Absolute poverty reached 9.3% of Italy’s population in 2025, affecting more than 5.4 million residents, while the country’s latest well-being assessment showed mixed progress against European benchmarks.
The Italian National Institute of Statistics (Istat) reported that 8.0% of households were in absolute poverty in 2025. It characterized the change from 8.4% in 2024 as statistically stable. The rate was 19.2% among households with five or more members and 11.2% among households with at least one minor child.
Istat also identified education and employment as protective factors, with poverty rates varying according to the education and work status of the household reference person. The household figures form part of a broader assessment of well-being across the country.
The 2026 edition reviews 148 indicators across 12 areas, including health, education, work and economic well-being. Looking at the 132 measures with results comparable to the previous year, Istat recorded improvement in 54, no change in 55 and declines in 23.
Italy’s results were mixed against EU peers. Across 40 indicators benchmarked against the EU27 average, the country performed better on 12 and worse on 18. Italy had stronger results in health and safety and on some environmental measures, while education, employment, work-life balance and innovation showed wider gaps.
The employment rate was 8.5 percentage points below the EU average. Research and development spending was 1.40% of gross domestic product, compared with 2.26% for the EU. The at-risk-of-poverty measure stood 2.3 percentage points above the EU average; Istat reports that indicator separately from its absolute-poverty figures for residents and households.
