Editing Milan (section)

== Demographics ==
{{Historical populations
| align = right
| footnote = [[Istituto Nazionale di Statistica|Istat]] historical data 1861–2021<ref name="historical.istat">{{cite web|title=Historical population, 1861–2014|url=http://seriestoriche.istat.it/index.php?id=1&no_cache=1&tx_usercento_centofe%5Bcategoria%5D=2&tx_usercento_centofe%5Baction%5D=show&tx_usercento_centofe%5Bcontroller%5D=Categoria&cHash=5dc94093f50e10c9e55a034d4c6ba123|publisher=[[Istat]]|access-date=14 October 2017|archive-date=15 October 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171015044400/http://seriestoriche.istat.it/index.php?id=1&no_cache=1&tx_usercento_centofe%5Bcategoria%5D=2&tx_usercento_centofe%5Baction%5D=show&tx_usercento_centofe%5Bcontroller%5D=Categoria&cHash=5dc94093f50e10c9e55a034d4c6ba123|url-status=live}}</ref>
| |
| |
| |
| 1861 |267621
| 1871 |290518
| 1881 |354045
| 1901 |538483
| 1911 |701411
| 1921 |818161
| 1931 |960682
| 1936 |1115794
| 1951 |1274187
| 1961 |1582474
| 1971 |1732068
| 1981 |1604844
| 1991 |1369295
| 2001 |1256211
| 2011 |1242123
| 2021 |1349930}}

The official estimated population of the City of Milan was 1,417,597 as of 31 December 2023, according to the municipality's statistical office.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Popolazione residente nel Comune di Milano al 31/12/2023 |url=https://www.comune.milano.it/documents/20126/2313917/NIL_sesso_2023_pdf.pdf/e0daf569-3050-1be1-401e-0717f0f41f8c?t=1707307087788}}</ref>

Mid-2024 estimates suggest that 3,251,166 people lived in Milan province-level municipality.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Bilancio demografico mensile |url=https://demo.istat.it/app/?i=D7B&l=it&a=2024 |access-date=2024-10-22 |website=demo.istat.it}}</ref> The population of Milan today is lower than its historical peak. With rapid industrialization in post-war years, the population of Milan peaked at 1,743,427 in 1973.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Malfreda|first1=Germano|last2=Pizzorni|first2=Geoffry John|last3=Ricciardi|first3=Ferruccio|last4=Romano|first4=Roberto|title=Lavoro e società nella Milano del Novecento|date=2006|publisher=Angeli|location=Milano|isbn=978-88-464-8031-6|page=331}}</ref> Thereafter, during the following decades, about one third of the population moved to the outer belt of suburbs and new satellite settlements that grew around the city proper.

Today, Milan's conurbation extends well beyond the borders of the city proper and of its special-status provincial authority: its contiguous built-up urban area was home to 5.27 million people in 2015,<ref name=Demographia/> while its wider [[Milan metropolitan area|metropolitan area]], the largest in Italy and fourth largest in the EU, is estimated to have a population of more than 8.2&nbsp;million.<ref name="PopulationBundle"/>

=== Foreign residents ===
{{Pie chart
| thumb = left
| caption = Nationality held by residents as of 2023<ref name="municipalitystat02">{{cite web |title=Popolazione straniera residente nel Comune di Milano al 01/01/2021 per sesso e nazionalità |url=https://www.tuttitalia.it/lombardia/18-milano/statistiche/cittadini-stranieri-2021/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220810084711/https://www.tuttitalia.it/lombardia/18-milano/statistiche/cittadini-stranieri-2021/ |archive-date=10 August 2022 |access-date=25 March 2022}}</ref>
| label1 = Italian
| value1 = 78.76
| color1 = #003399
| label2 = EU area
| value2 = 2.43
| color2 = #4080bf
| label3 = Other European
| value3 = 1.94
| color3 = #ff471a
| label4 = African
| value4 = 4.78
| color4 = #ffff00
| label5 = Asian
| value5 = 8.74
| color5 = #66ff33
| label6 = Latin American
| value6 = 3.20
| color6 = #ac00e6
| label7 = Other
| value7 = 0.15
| color7 = #ffa31a
}}

