Report on the Competitiveness of Productive Sectors – Edition 2026. Executive Summary

The Report on the Competitiveness of Productive Sectors, now in its 14th edition, provides an in-depth analysis and a detailed, up-to-date overview of the structure, performance and dynamics of the Italian productive system. It is a digital product comprising an ebook and a statistical appendix of sectoral indicators, available for download from the Istat website at the italian page.

The ebook aims to analyse the position of the Italian economy, sectors, and businesses within the current international landscape, characterised by trade restrictions imposed by the U.S. administration. As in previous editions, the core topics of the Report’s analysis are examined at three levels: macroeconomic (in Chapter 1), sectoral (in Chapter 2), and microeconomic (in Chapter 3), to reflect the varied impact on the system as a whole and on the various segments of the Italian production system. The complete Report on the Competitiveness of Productive Sectors – 2026 Edition is available exclusively in Italian.

The statistical appendix makes use of the extensive information available on economic sectors. For each production sector, a database of around 80 indicators is provided, where possible in time series and with sectoral, territorial, size-related and enterprise-type breakdowns. Over the years, these databases have been progressively enriched with information from statistical registers on enterprises, covering the internal workforce, foreign trade, corporate groups, and geographical presence.

For each sector of manufacturing and services, summary sheets are also available, presenting the main indicators on the structure, strategies and performance of enterprises. The economic data on the sheets is updated in real time and can be downloaded from this webpage .