Demographics
| Historical population | ||
|---|---|---|
| Year | Pop. | ±% |
| 1861 | 37,243 | — |
| 1871 | 37,135 | −0.3% |
| 1881 | 43,472 | +17.1% |
| 1901 | 61,678 | +41.9% |
| 1911 | 70,132 | +13.7% |
| 1921 | 73,024 | +4.1% |
| 1931 | 92,689 | +26.9% |
| 1936 | 97,996 | +5.7% |
| 1951 | 130,511 | +33.2% |
| 1961 | 173,540 | +33.0% |
| 1971 | 211,377 | +21.8% |
| 1981 | 219,648 | +3.9% |
| 1991 | 204,237 | −7.0% |
| 2001 | 164,249 | −19.6% |
| 2010 (Est.) | 156,488 | −4.7% |
| Source: ISTAT 2001 | ||
In 2007, there were 158,041 people residing in Cagliari, of whom 46.7% were male and 53.3% were female. Minors (children ages 18 and younger) totalled 13.36 percent of the population compared to pensioners who number 21.87 percent. This compares with the Italian average of 18.06 percent (minors) and 19.94 percent (pensioners). The average age of Cagliari residents is 46 compared to the Italian average of 42. In the five years between 2002 and 2007, the population of Cagliari declined by 3 percent, while Italy as a whole grew by 3.56 percent. The current birth rate of Cagliari is 6 births per 1,000 inhabitants compared to the Italian average of 9.45 births. This trend is proportionally inverse with Cagliari metropolitan areas and suburbs, where most younger families move.
As of 2009, 96.91% of the population was Italian while the largest immigrant group came from East Asia and other European nations mostly from Ukraine and Romania. The overwhelming majority of persons are Roman Catholic.
Between the 1980s and the 1990s the population of Cagliari was around 220,000. During this period four municipal districts became autonomous municipalities with some local referendums. So, due to the separation of Quartucciu (12,527 inhabitants in 2009) in 1983, Elmas (8,977 inhabitants in 2009) in 1989, Monserrato (20,603 inhabitants in 2009) and Selargius (29,099 inhabitants in 2009) in 1991, Cagliari passed from circa 220,000 to 160,000 residents. Without this detachment the municipal population of Cagliari could be of 228,347.
Read more about this topic: Cagliari