Milan is the most populous metropolitan area in Italy and one of the most significant cities in the European Union. It’s situated in the northern part of Italy. Milan is among the oldest of the world’s great cities and one of the most cosmopolitan. It is the country’s economic, transportation, and cultural centre. Since the Middle Ages, Milan is renowned for influencing other cities around the world. It is famous for its astounding medieval buildings and modern structures that stand side by side to complement each other. Some of the places that make it famous include the amazing ancient buildings, Duomo di Milano, La Scala Opera House, The Last Supper, and Sforza Castle.

Census in Italy is done after every 10 years and 2011 was the last time that it was conducted. The next census is scheduled for 2021 in Italy. According to the 2011 census, Milan had a population of 1,331,768. Compared to other cities in Italy, Milan is considered to be more diverse. According to the 2011 census, 79.2% of the population is Italian based in Milan while across Italy amounted to 91.5%. This is due to many people moving away from the city center. When it comes to religious beliefs, Milan is known to be diverse as most people identify themselves as Christian, Muslim, Hindu and Buddhist. According to the data collected during the 2011 census, 78.3% people in Milan identified themselves as Christian, 2.6% as Muslim, 0.3% Hindu, 0.1% Jewish, 0.1% Buddhist and 0.5% Other religions. On the other hand, 18.1% of respondents declared that they followed no religion. As one of the most diverse cities in Italy, Milan houses over 1.3 million residents, who collectively speak multiple languages, including Italian, English, Spanish, German, French, and Mandarin.

There are two tiers under local government in Milan. They are citywide and local tier. Citywide administration is coordinated by the Municipality of Milan, while local administration is carried out by 9 smaller municipal zones. The Municipality of Milan consists of an elected Mayor, who has executive powers, and the Municipal Council, who scrutinize the Mayor's decisions and can accept or reject his budget proposals each year. The Municipality of Milan is responsible for strategic planning, policing, the fire service, most aspects of transport and economic development. On the other hand, the 9 municipal zones are responsible for local services not overseen by the Municipality of Milan, such as local planning, schools, social services, local roads and refuse collection. Each zone has a council made up from representatives from political parties and single issue organizations elected every five years by local residents.

Milan has always been a commercial city and today enjoys the status of having one of the largest city economies in the world. The city thrives in trade and commerce and has a vibrant culture seeped in commerce. It has a GDP of over €139 billion, which is about 10 percent of Italy's total GDP. The size of its economy is larger than that of several European nations. The Port of Milan handles millions of tons of cargo every year.

The Municipality of Milan took positive steps with its draft Milan infrastructure plan 2030. The Mayor of Milan took a big step forward in planning for growth with the publication of the Municipality’s Milan Infrastructure Plan 2030. It identifies a range of infrastructure priorities for Milan, from new energy, water and sewerage infrastructure, to enhanced digital connectivity and new metro, rail and road schemes. Some of the investment is provided by the private sector, through the privatized utilities. This has generally worked well in Milan, although business is particularly concerned at the lack of capacity in digital infrastructure. The take-up of high speed broadband by business is low compared to other world cities; and just over 10% of premises cannot access superfast broadband in the first place, with these “not spots” particularly prevalent in the city center. Business sees these as priority areas for action by the Mayor.