Population, work and employment

The province has over 1 million inhabitants, extending over an area of 2,746 sq km (accounting for 11% of the region), and has a density of 400 inhabitants per sq km. There are just under 450,000 households living in the province. There are 242 municipalities in the area (133 in upland areas). The capital city, Bergamo, has over 119,000 inhabitants. However, 300,000 people reside in the greater urban area around Bergamo.

Bergamo province has experienced a sustained demographic expansion, through high net immigration and strong natural growth. The population forecast for 2050 is over 1.2 million inhabitants.

The province’s economic stability comes from its long entrepreneurial tradition and the deeply-rooted culture of hard work shared by all its inhabitants. There are over 95,000 companies distributed across the Bergamo area, which is more than 8 for every 100 inhabitants. This figure is above the Italian average. The province of Bergamo is strongly characterised by the presence of handicraft business: in fact, handicrafts represent about 40% of the province’s businesses.

Employment levels in Bergamo province are above the national average, although a wide disparity between men and women persists. The service sector is the main employer, but many people also work in industry and construction.