{| class="wikitable floatright mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"
|+ Foreign nationality population as of 1 January 2023
|-
! scope="col" | Country of foreign nationality
! scope="col" | Population
|-
| {{flag|Egypt}} || 45,457
|-
| {{flag|Philippines}} || 38,942
|-
| {{flag|China}} || 37,041
|-
| {{flag|Peru}} || 17,799
|-
| {{flag|Sri Lanka}} || 16,724
|-
| {{flag|Romania}} || 15,673
|-
| {{flag|Bangladesh}} || 12,802
|-
| {{flag|Ukraine}} || 9,704
|-
| {{flag|Ecuador}} || 9,513
|-
| {{flag|Morocco}} || 8,351
|-
| {{flag|El Salvador}} || 6,363
|-
| {{flag|Albania}} || 4,961
|-
| {{flag|France}} || 4,862
|-
| {{flag|Brazil}} || 3,493
|-
| {{flag|Russia}} || 3,407
|-
| {{flag|Iran}} || 3,372
|-
| {{flag|Spain}} || 3,121
|-
| {{flag|Pakistan}} || 2,955
|-
| {{flag|Senegal}} || 2,746
|-
|{{flag|India}}
|2,340
|-
| {{flag|United Kingdom}} || 2,310
|-
| {{flag|Turkey}} || 2,189
|-
| {{flag|Moldova}} || 2,186
|-
| {{flag|Germany}} || 2,133
|-
| {{flag|Bolivia}} || 2,098
|-
| {{flag|Japan}} || 2,006
|-
| {{flag|Georgia}} || 1,976
|-
| {{flag|Tunisia}} || 1,767
|-
| {{flag|United States}} || 1,627
|-
| {{flag|Bulgaria}} || 1,617
|-
| {{flag|Colombia}} || 1,529
|-
| {{flag|Eritrea}} || 1,311
|-
| {{flag|Poland}} || 1,275
|-
| {{flag|Nigeria}} || 1,089
|-
|{{flag|South Korea}}
|1,044
|-
|{{flag|Dominican Republic}}
|1,014
|-
| other countries || each <1000
|}

As of 2023, some 301,149 foreign residents lived in the municipality of Milan, representing 21.2% of the total resident population.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |title=Popolazione straniera residente nel Comune di Milano al 31/12/2023 per sesso e nazionalità |url=https://www.comune.milano.it/documents/20126/2313917/stranieri_naz_sex_municipi_2023_e_tot.pdf/236df8e6-0808-86fe-212a-554af779fdac?t=1707307256112}}</ref> These figures suggest that the immigrant population has more than doubled in the last 15 years.<ref name="municipalitystat03">{{cite web|title=Popolazione anagrafica straniera residente nel Comune di Milano Anno Sesso Totale in serie storica dal 1999 al 2016|url=http://mediagallery.comune.milano.it/cdm/objects/changeme:75142/datastreams/dataStream8702777322655070/content?pgpath=/SA_SiteContent/SEGUI_AMMINISTRAZIONE/DATI_STATISTICI/Popolazione_residente_a_Milano|publisher=Municipality of Milan|access-date=3 November 2017|archive-date=7 November 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171107022512/http://mediagallery.comune.milano.it/cdm/objects/changeme:75142/datastreams/dataStream8702777322655070/content?pgpath=%2FSA_SiteContent%2FSEGUI_AMMINISTRAZIONE%2FDATI_STATISTICI%2FPopolazione_residente_a_Milano|url-status=live}}</ref>

