Skip to content
World Health Systems Facts

Italy: Economic System

Italy: Economic System

Health System Overview
Health System Rankings
Health System Outcomes
Health System Coverage
Health System Costs for Consumers
Health System Expenditures
COVID-19 National Policy

Health System Financing
Health System Personnel
Health System Physical Resources and Utilization
Long-Term Care
Health Information and Communications Technologies
Medical Training

Political System
Economic System
Population Demographics
People With Disabilities
Aging
Social Determinants & Health Equity
Health System History
Health System Challenges


Population, 2020: 59,450,000
Gross National Income, Atlas method, Current USD, Billions, 2020: $1,923.56
GNI per capita, Atlas method, Current USD, 2020: $32,360
Income Share Held by Lowest 20%, 2020: 6.1%
Gross Domestic Product, Current USD, Billions, 2020: $1,888.71

Source: World Bank. Country Profile: Italy. World Development Indicators. Last accessed June 18, 2022.


Gross Domestic Product Per Capita, Current USD, 2010-2019: $33,226
Share of Household Income, 2010-2019:
    Bottom 40%: 18.0%; Top 20%: 42.1%; Bottom 20%: 6.0%
Gini Coefficient, 2010-2019: 32.8
Palma Index of Income Inequality, 2010-2019: 1.3

Source: United Nations Children’s Fund, The State of the World’s Children 2021: On My Mind – Promoting, protecting and caring for children’s mental health, UNICEF, New York, October 2021.


“The most important sectors of Italy’s economy in 2020 were wholesale and retail trade, transport, accommodation and food services (20.1%), industry (19.5%) and public administration, defence, education, human health and social work activities (17.5%).

“Intra-EU trade accounts for 51% of Italy’s exports (Germany 13%, France 10%), while outside the EU 10% go to the United States and 6% to Switzerland.

“In terms of imports, 58% come from EU Member States (Germany 16%, France 8% and the Netherlands 6%), while outside the EU 9% come from China and 4% from the United States.”

Source: European Union. Country Profile: Italy. Last accessed Feb. 8, 2023.


“Italy has a market economy, is a founding member of the EU and is in the Eurozone. It is also a member of major multilateral economic organizations such as the Group of Seven Industrialized Countries (G-7), the Group of Eight (G-8), the Group of Twenty (G-20), the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), the World Trade Organization and the International Monetary Fund (IMF). In 2021, Italy was the eighthlargest economy in the world and the fourth-largest in Europe in terms of nominal gross domestic product (GDP) (IMF, 2022). Its annual GDP (in current prices) accounts for 11% of the European Union’s (EU’s) total GDP (RGS, 2019). In 2020, gross national income (GNI) per capita was $US 31 714 (Table 1.2). In 2021, southern Italy was the poorest and least developed area with a family poverty incidence of 9.9%, against a value of 7.5% in the north and 5.4% in the centre (ISTAT, 2021b). In the last two decades, in terms of GDP annual growth rate, the Italian economy has underperformed and was heavily impacted by an 8.9 % decline in 2020 as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown measures and a drastic fall in internal demand (MEF, 2020); the average decrease across EU members states was 6.2%. Likewise, government gross debt rose to 183.5% of GDP in 2020, against an OECD average of 94% (OECD, 2022a). After a sharp rebound of 6.6% in 2021, a snapshot of the Italian economy in June 2022 forecasts a growth rate of 2.5% in 2022, supported by strong base effects, new incentives for the private sector and the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NRRP) (Piano Nazionale di Ripresa e Resilienza) (OECD, 2022b). However, at the time of writing (September 2022) it is clear that this outlook will be negatively impacted by the persistent inflationary pressures connected to the current war in Ukraine, the increase of oil and gas prices, and a domestic political crisis which led to new elections at the end of September 2022. Uncertainty will impede household consumption and investment, slowing the recovery of services.”

Source: de Belvis AG, Meregaglia M, Morsella A, Adduci A, Perilli A, Cascini F, Solipaca A, Fattore G, Ricciardi W, Maresso A, Scarpetti G. Italy: Health system review. Health Systems in Transition, 2022; 24(4): pp.i–203.


“The Italian economy is based on a large service sector (public and private) and manufacturing goods, primarily in small and medium-sized firms. Italy has few natural resources and most of its energy requirements have to be imported (78.6% compared with 47.3% in France, 64% in Germany and 76.3% in Spain). In 2019, the agricultural sector employed 3.89% of the workforce; the secondary sector employed 25.87% of the population, whereas the services sector employed 70.24 % of the population (Statista, 2022). As for the contribution of the productive sectors to GDP, in 2020, the agricultural sector accounted for only 1.9% of GDP; the secondary sector provided for 21.6% of GDP and the services sector 66.7% (Statista, 2021b).

