Last year, the added value of the South grew at a speed one and a half times faster than that of the North, recording a +2.89% compared to 1.77% in the North and 2.14% of the Italian average compared to 2023.
This is what emerges from the analysis carried out by the Tagliacarne Study Center and Unioncamere on provincial added value at current prices for 2024, which takes into account the latest revision of national accounts carried out by ISTAT and released last September.
In particular, across the country as a whole , double-digit increases were recorded in agriculture (+10.25%) , which still generated just 2.23% of the wealth produced, while on the other hand, more significant drops were recorded in manufacturing (-4.10%), which generated 19.04% of the added value.
At a regional level, those moving at the fastest pace are, in particular, Sardinia (+3.74%) , Puglia (+3.13%) and Calabria (+3.12%).
At a provincial level, Viterbo is gaining the most ground (+4.85%), followed by Imperia (+4.29%) and Foggia (+4.22%). The provinces of Sardinia are also performing well: Oristano is fourth with a +4.01% increase, Nuoro fifth with a +3.98% increase, ahead of Sud Sardegna and Sassari (3.93%), both at +3.93%. Cagliari is further behind, in twelfth place with a +3.36 increase.
Value added, the report explains, "is the aggregate that allows us to appreciate the growth of the economic system in terms of new goods and services made available to the community for 'final uses.'" It is obtained as the difference between the value of the production of goods and services by individual production branches and the value of the intermediate goods and services they consume (raw and auxiliary materials used and services provided by other production units).
The South therefore outperforms the North, but – the report underlines – «however, if we look at the wealth produced per capita, it is the North with 40,158 euros that clearly distances itself from the rest of Italy and, in particular, from the South (22,353 euros)».
"The value-added data paint a mixed picture. The South confirms positive signs of dynamism, reversing the stereotype of an area structurally lagging behind the rest of the country. But the gap with the North remains wide, and the wealth produced per capita in the South remains decidedly lower," states Andrea Prete, president of Unioncamere . He adds: "Furthermore, the decline in manufacturing is worrying, a sign of a difficulty that tariffs and tensions on exports could exacerbate, with a significant impact on GDP. This is also why a true industrial policy capable of valorizing territorial specificities and removing obstacles to competitiveness is more urgent than ever, starting with the cost of energy, which is still significantly higher than that of European competitors."