Lombardy is Italy's leading economy. On its own it would be the tenth largest in the EU

(Il Sole 24 Ore Radiocor) - Lombardy generates one fifth of Italy's GDP, which is the third largest in the European Union. Considering Lombardy as a national economy, it would be the tenth country by GDP among the 27 of the Union (with 480.6 billion euro in 2023), immediately after Ireland and before countries such as Austria, Denmark, Finland and with a GDP more than double that of Greece. This is what emerged at the Assolombarda assembly, during which a picture of Lombardy's economy and its records was presented, including a comparison with the rest of the EU and the other main European regional economies. Within Italy, Lombardy accounts for more than a quarter of industrial added value, more than a fifth of that of services, and more than a quarter of Italian exports are generated by Lombardy-based companies. Lombardy's exports in 2023 amounted to EUR 163.6 billion, out of Italy's EUR 626.2 billion, which continues to break its records. Here too, the Lombardy economy is performing better than whole countries such as Hungary, Denmark, Portugal and Finland. In this picture, among the four largest European economies (Germany, France, Italy, Spain), Lombardy has the strongest economic growth compared to the pre-pandemic, with +6.7% GDP between 2019 and 2023, while Italy did +4.6%, Spain +3.6%, France +2.4% and Germany only +0.5%. In addition, Lombardy had the strongest growth per inhabitant compared to pre-Covid, at +7.1% GDP per capita between 2019 and 2023; the largest reduction in unemployment compared to pre-Covid, with -28.8% unemployed between 2019 and 2023.

Comparing with the other main European regions from an economic and industrial point of view in Germany, France and Spain (Andalucía, Baden-Württemberg, Bayern, Cataluña, Comunidad de Madrid, Île de France, Niedersachsen, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Rhône-Alpes), Lombardy is fifth in terms of number of inhabitants and fifth in terms of Pi level, fourth in terms of GDP per capita, fourth in terms of exports, fifth in terms of unemployment rate and fifth in terms of youth unemployment rate. However, in the period 2019-2023, it recorded the strongest economic growth compared to pre-pandemic; the fourth strongest expansion on international markets with a 28.3% export growth between 2019 and 2023; the largest reduction in unemployment compared to 2019 (-28.8% of unemployed to 2023); and the largest reduction in unemployment 15-24 years old compared to pre-pandemic, with -10.5% of youth unemployment between 2019 and 2023. In 2023, the unemployment rate in Lombardy is 4%, with the national figure at 7.7%.

Looking at exports in detail, as mentioned, Lombardy is first in Italy and exports about as much as Emilia-Romagna and Veneto together. Moreover, Lombardy is first in Italy for diversification of exported products and first among Italian regions for exports of typical Made in Italy products. Looking at the data for 2023, on exports of Mechatronics (284.9 billion euros for Italy), Lombardy is in first place with 29.2% of the total; first place also for Fashion with 28.3% of the Italian total equal to 65.1 billion euros, in Chemistry-Pharmaceuticals with 30.4% of the total (88.9 billion), and in Design-Furniture with 29.8% of the total (16.7 billion). In the food sector, Lombardy is in second place with 17.5% of the total (55.3 billion), behind Emilia-Romagna which is worth 18.9% of the Italian total.