After World War II, Milan experienced two main waves of immigration: the first, dating from the 1950s to the early 1970s, saw a large influx of migrants from poorer and rural areas within Italy; the second, starting from the late 1980s, has been characterized by the preponderance of foreign-born immigrants.<ref>{{cite web|last=Foot|first=John|title=Mapping Diversity in Milan. Using the administrative division of the Milanese territory in the functional areas some important aspects of the spatial distribution of demographic phenomena can be captured. As well as the aggregated data on the stocks, the individual information (also geographically referenced) by the population register are considered for this purpose. The stocks at the 1st on January of the years from 2005 to 2009 are available. The totals for individuals and family are consistent with the totals published by ISTAT (National Institute of Statistics) by means of appropriate scaling coefficients, since some differences can occur between the two sources. Historical Approaches to Urban Immigration|url=http://www.feem.it/userfiles/attach/Publication/NDL2006/NDL2006-110.pdf|publisher=Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei|access-date=23 July 2016|archive-date=20 August 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160820024558/http://www.feem.it/userfiles/attach/Publication/NDL2006/NDL2006-110.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref>

The early period coincided with the so-called Italian economic miracle of postwar years, an era of extraordinary growth based on rapid industrial expansion and great public works, that brought to the city a large influx of over 400,000 people, mainly from rural and underdeveloped Southern Italy.<ref name="Foot" />
[[File:Lazzaretto di Milano da via San Gregorio 01.JPG|left|thumb|Russian church in Milan]]
Decades of continuing high immigration have made the city one of the most cosmopolitan and multicultural in Italy. Immigrants came mainly from Africa (in particular [[Eritreans in Italy|Eritreans]], [[Egyptians in Italy|Egyptians]], [[Moroccans in Italy|Moroccans]], [[Senegalese people in Italy|Senegalese]] and [[Nigerian people in Italy|Nigerian]]), and the former socialist countries of Eastern Europe (notably [[Albanians in Italy|Albanians]], [[Romanians in Italy|Romanians]], [[Ukrainians in Italy|Ukrainians]], [[Macedonian diaspora|Macedonians]], [[Moldovans]], and [[Russians in italy|Russians]]), in addition to a growing number of Asians (in particular [[Chinese people in Italy|Chinese]], [[Sri Lankans in Italy|Sri Lankans]] and [[Filipino Italians|Filipinos]]) and Latin Americans (Mainly South Americans). At the beginning of the 1990s, Milan already had a population of foreign-born residents of approximately 58,000 (or 4% of the then population), that rose rapidly to over 117,000 by the end of the decade (about 9% of the total).<ref>{{Cite book |author=Istituto Nazionale di Urbanistica della Lombardia |title=Lombardia, politiche e regole per il territorio |publisher=Alinea Editrice |year=1999 |isbn=88-8125-332-1 |location=Florence |page=139}}</ref>
[[File:Milano - Quartiere cinese nel 1945.jpg|left|thumb|208x208px|Milan Chinatown in 1945]]
Milan is home to the second-largest [[East Asia|Far East Asian]] community in Europe after [[Vietnamese community in Paris|Paris]], with the Philippines and China, making up about a quarter of its foreign population (around 76,000 out of 301,000 in 2023). Another 4,000 foreigners come from other East Asian countries; notably, Milan hosts more than 2,000 Japanese nationals and 1,000 Koreans, excluding those who also hold Italian citizenship.<ref>{{cite web |title=Statistiche Demografiche Cittadini stranieri Milano 2021 |url=https://www.tuttitalia.it/lombardia/18-milano/statistiche/cittadini-stranieri-2021/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210728131010/https://www.tuttitalia.it/lombardia/18-milano/statistiche/cittadini-stranieri-2021/ |archive-date=28 July 2021 |access-date=5 November 2021 |publisher=tuttitalia.it |language=it}}</ref><ref name=":1" /> Foreigners holding East-Asian citizenship thus make up around 5.36% of the city's population. Milan notably hosts the oldest and largest (along with [[Prato]]) [[Chinatown, Milan|Chinese community]] in Italy, with around 37,000 people in 2023, excluding Italians of Chinese descent such as immigrants who have acquired Italian citizenship or their descendants. Situated in the [[Administrative divisions of Milan|8th district]], and centered on [[Via Paolo Sarpi]], an important commercial avenue, the Milanese Chinatown was originally established in the 1920s by immigrants from [[Wencheng County]], in the [[Zhejiang]], and used to operate small textile and leather workshops.<ref>{{Cite book
