FVG (aOR = 0.89; 95%CI: 0.88; 0.90) was marginal as compared to the variability of LoS>ED observed among the various maternity services. Regardless it was expressed as aRC or aOR, LoS after CS was lowest in hospital C, highest in hospital D and intermediate in centres I, K, G, F, A, H, E, B and J (in descending order). The aOR of LoS being longer than ED ranged from 1.63 (95%CI:1.46; 1.81) in hospital B up to 32.09 (95%CI: 25.68; 40.10) in facility D. When hospitals were ranked by PAR the same pattern was found, even if restricting the analysis to low risk pregnancies.ConclusionsAlthough significantly decreasing over time, the mean LoS in FVG during 2005–2015 was 4.7 days, higher than the international threshold recommended for CS. There was substantial variability in LoS by facility centre, suggesting that internal organizational processes of single hospitals should be improved by enforcing standardized guidelines and using audits, economic incentives and penalties if need be.

Rome is the most populous city in Italy. With 2.75 million inhabitants, the capital of the country put ahead Milan and Naples. Compared to the number of citizens in 2012, the resident population of Rome increased by over 140,000 individuals. Regional data Rome is located in the center of Italy in the Lazio region. Lazio is the second-largest region in terms of population size after Lombardy. In 2024, the region counts roughly 5.7 million inhabitants, whereas Lombardy has over ten million individuals. The third-largest region is Campania, with 5.6 million people. Naples, the major center of Campania, has around 910,000 inhabitants at the beginning of 2024. Nevertheless, this city was, back in the 19th century, one of the largest cities in Western Europe. Tourism in Rome The Eternal City is also the main tourist destination in Italy and was the eighth most-visited city in Europe. The largest groups of international visitors in Rome came from the United States of America, Japan, and the United Kingdom. Every year, more and more tourists also enjoy the best-known tourist attractions in Rome, like the Colosseum, the Roman Forum, and the Palatine Hill, which together recorded almost ten million visitors in 2022.

In 2024, Venice was by far the province in the Italian region of Veneto with the highest number of visitors to state museums, monuments, and archaeological sites. That year, state cultural institutions in this province recorded almost 990,000 visitors. In 2024, the number of visitors to state museums, monuments, and archaeological areas in Veneto increased slightly over the previous year.

In 2024, the number of hotels in Venice reached 1,262. This figure denoted an annual increase of 1.5 percent in the number of establishments. Chain hotels in Venice In 2023, Venice was one of the leading Italian cities based on the number of chain hotels. Ranking third on the list, after Rome and Milan, the destination had nearly 80 hotel establishments belonging to chains. Meanwhile, Venice was the most expensive city in Italy to book an overnight stay in a four-star hotel as of 2025. Non-hotel accommodation and Airbnb listings in Venice The number of non-hotel establishments in Venice grew in 2024 over the previous year, reaching almost 33,000. Meanwhile, based on a ranking of Italian cities by number of Airbnb listings, Venice had approximately 8,000 properties listed on Airbnb in 2025. That year, most of the Airbnb listings in Venice were for entire homes or apartments.

In 2024, the Italian region with the highest death rate was Liguria. By contrast, Trentino-South Tyrol was the area where the lowest death rate was registered in the whole country. In the period between 2010 and 2019, the annual death rate in Italy remained rather stable. In 2020, instead, the death rate increased compared to previous years. Coronavirus deaths In Italy, the first cases of coronavirus (COVID-19) were registered at the end of January 2020. Then, since the end of February, the virus started to spread among the Italian population. As of October 2021, Italy recorded 4.7 million cases of coronavirus (COVID-19) and over 130,000 deaths. Death rates in other European countries In 2019, Italy was the European country which registered the second-highest number of deaths. The state with the highest number of deceased was Germany, which is also the most populous country on the continent. On the contrary, Italy ranked only fourth, considering the size of the population.

It is estimated that the largest cities in Western Europe in 1330 were Paris and Granada. At this time, Paris was the seat of power in northern France, while Granada had become the largest multicultural city in southern Spain, controlled by the Muslim, Nasrid Kingdom during Spain's Reconquista period. The next three largest cities were Venice, Genoa and Milan, all in northern Italy, renowned as important trading cities during the middle ages. In October 1347, the first wave of the Black Death had arrived in Sicily and then began spreading throughout Europe, decimating the population.

