Eurispes report: for 72% living in Italy is a fortune, trust in institutions is down, fraud against the elderly is on the rise
President Fara: 'We are still at the crossroads of the fundamental personal and collective choices that need to be made in response to the new challenges brought about by the often surprising and radical changes'
3' min read
3' min read
More than seven out of ten Italians, the majority (72%, they were 62.9% in 2011), consider living in Italy in 2025 a fortune. Natural beauty (21.6%), artistic and cultural tradition (19.6%) and good food (14.8%), freedom of opinion and expression (13.2%) and the favourable climate (12%) are the top five reasons that make living in Italy a fortune. So says the Eurispes report, now in its 37th edition. Among those who instead consider living in Italy a misfortune, general economic conditions (23.2%) and work precariousness (22.7%) occupy the first places among the reasons given. Over the past ten years, according to data from the Anagrafe degli italiani residenti all'estero (Aire), more than 1.2 million citizens have left the country. In 2025, according to the Eurispes survey, almost four out of ten Italians (39.5%, they were 40.6% in 2011) say they would move abroad if they had the chance, compared to 60.5% who would prefer to stay. The reasons for moving are mainly: the search for more job opportunities (29.8%), the lower cost of living (17.1%) and the desire to offer more opportunities to their children (13.9%).
Down in trust in institutions
Citizens' trust in the system of institutions is decreasing (33.1% in 2024, today they are 36.5%). However, this negative trend cannot be seen in all the institutions observed individually. In fact, we see citizens' trust in the President of the Republic, Sergio Mattarella, increasing, from 60.8% in 2024 to 63.6% in 2025. On the other hand, support for Parliament is down (from 33.6% to 25.4% this year); to a lesser extent for the Executive (from 36.2% in 2024 to 30.2%), in line with the trend of recent years; trust in the judiciary is also falling (from 47% to 43.9%)
Among the other institutions considered with rates below 50% of the consensus are: political parties (from 29.8% in 2024 to 21.1% in 2025); religious denominations other than Catholic (from 34.5% to 31.1%); trade unions (38.6% of the consensus in 2025 against 42.7% in 2024); public administration (down from 44.4% to 36.3%); and employers' associations (from 46% to 42.5%).
Scams on the elderly are on the rise
According to data from the Department of Public Security - Central Directorate of the Criminal Police of the Ministry of the Interior, the number of fraud victims recorded an almost constant increase from 2015 to 2023 and a decrease in 2024. In contrast, the number of fraud victims over 65 recorded a significant increase in 2024 (+5,782 cases), from 37,108 cases in 2023 to 42,890 (+15.58%). The most affected group is between 65 and 70 years of age. Victims of online scams involving the over-65s are steadily increasing (up to 25,440 in 2024). The sample survey carried out within the framework of the protocol signed by the Central Directorate of the Criminal Police of the Ministry of the Interior and Eurispes, shows, according to the direct or indirect experience of those interviewed, almost 3 out of 10 cases in which the crime of fraud against the elderly occurred. Phone scams (indicated by 71% of those reporting direct or indirect knowledge of scams against the elderly) and scams in person (6 out of 10 cases reported) are very common. In a smaller, but no less worrying percentage, telematic scams via the Internet (43.9 per cent) occurred.
Fara: we are still at the crossroads
The general considerations signed by the president of Eurispes, Gian Maria Fara, offer a reading of some of the processes of change underway. "We are still at the crossroads of the fundamental personal and collective choices that must be made in response to the new challenges brought about by the often surprising and radical changes. This statement is not the fruit of an exercise in rhetoric, but finds justification in the analyses, in the evaluation of the transformation processes of our society'. According to Fara, 'when we try to go deeper from the surface, when we decide to lift the veil of appearances, then the extent of the current crisis emerges in all its gravity, a crisis that undermines and depresses the values and fundamental factors on which our systems of coexistence and our processes of growth and development have been based and organised. The state of uncertainty involves, for example: our idea of peace, as an unavoidable condition of coexistence between peoples and states'.