| author= Antonella Ceccagno
| title= ll caso delle comunità cinesi: comunicazione interculturale ed istituzioni
| publisher= Armando Editore
| year=1997
| location= Rome
| pages= 29–35
| isbn= 88-7144-718-2}}</ref> Milan also hosts a Japanese International school as well as various Chinese schools throughout the city.<ref>{{Cite web |title=ミラノ日本人学校・Scuola Giapponese di Milano |url=http://www.mngitalia.net/ |access-date=2024-10-22 |language=ja}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Cinese, la lingua del futuro: ecco dove impararlo a Milano |url=https://www.milanotoday.it/formazione/corsi-formazione/quali-sono-scuole-cinese-milano.html |access-date=2024-10-22 |website=MilanoToday |language=it}}</ref>
[[File:Milano - incrocio via Settala via Vitruvio - 01.jpg|left|thumb|Via Settala, one of the access points to the so-called "Asmarina" area]]
The city also hosts an historical African community originating from the [[Horn of Africa]]. As of 2023, there were around 4,000 Eritrean, Ethiopian or Somali-born people living in Milan, the overwhelming majority being double-citizens of Italy. and not counting second and third generation migrants. The three countries were all Italian colonies at a time, from 1869 ([[Italian Eritrea|Eritrea]])<ref name="EBAb">{{cite EB1911|wstitle=Eritrea|volume=9|page=747}}</ref><ref>Agatha Ramm, "Great Britain and the Planting of Italian Power in the Red Sea, 1868-1885", ''The English Historical Review'', Vol. 59, No. 234 (May, 1944), p. 214–215.</ref><ref>{{cite EB1911|wstitle=Egypt/3 History|display=Egypt: Section III: History|volume=9|page=90–119}}</ref> to 1943 ([[East African campaign (World War II)|East African campaign]]). Due to the historical links with Italy, a small community originating from the Horn of Africa has established its presence near Porta Venezia district starting from the 1970s.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Palmisano |first=Lucio |title=La comunità eritrea ha portato Asmara a Milano |url=https://www.editorialedomani.it/fatti/la-comunita-eritrea-ha-portato-asmara-a-milano-ignrhaop |access-date=2024-10-22 |website=www.editorialedomani.it |language=it-it}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2017-07-12 |title=Eritrea, Milano |url=https://www.rivistastudio.com/eritrea-milano/ |access-date=2024-10-22 |website=Rivista Studio |language=it-IT}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Oltre lo zighinì |url=https://zero.eu/en/news/oltre-lo-zighini/ |access-date=2024-10-22 |website=zero.eu |language=en-GB}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2020-11-24 |title=Il mondo a Milano: dal corno d'Africa a porta Venezia |url=https://www.milanofuoriclasse.it/2020/11/24/il-mondo-a-milano-dal-corno-dafrica-a-porta-venezia/ |access-date=2024-10-22 |language=it-IT}}</ref> It is estimated that in the "Asmarina" area (Little Asmara) there are around 2,000-2,500 people from the Horn of Africa still living there, along with multiple restaurants, institutes as well as an Ethiopian Church.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Scego |first=Igiaba |date=2015-05-05 |title=Un angolo di Eritrea a Milano |url=https://www.internazionale.it/opinione/igiaba-scego/2015/05/05/eritrea-milano-asmarina |access-date=2024-10-22 |website=Internazionale |language=it}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Chiesa Ortodossa d'Etiopia |url=https://www.consigliochiesemilano.it/elenco-chiese/chiesa-ortodossa-detiopia-763.html |access-date=2024-10-22 |website=Consiglio delle Chiese Cristiane di Milano |language=it-IT}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Miranda |first=Hari De |date=2023-01-16 |title=L'Asmarina di Buenos Aires: il quartiere più esotico di Milano |url=https://www.milanocittastato.it/milano/quartieri-di-milano/quartiere-eritreo/ |access-date=2024-10-22 |website=Milano Città Stato |language=it-IT}}</ref>