“From 1992, economic policies were launched to tackle the fiscal and monetary imbalances that had developed over the previous years, aiming to contain public debt, stabilize the currency (up to the introduction of the Euro) and keep interest rates low (Ferrè et al., 2014). Since the late 1990s, one of the specific weaknesses of Italy’s economy has been the labour market structure. By the end of 2021, the unemployment rate was 9% and the youth unemployment rate was 26.8% (ISTAT, 2022c). Temporary jobs continue to play an increasingly important role within Italy’s economy, primarily inItaly 7the south. Women account for 42.2% of the workforce (Censis, 2019), one of the lowest rates among EU countries, which sharply declines moving up the career ladder. Furthermore, with the pandemic, the majority of those who lost their jobs were women (FSCdL, 2020). Italy also has a major underground economy that accounts for an estimated 11% of GDP – EUR 192 billion (ISTAT, 2020a). This includes many nominally unemployed people, as well as undocumented immigrants, often in harsh agricultural working conditions in the rural south, informal carers and domestic workers.”

Source: de Belvis AG, Meregaglia M, Morsella A, Adduci A, Perilli A, Cascini F, Solipaca A, Fattore G, Ricciardi W, Maresso A, Scarpetti G. Italy: Health system review. Health Systems in Transition, 2022; 24(4): pp.i–203.


Health Systems Facts is a project of the Real Reporting Foundation. We provide reliable statistics and other data from authoritative sources regarding health systems in the US and sixteen other nations.


Page last updated Feb. 8, 2023 by Doug McVay, Editor.

  • Home
  • About World Health Systems Facts
    • Contact Us
    • Join Our Email List
  • Breaking News & Opinion
  • Upcoming Events
  • Seventeen National Health Systems
    • Austria
    • Canada
    • Costa Rica
    • Czechia
    • Denmark
    • France
    • Germany
    • Hungary
    • Italy
    • Japan
    • Netherlands
    • South Korea
    • Spain
    • Sweden
    • Switzerland
    • United Kingdom
    • United States
  • Comparing National Health Systems
    • Healthcare Access and Quality Index
    • Sustainable Development Goals Health Index
    • Mirror Mirror 2021
    • World Health Report 2000
    • International Health Systems In Perspective
    • Lessons for US Health Reform
  • Aging
  • Health System Outcomes
  • Healthcare Spending
  • Healthcare Workforce
    • Healthcare Workers
    • Healthcare Workforce Education & Training
  • Information and Communication Technologies
  • Long-Term Services and Supports
  • People With Disabilities
  • Pharmaceutical Pricing and Regulation
  • Social Determinants & Health Equity
  • Wasteful Healthcare Spending
  • Various US Health System Proposals
    • Affordable Care Act
    • All Payer
    • Public Option
    • Single Payer / “Medicare For All”
    • Universal Health Coverage
  • Recommended Resources
  • Privacy Policy
    • Cookie Policy
  • Facebook
  • LinkedIn
  • Twitter

© 2019-2023 Real Reporting Foundation | Theme by WordPress Theme Detector

We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking “Accept”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies.
.
Cookie SettingsAccept
Manage consent

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously.
CookieDurationDescription
_GRECAPTCHA5 months 27 daysThis cookie is set by Google. In addition to certain standard Google cookies, reCAPTCHA sets a necessary cookie (_GRECAPTCHA) when executed for the purpose of providing its risk analysis.
cookielawinfo-checkbox-advertisement1 yearThe cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Advertisement".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-analytics11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-functional11 monthsThe cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-others11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other.
cookielawinfo-checkbox-performance11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance".
viewed_cookie_policy11 monthsThe cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data.
Functional
Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features.
Performance
Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.
Analytics
Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.
CookieDurationDescription
_ga2 yearsThis cookie is installed by Google Analytics. The cookie is used to calculate visitor, session, campaign data and keep track of site usage for the site's analytics report. The cookies store information anonymously and assign a randomly generated number to identify unique visitors.
_gat_UA-71314304-21 minuteThis is a pattern type cookie set by Google Analytics, where the pattern element on the name contains the unique identity number of the account or website it relates to. It appears to be a variation of the _gat cookie which is used to limit the amount of data recorded by Google on high traffic volume websites.
_gcl_au3 monthsThis cookie is used by Google Analytics to understand user interaction with the website.
_gid1 dayThis cookie is installed by Google Analytics. The cookie is used to store information of how visitors use a website and helps in creating an analytics report of how the website is doing. The data collected including the number visitors, the source where they have come from, and the pages visted in an anonymous form.
Advertisement
Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads.
CookieDurationDescription
IDE1 year 24 daysUsed by Google DoubleClick and stores information about how the user uses the website and any other advertisement before visiting the website. This is used to present users with ads that are relevant to them according to the user profile.
test_cookie15 minutesThis cookie is set by doubleclick.net. The purpose of the cookie is to determine if the user's browser supports cookies.
Others
Other uncategorized cookies are those that are being analyzed and have not been classified into a category as yet.
SAVE & ACCEPT
Powered by CookieYes Logo