Quality of life for young people: Trentino Alto Adige more liveable. The South lags behind

First and second place for the two provinces of Trentino-Alto Adige and a huge disparity between Northern and Southern Italy. This is what emerges from the classification on the Quality of Life of Young People drawn up by Il Sole 24 Ore, which this year increases from 15 to 20 indicators. The survey takes into consideration all the main aspects of the lives of the under-35s: work, education, independence, family, free time, relationships, security and political participation.The great novelty this year concerns a study carried out by the Centro Studi Tagliacarne, which measures how many leisure services are within a 15-minute walk of one's residence.

Bolzano is the Italian province where young people live best, followed by Trento and Gorizia. The South Tyrolean province is mainly driven by the number of marriages, high education and low unemployment. Trento stands out for a high education rate and a low percentage of young people not studying and not working (Neet). The podium is completed by Gorizia, last year's winner, which narrowly overtakes Trieste thanks, among other things, to a large number of shows in relation to the number of residents, a low average age at childbirth and high road safety (few accidents at night). The North-East, including Emilia Romagna, monopolises the upper part of the ranking, taking a total of 12 positions out of the top 20. For young people, the country remains split in two: the top 20 provinces in the ranking are all located in the North, while 18 of the bottom 20 are in the South. All the large capital cities of the South are in the lower part of the ranking, with Naples fourth last. Among the large metropolitan cities, Bologna (7th) excels, ahead of Florence (26th). The trio from the North West follows at a distance: Genoa (45th), Turin (46th) and Milan (50th). Further down, Rome stops in 83rd position.

The difference between the North and the South can be felt above all by averaging the scores achieved in economic indicators such as youth unemployment, stabilisation of contracts, the percentage of Neet, satisfaction with one's job and the youth entrepreneurship rate: on the whole of these parameters, the 30 best provinces are all in the North. The exceptions are some southern territories at the top of the rankings dedicated to job satisfaction and youth entrepreneurship. In particular, companies with owners under 35 see Vibo Valentia, Naples and Crotone on the podium. In contrast, however, there is youth unemployment, a phenomenon that often makes youth self-entrepreneurship the only real alternative route for those who cannot find a job: on the basis of this parameter, the last 22 provinces are all in southern Italy. The case of Taranto is particularly serious: here youth unemployment reaches 44 per cent. Agrigento follows second to last with 31 per cent.

As far as education levels are concerned, Trentino Alto Adige is the region with the highest spread of diploma holders (Trento 87%, Bolzano 84%), while eight of the nine Sicilian provinces are in the last 20 positions. In terms of tertiary education, the university cities are doing very well, especially Bologna, where one young person in two has a university degree.For the metropolitan cities, the difficulty for young people to build their own independence weighs heavily: rents weigh heavily on the average disposable income - up to 80% in Rome - young people marry less and the average age at childbirth is very high (33.5 years in Milan and 33.4 in Rome).The ranking is reversed, however, if the accessibility of services is taken into account. Those related to leisure within a 15-minute walk are more widespread in the larger urban centres: 11 of the top 16 provinces are regional capitals. The podium is formed by Milan, Trieste and Rome.

A more walkable city does not necessarily coincide with a greater perception of safety on the streets: in Milan, last in terms of perceived safety, one in two young people feel unsafe walking alone in their neighbourhood in the dark. Rome also finishes in the last positions. Young people feel safer especially in the South: 15 of the top 20 provinces are in the South, with Enna and Nuoro in the lead.