The Occitans (Occitan: los occitans) are an indigenous Romance language speaking ethnic group, originating in Occitania (southern France, northeastern Spain and northwestern Italy).
The Occitan language is still used to varying levels by between 100,000 and 800,000 speakers in southern France and northern Italy. Since 2006, the Occitan language is recognized as an official language in Catalonia, a region of Spain.