According to the most recent ISMU Foundation estimates, foreigners residing in Italy on January 1, 2017 who profess the Orthodox Christian religion are confirmed as the previous year the most numerous (over 1.6 million, +0.7%), followed by Muslims (just over 1.4 million, -0.2%) and by Catholics (just over one million, -0.1%). Turning to the religions of minor quantitative importance, foreign Buddhists are estimated at 188 thousand (+3.5% compared to 1 January 2016), evangelistic Christians in 124 thousand(+2.3%),theHindusin 73 thousand(+0, 8%), Sikhs in 72 thousand (+0.9%), Coptic Christians in 19 thousand (+2.1%). Considering also Christians of other confessions not included among the main ones (111 thousand in total as of 1 January 2017, +3.8% compared to the beginning of 2016), Christians (including Catholics) foreigners residing in Italy total 2.9 million , up 0.6% in the last year.
About a third of Orthodox Christians live in Lombardy or in Lazio. The region in which the presence of foreign Orthodox Christians is greater is Lombardy, with 268 thousand presences, followed by Lazio with 263 thousand and then more distant from Veneto (174 thousand), Piedmont (161 thousand), Emilia Romagna (158 thousand) and Tuscany (117 thousand).
Muslims are concentrated mainly in Lombardy. The region in which more foreign residents of Muslim faith live, including minors, is Lombardy.