Another notable area with a large presence of foreign residents coming from a specific country is the so-called "quadrilatero di San Siro" or "San Siro casbah" in reference to the large Arab-speaking populaition living in the area.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Giuzzi |first=Cesare |date=2021-12-04 |title=Da San Siro il rap delle case popolari Neima Ezza, la generazione «perif» e la rabbia del quartiere-ghetto |url=https://milano.corriere.it/notizie/cronaca/21_aprile_12/da-san-siro-rap-case-popolari-generazione-perif-rabbia-quartiere-ghetto-3a0f1418-9b57-11eb-a4a1-866c33c02647.shtml |access-date=2024-10-22 |website=Corriere della Sera |language=it}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2021-12-22 |title=Milano, sulla frontiera tra le due città: a San Siro il muro invisibile di piazzale Segesta tra il disagio delle case popolari e il lusso |url=https://milano.repubblica.it/cronaca/2021/12/22/news/inchiesta_frontiera_tra_le_due_citta_san_siro-331121678/ |access-date=2024-10-22 |website=la Repubblica |language=it}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2018-02-12 |title=Case Aler, viaggio nella casbah di San Siro tra rifiuti e case occupate |url=https://milano.repubblica.it/cronaca/2018/02/12/news/case_aler_viaggio_nella_casbah_di_san_siro-188657520/ |access-date=2024-10-22 |website=la Repubblica |language=it}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Schiavi |first=Giangiacomo |date=2021-05-19 |title=San Siro, il mondo che vive separato nella «casbah» |url=https://milano.corriere.it/notizie/notizie/caso_del_giorno/21_maggio_19/san-siro-mondo-che-vive-separato-casbah-c3eb91a6-b872-11eb-86a2-256e95d23aef.shtml |access-date=2024-10-22 |website=Corriere della Sera |language=it}}</ref> The neighbourhood, consisting of around 6,000 municipal flats, is characterised by the fact of having an estimated 25% share of Arab-speaking inhabitants, mostly hailing from Egypt.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-09-05 |title=Accoltellato al viso e alla schiena nella casbah di San Siro: grave un 30enne |url=https://milano.repubblica.it/cronaca/2023/09/05/news/accoltellato_via_civitali_san_siro-413437867/ |access-date=2024-10-22 |website=la Repubblica |language=it}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Florio |first=Felice |date=2021-03-01 |title=Danni collaterali - Nel quartiere arabo di Milano, dove il Coronavirus colpisce i più deboli: «La speranza è nel sorriso degli abitanti» |url=https://www.open.online/2021/03/01/danni-collaterali-quartiere-arabo-milano/ |access-date=2024-10-22 |website=Open |language=it-IT}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-05-11 |title="Barrio San Siro": il quartiere dove la violenza è lo stigma sociale e non solo cronaca nera |url=https://milano.repubblica.it/cronaca/2022/05/11/news/quartiere_san_siro_libro_paolo_grassi_interpretare_la_violenza_a_milano-348966295/ |access-date=2024-10-22 |website=la Repubblica |language=it}}</ref> The area has often been described as a ''[[banlieue]]'' within Milan and has historically had a higher crime rate than the rest of the city. Nevertheless, in recent years many projects have been presented so as to mitigate the marginalisation of its inhabitants. Other areas hosting large Arabic-speaking populations include Maciachini-Imbonati, Corvetto, Comasina and piazza Arcole.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2006-10-25 |title=Quella casbah chiamata Milano |url=https://www.ilgiornale.it/news/quella-casbah-chiamata-milano.html |access-date=2024-10-22 |website=ilGiornale.it |language=it}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Così a Milano è cresciuta una piccola Molenbeek, pronta a incendiarsi |url=https://www.ilfoglio.it/cronache/2016/08/03/news/cosi-a-milano-e-cresciuta-una-piccola-molenbeek-pronta-a-incendiarsi-102435/ |access-date=2024-10-22 |website=www.ilfoglio.it |language=it}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Istantanee-di-San-Siro.-Presente-e-futuro-del-quartiere |url=https://www.mappingsansiro.polimi.it/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/Istantanee-di-San-Siro.-Presente-e-futuro-del-quartiere_2019.pdf}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Corvetto |url=https://www.ilgiornale.it/news/milano/san-siro-e-corvetto-ecco-enclave-arabe-controlli-tappeto-1194744.html}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=A virtual immersion in Corvetto Neighbourhood |date=30 March 2020 |url=https://medium.com/living-streets-lab/a-virtual-immersion-in-corvetto-neighbourhood-fe17054e5b16}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-03-06 |title=Cristiana Shahata, la donna che aiuta le donne arabe allo sportello postale: "A loro dico di cercare di integrarsi" |url=https://milano.repubblica.it/cronaca/2023/03/06/news/ufficio_postale_corvetto_aiuto_donne_arabe-390696700/#google_vignette |access-date=2024-10-22 |website=la Repubblica |language=it}}</ref>

