Foreign residents in Pray
Pray, in the province of Biella, is home to 5 Brazilians — 0.25% of its 1,996 residents. That is the 308th-highest concentration of Brazilians of any of the 5,872 Italian comuni with at least 1,000 residents, and 62nd within Piemonte.
Across the nationalities we track, Pray counts 12 foreign residents in total, 0.60% of the population. The largest groups are Brazilians (5), Venezuelans (2), Belgians (1).
Over the period 2019–2025, the number of Brazilians in Pray has risen, from 0 to 5.
Separately, ISTAT's census data shows 10.7% of Pray's population was born outside Italy — 9.0% outside the EU and 1.8% elsewhere in the EU. ISTAT does not publish this broken down by specific country at comune level, so it isn't directly comparable to the per-nationality citizenship figures above.
Population over time
By nationality
| Nationality | Citizens | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Brazil | 5 | 0.25% |
| Venezuela | 2 | 0.10% |
| Belgium | 1 | 0.05% |
| Switzerland | 1 | 0.05% |
| France | 1 | 0.05% |
| United Kingdom | 1 | 0.05% |
| Russia | 1 | 0.05% |
| Argentina | 0 | 0.00% |
| Austria | 0 | 0.00% |
| Australia | 0 | 0.00% |
| Canada | 0 | 0.00% |
| Germany | 0 | 0.00% |
| Denmark | 0 | 0.00% |
| Spain | 0 | 0.00% |
| Finland | 0 | 0.00% |
| Greece | 0 | 0.00% |
| Ireland | 0 | 0.00% |
| Japan | 0 | 0.00% |
| South Korea | 0 | 0.00% |
| Mexico | 0 | 0.00% |
| Netherlands | 0 | 0.00% |
| Norway | 0 | 0.00% |
| Portugal | 0 | 0.00% |
| Sweden | 0 | 0.00% |
| United States | 0 | 0.00% |
Country of birth
| Group | Residents | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Born in Italy | 1,782 | 89.28% |
| Born elsewhere in the EU | 35 | 1.75% |
| Born outside the EU | 179 | 8.97% |
Brazilians over time
Quality of life in Biella
Full BES profile for Biella →Biella on cost vs quality of life (province-level) →
Property prices
Buying in Pray is well below the Biella average of €566/m². Averaged across 2 OMI micro-zones, which can differ substantially within the same town.
13.7 years of rent here equal the purchase price — well below the national median of 22.2 years.
A ratio between two OMI prices, not a return on investment. It leaves out purchase taxes, IMU, maintenance, financing and the months a place sits empty — all of which push the real figure up. Useful for the question it does answer: whether this town looks expensive to buy relative to what renting in it costs.
A detached house here averages €635/m², against €430 for an apartment.
Compared street for street — houses and flats priced in the same neighbourhood — a house costs 49% more per square metre.
OMI prices “Ville e Villini” separately from the apartments every other figure on this page describes. Nationally a house costs about 14% more per square metre, but in 450 comuni it costs less — worth checking rather than assuming.