Friuli - Demography

Demography

Friuli has a little under one million people.

One of the most important demographic phenomena in Friuli was emigration. It began in the final decades of the 19th century and ended in the 1970s. It is estimated that more than a million Friulian people emigrated away over a period of approximately one hundred years. According to the most recent census by AIRE (2005), Friulian émigrés living abroad number 134,936. Of these, 56.0% reside in Europe, 24.0% in South America, 10.3% in North America and 4.7% in Oceania. This data only reflects those Friulians and their descendants who have Italian citizenship. The descendants of Friulians are excluded from the census because they are not Italian citizens. Friulians in the world have supported cultural associations called Fogolârs furlans, of which there are 46 in Italy and 156 in the rest of the world.

Ente Friuli nel Mondo (Friuli in the World)

In 1953, to assist Friulians in foreign countries and to coordinate the activities of the Fogolârs Furlans, the organization Ente Friuli nel Mondo (Friulians in the World), was founded. It publishes a magazine, Friuli nel Mondo, and 25,000 copies are distributed in 78 different countries. The organization educates émigrés and their descendants about their origins, ethnic identity, and maintains connections among Friulians around the world.