Milan has a substantial English-speaking community (around 4,500 US citizens, British, Irish and Australian expatriates, excluding double-citizens), and several English schools and English-language publications, such as ''Hello Milano'', ''Where Milano'' and ''[[Easy Milano]]''.<ref name=":1" />

=== Religion ===
[[File:Santa Maria delle Grazie Milan 2013.jpg|thumb|[[Santa Maria delle Grazie, Milan|Santa Maria delle Grazie]], completed in 1497]]
[[File:Sant'Ambrogio (Milan) - Atrium.jpg|thumb|[[Basilica di Sant'Ambrogio|St. Ambrose Basilica]] dates back from AD 379–386.]]

Milan's population, like that of Italy as a whole, is mostly Catholic.<ref>{{Catholic-hierarchy|country|scit1|
Italy|21 January 2015}}</ref><ref name="PEW2018-RESEARCH">{{cite web|url=http://assets.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/11/2018/05/24150841/Full-Topline-FINAL-FOR-PUBLICATION.pdf|title=Being Christian in Western Europe|date=2018|publisher=Pew Research Center|access-date=3 February 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190802131920/http://assets.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/11/2018/05/24150841/Full-Topline-FINAL-FOR-PUBLICATION.pdf|archive-date=2 August 2019|url-status=dead}}</ref> It is the seat of the Archdiocese of Milan. Greater Milan is also home to [[Protestant]], [[Eastern Orthodox Church|Eastern Orthodox]], Jewish, [[Muslim]], [[Hinduism|Hindu]], [[Sikhism|Sikh]] and [[Buddhism|Buddhist]] communities.<ref>{{cite web |title=Christian Churches in Milan |url=https://www.yesmilano.it/esplora/itinerari/christian-churches-milan |website=Yesmilano.it |publisher=Milan Tourism Office |access-date=30 December 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191230115613/https://www.yesmilano.it/esplora/itinerari/christian-churches-milan |archive-date=30 December 2019 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.mosaico-cem.it/ |title=Jewish Community of Milan |publisher=Mosaico-cem.it |access-date=13 March 2009 |archive-date=9 March 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180309050537/http://www.mosaico-cem.it/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Povoledo |first=Elisabetta |title=What May Life in Italy Be Like Under the Right? These Immigrants Already Know |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/29/world/europe/italy-migrants-sesto-san-giovanni.html |access-date=30 December 2019 |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |date=29 April 2018 |archive-date=30 December 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191230180121/https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/29/world/europe/italy-migrants-sesto-san-giovanni.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.lankaramaya.com/ |title=Lankarama Buddhist Temple – Milan, Italy |publisher=Lankaramaya.com |access-date=13 March 2009 |archive-date=8 May 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190508203144/http://www.lankaramaya.com/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Immigrants and religion in Italy: Orthodox overtake Muslims |url=https://www.ismu.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/Immigrati-e-religioni-in-Italia-2017_27.3.2018-1.pdf |publisher=ISMU Foundation |access-date=1 January 2020 |archive-date=1 January 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200101112757/https://www.ismu.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/Immigrati-e-religioni-in-Italia-2017_27.3.2018-1.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref>

