Covering 4,438 square kilometres (1,714 sq mi), it is the second smallest region in the country, after the Aosta Valley, and has a population of 313,348 (as of 1 January 2015).

The agricultural holdings produce wine, cereals, olive oil, vegetables, fruits and dairy products.

Molise's autochthonous grape is Tintilia which has been rediscovered during the last ten years, and many other PDO (DOP) wines, both red and white.

In the services sector the most important industries are distribution, hotels and catering, followed by transport and communications, banking and insurance.

With few exceptions, in all sectors firms are small, and this explains the difficulties encountered when marketing products on a national scale.

Four of them have been selected by I Borghi più belli d'Italia (English: 'The most beautiful villages of Italy'),[10] a non-profit private association of small Italian towns of strong historical and artistic interest,[11] founded on the initiative of the Tourism Council of the National Association of Italian Municipalities.

In the period 1951–71, large-scale emigration to other countries of the European Union, to other parts of Italy and overseas led to a significant decline in the population of Molise.

In addition to bruschetta, a typical antipasto will consist of any of several meat dishes, such as the sausages capocollo, the fennel-seasoned salsiccie al finocchio, soppressata, ventricina, frascateglie or sanguinaccio.

Trout from the Biferno river is notable for its flavor, and is cooked with a simple but tasty sauce of aromatic herbs.