Good to know
Good to Know
- Rome is Italy's most populous city with 2.7+ million residents and serves as the primary destination for newcomers and foreign-born populations in the country
- European immigrants comprise nearly half of Rome's non-Italian population; Romanian nationals alone represent about 2.6% of the city's total population
- Rome's startup ecosystem is growing significantly as the second-largest in Italy, with over 1,600 registered innovative startups concentrated in the Tiburtina Valley tech district and emerging innovation hubs in Ostiense
- Tech sectors dominating Rome's startup scene include cybersecurity, digital tourism, clean technology, cultural heritage tech, fintech, and AI—supported by multiple accelerators and over 24 coworking spaces
- The city benefits from close proximity to policy makers and research institutions like Sapienza and LUISS universities, though operating costs and regulatory complexity remain challenges for entrepreneurs compared to smaller Italian cities
Total Population
2746472
Year Of Estimate
2026
Foreign Born Percent
9.5
Note On Foreign Born
As of 2025, approximately 9.5% of Rome's population is non-Italian; recent data shows approximately 12.9% held foreign citizenship as of January 1, 2025
Notable Neighborhoods
- Esquilino Rione
- Largest immigrant neighborhood, traditionally called Rome's Chinatown but populated by immigrants from more than 100 countries
Business And Tech Presence
- Total Active Startups
- 1600
- Year Of Startup Count
- 2024
- Foreign Business Presence
- Rome and Milan are Italy's top cities for foreign-resident entrepreneurship
- Startup Ecosystem Strength
- Second-best startup hub in Italy after Milan
Startup Sectors
- Cybersecurity
- Digital tourism
- Clean technology
- Aerospace technology
- Cultural heritage tech
- Media and fintech
- AI and machine learning
- Cloud computing
- Data science
Infrastructure And Support
- Innovation Hub
- ROAD (Rome Advanced District) in Ostiense, a sustainable innovation facility
- Technology District
- Tiburtina Valley is Rome's primary tech district
- Aerospace And Materials Hub
- Castel Romano Technopole
- Coworking And Incubator Spaces
- 24
Major Accelerators
- LUISS ENLABS
- LVenture Group
- Startupbootcamp FoodTech Rome
Research Institutions
- Sapienza University of Rome
- LUISS University
Notable Startups And Companies
- Translated (digital content)
- Moovenda (innovation ventures)
- Lottomatica (gaming company, raised €900M)
- Gridspertise (energy, secured $300M funding)
- Impakter (sustainability, founded 2014)
- InfoCert (digital trust services)
- Cyber Guru (cybersecurity awareness)
- DataKrypto (data encryption, €3M raised)
- Bufaga (clean-tech emissions reduction, €255k raised)
- Wetacoo (storage and moving services, €750k raised)
Government And Ecosystem Support
- Startup Events
- Rome Startup Week (2024 had ~5,000 attendees, 30+ delegations), Rome Venture Forum, Maker Faire Rome, Rome Future Week
- Italian Startup Act
- Provides tax breaks, simplified procedures, and grants
Largest Foreign Nationalities
Romanian
- Estimated Count
- 72000
- Note
- Largest immigrant community, nearly 2.6% of Rome's population
Filipino
- Estimated Count
- 38000
- Note
- Second-largest non-Italian community
Ukrainian
- Note
- Part of Eastern European immigrant population
Polish
- Note
- Part of Eastern European immigrant population
Albanian
- Note
- Significant European minority
Bangladeshi
- Note
- Part of Asian immigrant population
Chinese
- Note
- Part of Asian immigrant population; Esquilino rione known as Rome's Chinatown despite diverse population
Immigrant Distribution By Origin
- European Origin Percent
- 4.7
- Non European Origin Percent
- 4.8
- Note
- European immigrants make up approximately half of Rome's immigrant population
AI-generated estimateData refreshed July 2026
Sources cited for this category
These are the sources cited in this local demographics research for this city. Individual figures may not each trace to one of them.
More About Rome
Data last updated July 2026 · Verify anything important.