Educational poverty

Educational levels, risk begins in the family for 22% of young people

ISTAT maps 78 indicators on family conditions, schooling and social contextPenalised above all the Mezzogiorno

by Enrico Schlitzer

5 June 2026

4' min read

Translated by AI

Versione italiana

Key points

National trends
Risk factors
Results and competences

4' min read

Translated by AI

Versione italiana

21.7% of the under-20s live in areas where family conditions are associated with a particularly high educational risk. Areas concentrated mainly in the South, including the large cities of Campania and Sicily. The share of young people growing up in areas with a high risk linked to the school context (2.9%) or social context (8.6%) is smaller. These are the three dimensions of the risk factors examined by the ISTAT Commission on Educational Poverty: according to the data published by the institute, at the end of a journey that began in 2023, on the skills attained the North has higher levels of learning, but emotional and relational skills are stronger in the Centre and the South. In both cases, Sardinia records the worst values.

LE TRE DIMENSIONI DELLA POVERTÀ EDUCATIVA

National trends

The aim was to identify the inequalities that hold back the growth of children and young people, to understand how to measure them and to map the most affected areas. The result was a system of 78 indicators, describing risk factors and skills. A tool that can be updated over time to measure progress and assess the impact of policies.

In recent years, Italia has made great strides on the school dropout front. In 2025 the rate dropped to 8.2 per cent (in 2020 it was 14.2 per cent), already below the 9 per cent threshold set by the EU as the target for 2030. Less positive is the picture on skills, as reconstructed by a recent analysis of Il Sole 24 Ore (published on 20 April 2026). According to the results of the Invalsi 2024/25 tests, almost one in two students finishes middle or high school without having reached the minimum expected levels in Italian and mathematics. The risk factors of educational poverty, on the other hand, had never been systematically mapped until now, and the ISTAT Commission reports fragilities on various fronts.

In 2024, 43.8% of young people between 6 and 19 years of age have not read a single book. Amongst the under-20s, almost four out of ten live in overcrowded homes (38.5%). On the teaching continuity front, about one in four teachers is a substitute teacher (24.4%).

To map the different phenomena, the Commission divided the regions into three levels of population density: large cities, small towns and rural areas. For each area, it has summarised the indicators into different scores that measure the educational risk linked to the family, school and social context, as well as results in cognitive and relational skills. The value 100 corresponds to the Italian average. Higher values indicate a worse condition, lower ones a more favourable one.

OTTO INDICATORI SOTTO LA LENTE

Risk factors

Risk factors related to family conditions (associated with economic, cultural and housing aspects) vary widely across the Peninsula. The South is furthest behind, in particular Sicily, Calabria and Campania, where income inequalities weigh heavily. In these regions, the share of young people with unemployed parents was around or above 20% in 2024, more than double the Italian average (9.8%). On the other hand, the situation is better in the North-East, starting with Trentino-Alto Adige, and in Umbria. Going down into territorial detail, the areas with the highest risk (above 110) are almost all concentrated in the south of Italy and include territories where a significant proportion of young people live. The highest scores are in Sicily, in rural areas (118.2) and in small towns (117.8), and in the large towns of Campania (117.4). In the South, family risk does not vary much between urban centres and inland areas: exceptions are the less populated areas of Campania, just above the national average. Among the northern regions, high scores are recorded only in the sparsely inhabited areas of Liguria (112.8). The rest of the territory is below or close to 100.

Looking instead at school risk, linked to the quality and actual use of educational services, the territorial differences are less marked, a sign of a relatively uniform school offer. The worst results are recorded in the inland areas, which occupy the top ten positions. In the lead are Liguria (113.9), Piedmont (111.7) and Calabria (110.2). Among the most critical territories, the highest share of young people aged between 0 and 19 is to be found in the rural areas of Lombardy, in fifth place, and Veneto, in seventh place.

The social dimension of educational poverty includes the characteristics of the territory, the cultural offer and youth participation. Here, Italia divides again, but the gap is less clear-cut than that linked to family conditions. The highest risk is in the rural areas of the South, in particular Sicily (119.1), Apulia (113.7) and Calabria (113.7). But the phenomenon also touches some large cities, such as those in Campania (109.9), and is not limited to the South. The top 20 includes inland areas in the Centre-North: Liguria, Lazio, Veneto, Lombardy and Piedmont, all over 105.

Results and Skills

In terms of results, cognitive skills worsen in the South, starting with the rural areas of Sardinia (136.0), Calabria (122.0) and Campania (117.5). Social skills follow a less linear geography: the greatest criticalities remain in Sardinia, but high values are also recorded in the northern regions, starting with Friuli-Venezia Giulia, and in the large centres of Calabria and Campania.