Permanent Census of Enterprises

The strategy of the Permanent Census of Enterprises is based on the use of the statistical register of enterprises, which integrates several administrative and statistical sources, as well as on a sample survey, which mainly collects qualitative information. The sample survey is conducted every three years, while the statistical register-data are updated each year.

The sample survey provides a detailed picture of the Italian economic system, by collecting information about emerging issues such as enterprises’ organisation, human resources, production relationships, digitalisation, competitiveness and environmental sustainability.

The third edition of the sample survey will be conducted from October the 8^th 2025 to March the 3^rd 2026. The survey will involve about 265,000 enterprises of the industry and services sectors employing more than 3 workers. All the enterprises with 20 workers and more are involved, while only a sample of those with 3-19 workers has been selected.

The analysis disseminated integrates structural data of enterprises with those collected by this survey. This information is widely used by public institutions and by the research community to understand the business-profiles and the competitiveness landscape. The data of the past editions are available on Istat data warehouse.