Overview

• Italy’s GDP rose 0.7% in 2024, falling short of the EU average of 1% for the first time since 2021
• Southern regions grew 1% last year versus 0.6% in central and northern areas, narrowing the growth gap to 0.4 percentage points
• The National Recovery and Resilience Plan added 0.6 points to southern growth and 0.4 points to the rest of the country, mobilizing around €45 billion in public investments
• Municipal administrations accounted for nearly half of that spending, with local investments in the South up 75.3% between 2022 and 2024
• Despite stronger output, 31.2% of workers in southern Italy remained below the annual income poverty threshold in 2024