Italy

Country at a glance

Italy is a southern europe member of the European Union, with its capital in Rome. The country joined the European Communities in 1958 as one of the six founding member states. Economically, Italy is the EU's third-largest economy, with a strong manufacturing base (machinery, automotive, fashion), a sharp North-South productivity gradient and a long-standing public-debt position above 130% of GDP. The country has used the euro since 1999, and it is part of the Schengen area for cross-border movement. Italian is the official language and the country is divided into 5 NUTS-1 statistical regions for the purposes of Eurostat reporting. On Eurostat's headline indicators, Italy is currently 3rd-most populous of the 27 member states with data on record; with the oldest median age in the bloc.

Key insights

How Italy stands out across the EU-27 on flagship indicators — auto-generated from the latest Eurostat snapshot.

• 🔴Public debt 137.1% of GDP — 2nd highest in EU
• 🟡Oldest median age in EU-27 (49.1 years, EU avg 44.9)
• 🟡Fertility rate 1.2 — well below the 2.1 replacement level
• 🟡Female employment 53.8% — 1st lowest in EU (EU avg 66.6%)
• 🟡Tertiary attainment 22.3% — bottom 2 in EU
• 🟢Life expectancy 83.7 years — top 3 in EU (EU avg 81.5)
• 🔵217k acquisitions of citizenship — 3rd highest volume in EU

Italy vs EU-27

Flagship indicators alongside the EU-27 average and Italy's rank across covered member states.

Indicators by topic

Every Eurostat indicator we hold for Italy, grouped by theme. Click through to the indicator profile for the cross-country timeline.

More data on Italy

This profile covers Eurostat statistical indicators. The pages below extend the picture into other strands of EU public data — parliamentary representation, public procurement, EU-funded research, cohesion-fund spending, regional statistics.

• European Parliament

  MEPs elected from Italy (current term, 2024–2029).

• Public tenders

  TED notices from Italy buyers — public contracts above EU thresholds.

• EU research grants

  CORDIS-funded R&D projects coordinated from Italy.

• Cohesion funds

  Kohesio-listed ERDF/ESF+/Cohesion Fund projects in Italy.

Sources & methodology

Data on this page comes from Eurostat (400 indicators), fetched from the official dissemination API. Each indicator card links to the cross-country profile with the full year-by-year timeline. See methodology for caveats, revision policy and ranking definitions, or sources for the complete dataset list.

Last refreshed: 2026-05-18 · Source: Eurostat dissemination API

For Italian national-level public data (taxes, benefits, regional comparisons), see dati-pubblici.it .