Italy

Italy: steady but modest growth, 1980–2025

Chronic low productivity growth, high public debt, and a persistent north-south divide have constrained Italy to one of the slowest per-capita growth trajectories among major advanced economies since 1980. Between 1980 and 2025, Italy's GDP per capita grew from $8,476 to $43,309 (current US$), a compound annual growth rate of 3.7% — steady but modest growth. Annual GDP growth averaged 1.2% with a year-to-year standard deviation of 2.6 points, reflecting relatively stable macroeconomic conditions. Structurally, agriculture's share of the economy moved from 3.2% to 2.1% of GDP (a classic decline as the economy industrialized/modernized), while services rose from 60.3% to 64.5% of GDP, underscoring a shift toward a services-driven economy. On human development, life expectancy rose from 73.9 to 84.0 years, while tertiary school enrollment moved from 53.5% to 75.9%, while the urban population share grew from 66.8% to 69.7%.

What this growth cost: Growth was not without cost: per-capita CO2 emissions fell from 7.05 to 5.08 tonnes CO2e per person; income inequality (Gini index) widened from 32.9 to 34.3; the poverty headcount ratio increased from 0.2% to 0.9%.