Milan has been a Christian-majority city since the late Roman Empire.<ref>{{cite book |last=Alan |first=Kreider |title=The origins of Christendom in the West |date=2001 |publisher=T & T Clark |location=Edinburgh & New York |isbn=0-567-08776-X |page=56}}</ref> Its religious history was marked by the figure of St. Ambrose, whose heritage includes the [[Ambrosian Rite]] (Italian: ''Rito ambrosiano''), used by some five million Catholics in the greater part of the [[Archdiocese of Milan]],<ref>{{cite book |last=Bishop |first=William Chatterley |title=The Mozarabic and Ambrosian Rites: Four Essays in Comparative Liturgiology |date=1924 |publisher=Longmans, Green and Company |location=London |page=98}}</ref> which consider the largest in Europe.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.osservatoreromano.va/portal/dt?JSPTabContainer.setSelected=JSPTabContainer%2FDetail&last=false=&path=/news/editoriali/2012/direttore/128q12-Milano-laica-e-religiosa.html&title=Milano%20laica%20e%20religiosa&locale=it|title=Milano laica e religiosa|publisher=[[L'Osservatore Romano]]|language=it|date=3 June 2012|access-date=15 March 2013}}{{dead link|date=June 2021|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref> The Rite varies slightly from the canonical [[Roman Rite]] [[catholic liturgy|liturgy]], with differences in the mass, liturgical year ([[Lent]] starts four days later than in the Roman Rite), baptism, rite of funerals, priest clothes and sacred music (use of the [[Ambrosian chant]] rather than Gregorian).<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/01389a.htm |title=Catholic Encyclopedia: Ambrosian Chant |publisher=Newadvent.org |date=1 March 1907 |access-date=13 March 2009 |archive-date=12 June 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100612195609/http://newadvent.org/cathen/01389a.htm |url-status=live }}</ref>

In addition, the city is home to the largest Orthodox community in Italy. Lombardy is the seat of at least 78 Orthodox parishes and monasteries, the vast majority of them located in the area of Milan.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Monnot |first1=Christophe |last2=Stolz |first2=Joerg |title=Congregations in Europe |date=14 May 2018 |publisher=Springer |location=Berlin |isbn=978-3-319-77261-5 |page=63}}</ref> The main [[Romanian Orthodox]] church in Milan is the Catholic church of Our Lady of Victory (Chiesa di Santa Maria della Vittoria), currently granted for use to the local Romanian community.<ref>{{cite web |title=Chiesa di Santa Maria della Vittoria |url=http://www.turismo.milano.it/wps/portal/tur/en/arteecultura/architetturaemonumenti/abbaziechieseebasiliche/chiesa_santa_maria_vittoria |website=Yesmilano.it |publisher=Milan Tourism Office |access-date=29 December 2019 |archive-date=29 December 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191229133946/http://www.turismo.milano.it/wps/portal/tur/en/arteecultura/architetturaemonumenti/abbaziechieseebasiliche/chiesa_santa_maria_vittoria |url-status=live }}</ref> Similarly, the point of reference for the followers of the [[Russian Orthodox Church]] is the Catholic church of [[San Vito in Pasquirolo, Milan|San Vito in Pasquirolo]].<ref>{{cite book |last=Valli |first=Aldo Maria|title=Voi mi sarete testimoni: Dionigi Tettamanzi arcivescovo a Milano |date=2009|publisher=Rizzoli |location=Milan |isbn=978-88-17-03661-0 |edition=1.}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Calvesi |first1=Maurizio |last2=Zuccari |first2= Alessandro|title=Da Caravaggio ai Caravaggeschi |date=2008 |publisher=CAM Editrice |location=Rome |isbn=978-88-904842-0-9 |page=63}}</ref>

