This statistic shows the gross domestic product (GDP) in Italy from 1987 to 2023 with projections up until 2029. GDP refers to the total market value of all goods and services that are produced within a country per year. It is an important indicator of the economic strength of a country. In 2023, the GDP in Italy was about 2.26 trillion U.S. dollars. See global GDP for a global comparison.

Italy's economy

After increasing significantly year-over-year, Italy’s gross domestic product (GDP) has gone through several fluctuations since the global economic crisis in 2008. The European Union’s third largest economy has experienced downturns, primarily due to inefficiency with regards to spending and incompetent leadership.

When analyzing the country’s budget balance, which is essentially the overall difference between revenues and spending, Italy has posted a negative balance, or a state deficit, every year over the past decade. However, their budget balance has improved noticeably every year since 2009. Since the country spent more than they earned, national debt continued to rise every year, most notably between 2008 and 2009, and continued to do so going into 2014. Italy’s dependency on funding from other countries will lead to further debt, unless it finds a way to decrease spending or increase revenues.

Despite the country’s ongoing recession, Italy’s GDP ranked the country in the top 10 countries with the largest gross domestic product in 2014, ahead of economically developed countries such as Canada and Australia. This implies that Italy’s economical struggles are more a result of inefficient spending rather than a lack of production.

This statistic shows the gross domestic product (GDP) per capita in Italy from 1987 to 2023, with projections up until 2029. GDP refers to the total market value of all goods and services that are produced within a country per year. It is an important indicator of the economic strength of a country. In 2023, the GDP per capita in Italy was around 39,012.08 U.S. dollars. Italy's struggling economy Italy’s GDP per capita has been unstable since 2008, often experiencing slight increases and decreases annually. The third largest economy of the euro area not only suffered from the global financial crisis, they were also one of the primary victims of the euro area crisis. One of the outcomes is the significant growth of Italy’s national debt, which saw continued upsurges every year over the past decade. With the collapse of investments and loss of industrial production, the Italian state was forced to resort to increase taxation and decrease spending. Additionally, Italy was forced to borrow more, which in turn increased national debt and furthermore their debt-to-GDP ratio. A debt-to-GDP ratio is significant to help determine if a country can pay off its debts without incurring more. Increased taxation and decrease spending helped with reducing expenditures as well as raising revenues, however Italy still maintained a trade balance deficit, which has only recently< started to recover. Several reasons for Italy’s downturn as a country are unnecessary spending and incompetent leadership.

This statistic shows the real gross domestic product (GDP) growth rate in Italy from 2019 to 2023, with projections up until 2029. GDP refers to the total market value of all goods and services that are produced within a country per year. It is an important indicator of the economic strength of a country. Real GDP is adjusted for price changes and is therefore regarded as a key indicator for economic growth. In 2023, Italy's real GDP increased by about 0.92 percent compared to the previous year.

Italy's national debt

Italy’s economy is a developed industrial economy that ranks as one of the largest in the world. A large and efficient economy has helped Italy attain a spot as a member of the G7 and G8, as well as the European Union. After the Second World War, Italy experienced a significant economic boost due to support from the ‘’Free World’’, which is a term used to identify non-communist countries during the Cold War. But several decades of economic growth came to an end after the 2008 recession; from roughly 2007 to 2011, the Italian’s encountered multiple setbacks that shrunk the national economy and dramatically affected the country as a whole. Debt became a major problem and Italy saw annual national debt growth primarily due to the country’s inability to maintain its budget properly as well as an overall decrease in GDP. As a result, investors often questioned the country’s ability to pay off its debts without incurring further debt, particularly due to the country’s large debt-to-GDP ratio, which remains one of the highest in the world.