Value added racing in four southern regions

"The data show an overall resilience of the Italian system, but we can see the heterogeneity with which development is taking hold within the various territorial areas". This was said by the president of Unioncamere, Andrea Prete, who added, "The south of Italy shows important signs of vitality, even if in the face of provinces that record trends even higher than the national average, there are others that struggle to keep pace, making a North and a South emerge almost within the same South. This diversity also concerns the North, traditionally the engine of development, which over time is showing an increase in growth inequalities, especially in the Northwest. This is why it is essential to develop development policies that allow for a more extensive and balanced progression of the different territories. In this direction, the Chambers of Commerce can be an important transmission belt between the state and local economies'.

South first in industry and PA growth

Rewarding the South's sprint is above all the trend in the added value produced by industry and public administration. In industry in the strictest sense, the South grows, in fact, by 5.46% between 2022 and 2023, doing better than the Northeast (+ 4.66%), the Northwest (+ 4.13%) and the Centre (+3.85%). It is no coincidence that eight of the top ten provinces in the sector are from the South and, of these, five are Sicilian.

While the number of southern provinces that stand out in the top ten rankings for added value increases recorded by the Public Administration and Other Services sector, a sector that has historically been very present in southern Italy, rises to 9. The best performers are Catanzaro (+6.02%), Vibo Valentia (5.19%) and Reggio di Calabria (+4.96%). Overall, the added value of the South of Italy in the sector increased by 3.24%, followed at some distance by the Northwest (+2.59%), the Centre (2.29%) and the Northeast (+2.20%).

Trieste's comeback: in twenty years it has climbed 29 positions to 10th place

If Milan, Bolzano and Bologna remain firmly in the top three positions in terms of added value produced per capita between 2022 and 2023, Sondrio (with 31,636 euro each in 2023) and Benevento (with 20,067 euro) prove to be the most dynamic, registering the most consistent leap in the provincial ranking with a recovery of three positions each. On the opposite front, those who fall back the most are, instead, Pordenone, Rimini, Grosseto, Taranto, Crotone, and Nuoro losing two positions each.

But if we extend our gaze to the last twenty years, between 2003 and 2023, it is Trieste that climbs the ranks the most, moving from 39th to 10th place, although it has given up a couple of positions in the last two years. Pavia, on the other hand, is the province that falls back the most, dropping 24 positions in twenty years, followed by Varese and Ragusa (-23 positions each) and Como (-22 positions). Also striking are the loss of 'polish' of Fermo and Prato, Italy's first and second provinces in terms of incidence of textile-clothing-leather-footwear workers, which fall back by 21 and 20 positions respectively, confirming the difficulties of production systems strongly focused on the sector.

Value added per capita worsens in 65 Italian provinces compared to the national average between 2003 and 2023: 21 are in the North-West

Over the past two decades, the differences between the various local economies have increased, revealing unequal development even within the same macro-areas and Italian regions. Between 2003 and 2023, 65 out of 107 provinces saw their per capita added value deteriorate compared to the national average. This phenomenon was most evident in the North-West, involving as many as 84% of the provinces (21 out of 25), including all those in Piedmont and as many as 10 in Lombardy. But even in the Centre, the issue is well present, involving 68% of the provinces (15 out of 22). The picture is less complex in the South, with half of the provinces in 'distress' (19 out of 38 to be exact), and the North East with 45% of the provinces (10 out of 22).