The Jewish community of Milan is the second largest in Italy after Rome, with about 10,000 members, mainly [[Sephardi]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Lerman |first1=Antony |last2=David M. |first2=Jacobs |last3=Lena |first3=Stanley-Clamps |last4=Anne |first4=Frankel |last5=Alan |first5=Montague |title=Jewish Communities of the World |year=1989 |publisher=Palgrave Macmillan, a division of Macmillan Publishers Limited |isbn=978-1-349-10534-2 |page=94 |edition=4th}}</ref> The main city synagogue, Hechal David u-Mordechai Temple, was built by architect [[Luca Beltrami]] in 1892 and is also the community's main headquarters, is located in Via della Guastalla. The interior was renovated in 1997.

Milan hosts also one of the largest Muslim communities in Italy,<ref>{{cite book |last=Castelli Gattinara |first=Pietro |title=The politics of migration in Italy : perspectives on local debates and party competition |date=2016 |publisher=Rutledge |location=New York |isbn=978-1-138-64256-0 |page=68}}</ref> and the city saw the construction of the country's first new [[Mosque of Segrate|mosque]] featuring a dome and minaret, since the destruction of the ancient mosques of [[Lucera]] in the year 1300. In 2014 the City Council agreed on the construction of a new mosque amid bitter political debate, since it is strenuously opposed by right-wing parties such as the [[Northern League (Italy)|Northern League]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Modood |first1=Tariq |last2=Triandafyllidou |first2=Anna |last3=Zapata-Barrero |first3=Ricard |title=Multiculturalism, Muslims, and citizenship : a European approach |url=https://archive.org/details/multiculturalism00modo |url-access=limited |date=2006 |publisher=Routledge |location=New York |isbn=978-0-415-35514-8 |page=[https://archive.org/details/multiculturalism00modo/page/n82 68]}}</ref> As of 2018, the Muslim population is estimated at 9% of the city's population.<ref>{{Cite report |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/resrep30904.4 |title=First Section: Data Regarding the Muslim Population in Italy |last=Martelli |first=Adelaide |date=2021 |publisher=International Institute for Counter-Terrorism (ICT) |pages=10–39}}</ref>

Currently, accurate statistics on the Hindu and Sikh presence in Milan metro area are not available; however, various sources estimate that about 40% of the total Indian population living in Italy, or about 50,000 individuals, reside in Lombardy,<ref>{{cite book |last=Rajan |first=S. Irudaya |title=India migration report 2018 : migrants in Europe |date=2019 |publisher=Routledge |location=New York |isbn=978-1-138-49816-7 |edition=1st}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Giordan |first1=Giuseppe |last2=Swatos |first2=William H. |title=Testing pluralism : globalizing belief, localizing gods |date=2013 |publisher=Brill |location=Leiden |isbn=978-90-04-25447-3 |page=82}}</ref> where a number of Hindu and Sikh temples exist and where they form the largest such communities in Europe after the ones in Britain.<ref>{{cite news |last=Hundal |first=Sunny |title=Why the Indian government must help Italian Sikhs |url=https://www.hindustantimes.com/columns/why-the-indian-government-must-help-italian-sikhs/story-y3yJS6zWOqnYkkVsDuvvAJ.html |access-date=30 December 2019 |newspaper=[[Hindustan Times]] |date=4 August 2017 |archive-date=30 December 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191230000930/https://www.hindustantimes.com/columns/why-the-indian-government-must-help-italian-sikhs/story-y3yJS6zWOqnYkkVsDuvvAJ.html |url-status=live }}</ref>