Material flow accounts - 2024

Istat regularly releases, through the institute’s data warehouse IstatData, data on the physical flows of the Italian economy, compliant with EU Regulation 691/2011, consistent with national accounts economic data and therefore suitable for integrated economic-environmental analysis.

The data released today specifically refer to flows of used materials at the level of the entire economy, measured in thousand tons, with the exclusion of air and water.

The main aggregate indicators are Domestic material consumption (DMC), Direct material input (DMI), Physical trade balance (PTB), Domestic extraction (DE), physical Imports (IMP) and Exports (EXP). The underlying components of these aggregate indicators are flows recorded by type of material, separately for direct exchanges with the natural environment and trade with the rest of the world. The national series start in 1990. At the regional scale, the indicator DMC, PTB e DE are released. Domestic extraction is released by macrocategory of material (biomass, non-energy minerals, fossil fuels). Regional series cover the period from 2015 to 2023.

The DMC is used in several national and international frameworks to support and monitor policies on sustainable development, including the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the circular economy and equitable and sustainable well-being (BES). It measures the materials used within the economic system and subsequently either returned to the natural environment or accumulated in new stocks (buildings, infrastructure, durable goods and waste in controlled landfills). The DMC is calculated as domestic extraction of used materials (DE) plus the Physical trade balance (PTB, equal to IMP minus EXP). At regional level, PTB is the difference between the materials imported from other regions or from abroad and the materials exported abroad or to other Italian regions.

In 2024, Italy’s DMC amounted to 497.1 million tonnes, almost unchanged from 2023 and among the lowest levels recorded in recent years, excluding 2020, which was affected by the pandemic. DMC per capita remained unchanged at 8.4 tonnes per capita, while the material intensity of GDP declined slightly further to 0.26 tonnes per 1,000 euros of GDP.

In 2023, the North accounted for around 51% of national DMC and recorded the highest pressure per unit of land: 24.3 tonnes per hectare (t/ha) in the North-west and 18.1 t/ha in the North-east, to be compared with the national average of 16.5 tonnes per hectare. DMC per unit area stood at 14.0 tonnes per hectare in the Centre and 13.2 tonnes per hectare in the South and Islands. Territorial differences were smaller in per capita terms. DMC per capita was 8.9 tonnes in the North-west and 9.7 tonnes in the North-east, both above the national average of 8.4 tonnes per capita; the corresponding values were 7.0 tonnes per capita in the Centre and 8.2 tonnes per capita in the South and Islands.

The decrease in regional indicators recorded in 2023 affected all geographical areas, although territorial patterns differed. DMC per unit of GDP was lowest in the Centre and in the North-west, at 0.20 and 0.22 tonnes per 1,000 euros, respectively. The North-east followed at 0.26 tonnes, while the South and Islands recorded 0.38 tonnes per 1,000 euros, confirming the higher material intensity of the economy in the South and Islands.

For information:
Division for Final demand, labour and capital input, environmental accounts

Aldo Femia
femia@istat.it

Flora Fullone
Territorial office for Southern regions
ffullone@istat.it