Throughout the early modern period, the largest city in Italy was Naples. The middle ages saw many metropolitan areas along the Mediterranean grow to become the largest in Europe, as they developed into meeting ports for merchants travelling between the three continents. Italy, throughout this time, was not a unified country, but rather a collection of smaller states that had many cultural similarities, and political control of these cities regularly shifted over the given period. Across this time, the population of each city generally grew between each century, but a series of plague outbreaks in the 1600s devastated the populations of Italy's metropolitan areas, which can be observed here. Naples At the beginning of the 1500s, the Kingdom of Naples was taken under the control of the Spanish crown, where its capital grew to become the largest city in the newly-expanding Spanish Empire. Prosperity then grew in the 16th and 17th centuries, before the city's international importance declined in the 18th century. There is also a noticeable dip in Naples' population size between 1600 and 1700, due to an outbreak of plague in 1656 that almost halved the population. Today, Naples is just the third largest city in Italy, behind Rome and Milan. Rome Over 2,000 years ago, Rome became the first city in the world to have a population of more than one million people, and in 2021, it was Italy's largest city with a population of 2.8 million; however it did go through a period of great decline in the middle ages. After the Fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476CE, Rome's population dropped rapidly, below 100,000 inhabitants in 500CE. 1,000 years later, Rome was an important city in Europe as it was the seat of the Catholic Church, and it had a powerful banking sector, but its population was just 55,000 people as it did not have the same appeal for merchants or migrants held by the other port cities. A series of reforms by the Papacy in the late-1500s then saw significant improvements to infrastructure, housing, and sanitation, and living standards rose greatly. Over the following centuries, the Papacy consolidated its power in the center of the Italian peninsula, which brought stability to the region, and the city of Rome became a cultural center. Across this period, Rome's population grew almost three times larger, which was the highest level of growth of these cities.

In 1500, the largest city was Paris, with an estimated 225 thousand inhabitants, almost double the population of the second-largest city, Naples. As in 1330, Venice and Milan remain the third and fourth largest cities in Western Europe, however Genoa's population almost halved from 1330 until 1500, as it was struck heavily by the bubonic plague in the mid-1300s. In lists prior to this, the largest cities were generally in Spain and Italy, however, as time progressed, the largest populations could be found more often in Italy and France. The year 1500 is around the beginning of what we now consider modern history, a time that saw the birth of many European empires and inter-continental globalization.

Between 1500 and 1800, London grew to be the largest city in Western Europe, with its population growing almost 22 times larger in this period. London would eventually overtake Constantinople as Europe's largest in the 1700s, before becoming the largest city in the world (ahead of Beijing) in the early-1800s.

The most populous cities in this period were the capitals of European empires, with Paris, Amsterdam, and Vienna growing to become the largest cities, alongside the likes of Lisbon and Madrid in Iberia, and Naples or Venice in Italy. Many of northwestern Europe's largest cities in 1500 would eventually be overtaken by others not shown here, such as the port cities of Hamburg, Marseilles or Rotterdam, or more industrial cities such as Berlin, Birmingham, and Munich.

After entering Italy, the coronavirus (COVID-19) spread fast. The strict lockdown implemented by the government during the Spring 2020 helped to slow down the outbreak. However, in the following months the country had to face four new harsh waves of contagion. As of January 1, 2025, 198,638 deaths caused by COVID-19 were reported by the authorities, of which approximately 48.7 thousand in the region of Lombardy, 20.1 thousand in the region of Emilia-Romagna, and roughly 17.6 thousand in Veneto, the regions mostly hit. The total number of cases reported in the country reached over 26.9 million. The north of the country was mostly hit, and the region with the highest number of cases was Lombardy, which registered almost 4.4 million of them. The north-eastern region of Veneto counted about 2.9 million cases. Italy's death toll was one of the most tragic in the world. In the last months, however, the country saw the end to this terrible situation: as of November 2023, 85 percent of the total Italian population was fully vaccinated. For a global overview, visit Statista's webpage exclusively dedicated to coronavirus, its development, and its impact.