Sardinian craftsmanship continues to grow and ranks third in Italy, just behind Valle d'Aosta and Trentino, in terms of sector growth rate in the third quarter of 2026.
Between July and September, in fact, the island's artisan businesses registered 445 new registrations and 333 closures, with a positive balance of 112 businesses and a growth rate of 0.33%.
As of September 30, the total number of artisan businesses reached 33,858.
This performance, as mentioned, places Sardinia on the national podium, behind Valle d'Aosta (+0.79%) and Trentino-Alto Adige (+0.37%), and ahead of regions such as Lazio (+0.31%) and Friuli-Venezia Giulia (+0.30%).
These are the data relating to the demographics of Sardinian artisan businesses in the third quarter of 2026, elaborated by the Research Office of Confartigianato Imprese Sardegna , based on Movimprese sources and Infocamere-UnionCamere data.
"Although these are small percentage changes, they represent positive signs for our sector and consolidate a trend that has been ongoing for several quarters," commented Giacomo Meloni , President of Confartigianato Imprese Sardegna. "This is especially true given that the pace of growth in the artisanal sector is slowing nationwide. On the contrary, our island is consolidating its ability to generate new businesses and continuing to improve its results."
"This trend enhances the role of artisan businesses in the regional economy, while highlighting local differences that require attention," Meloni continues. "The challenge now is to transform this momentum into lasting growth, supporting the creation of new businesses, the continuity of existing ones, and the ability of artisans to create jobs and keep local communities alive."
The report emphasizes that this figure is even more significant when compared to the national trend. In Italy, the artisan sector grew by just 0.11%, with a net increase of 1,401 businesses out of a total of 1,225,910. Sardinia also significantly outperforms the average for the South and the Islands, which stands at 0.18%, and that of the other macro-regions: Northwest (+0.13%), Central Italy (+0.08%), and Northeast (+0.06%). At the island provincial level, to support growth of regional craftsmanship are above all three territories, all capable of ranking among the top 20 Italian provinces for sector dynamism. In percentage terms, . Oristano is slightly lower at -0.21%.
