In Italy, the use of Italian and foreign languages is on the rise, while dialect usage has fallen by nearly two-thirds in the last 40 years, from 32% in 1988 to 9.6% in 2024. As per the National Institute of Statistics' data, in 2024, nearly half of the population aged 6 and older (48.4 percent) speaks exclusively or predominantly Italian in all relational contexts, including within the family, with friends, and with strangers. However, there are significant disparities between close relational contexts and broader social contexts: 53.6 percent speak predominantly Italian within the family, 58.7 percent with friends, and 82.6 percent with strangers. In various relational contexts, the language used by men and women varies. Women are more likely to express themselves in Italian, both within the family (55.3 percent compared to 51.9 percent of men) and with acquaintances (62.6 percent versus 54.7 percent).