Mal comune, mezzo gaudio; an Italian phrase that encourages people to share a burden, making hardship easier to bear. The idea is relevant to poverty reduction in Italy and the government’s continuing efforts to address significant differences between regions and household types. In 2025, 22.6% of Italy’s population was at risk of poverty or social exclusion, down from 23.1% in 2024. Italy’s National Institute of Statistics (ISTAT) assessment includes people who are at risk of poverty, experiencing severe material and social deprivation, or living in households with few employed individuals. The figures point to some improvement, but the situation is more complex. Nearly one in five Italians are living below the poverty line.

Poverty Remains Uneven Across the Country

The national picture does not reflect the substantial regional differences in Italy. In 2025, the South and Islands had the highest rate of risk of poverty or social exclusion at 38.4%, compared with 11.3% in the Northeast. This gap reflects wider differences in household incomes and employment conditions across the country. ISTAT reported a median household income of €37,086 in the Northeast in 2024, compared with the South, where the figure was 29% lower (est. €26,331 per household).

Household structure also matters. In 2025, the risk of poverty or social exclusion was 31.6% for single-parent households and 30.6% for couples with three or more children. In comparison, 16% of couples without children whose reference person was under 65 were at risk—nearly half of the other two groups. Households relying mainly on pensions or public transfers also faced a relatively high risk, at 32.6%, while the figure was 14.3% for households whose main source of income was dependent employment.

These differences help explain why poverty cannot be understood only as a national average: family responsibilities, access to work and the main source of household income all shape exposure to economic hardship. For this reason, poverty reduction in Italy focuses attention to the different circumstances of households and regions rather than relying only on national figures.

The pattern is also visible in ISTAT’s measure of absolute poverty. In 2024, more than 5.7 million people, or 9.8% of Italy’s population, were living in absolute poverty. ISTAT measures absolute poverty by comparing household consumption with a threshold based on the cost of a basket of essential goods and services. This threshold varies according to household size, composition, region and municipality size. ISTAT results indicated that absolute poverty was particularly high among larger households: 21.2% of households with five or more members were affected, rising to 19.4% among couples with three or more minor children. Single-parent households recorded 11.8%.

How Italy Has Expanded Social Support

Italy has introduced several measures to support households facing financial hardship in recent years. One of the main ones is the introduction of the Assegno di Inclusione (ADI) in 2024, a national income support scheme for low-income households that include a person with:

• A disability
• Someone aged 60 or over
• A minor
• Someone in a protected-care situation

ADI provides financial support to eligible families and can also include help with rent. In simple terms, it is designed to give extra financial support to households that are most vulnerable to poverty.

Changes to the Equivalent Economic Situation Indicator (ISEE) were introduced on Jan. 1, 2026. These changes have altered how some households are assessed for welfare benefits. The new rules allow families to exclude a larger portion from their owner-occupied home when their economic situation is assessed, with a higher allowance in metropolitan areas. They also provide an additional adjustment for families with children. This means that some lower-income and vulnerable households may have a better chance of qualifying for support, even if they own their home.

These measures cannot solve Italy’s wider regional and household inequalities on their own, but they are an important part of poverty reduction in Italy. They help reduce financial pressure on vulnerable families while other factors, such as employment, housing, childcare and access to services, continue to shape people’s economic security.

Looking Ahead

Italy’s recent poverty data show an improvement in the overall share of people at risk of poverty or social exclusion, but the national figure does not highlight differences based on region, household or personal circumstances. The South and Islands continue to record much higher levels than northern regions, while single-parent families, larger families and households relying mainly on pensions or public transfers remain more exposed to poverty or social exclusion.

For Italy, reducing poverty involves more than increasing household income. The challenge is also to improve access to stable employment and services and to ensure that social support measures reach households whose needs are greatest. The future of poverty reduction in Italy will therefore depend not only on reducing the national poverty rate, but also on addressing the regional and household inequalities behind it. Measures such as ADI and the revised ISEE rules are part of this wider effort to improve economic security for the groups and regions that remain most vulnerable.

– James Moretti

James is based in the UK and focuses on Good News and Politics for The Borgen Project.

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