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The indicator measures the number of industrial enterprises in the strict sense, their local operational units, and the employed workforce, providing a snapshot of the national production structure and its evolution.
In 2022, the number of active enterprises in the industrial sector (in the strict sense) amounted to 390,580, a figure that remained essentially stable compared to 2021 (+0.02%). The territorial distribution remains polarized, with over half of the enterprises concentrated in the northern part of the country. In terms of employment, the number of workers totaled 4,137,637, marking a 1.5% increase compared to the previous year. Overall, the manufacturing sector remains the dominant component, accounting for over 90% of industrial employment.

The Industrial Production Index (IPI) describes the trend of industrial activity (in the strict sense) in Italy through the monthly survey of actual production volumes. The level of industrial production is a key factor closely related to environmental pressures. After diverging during the 2010–2013 period, industrial production trends in Italy have aligned with those of the main European industrial countries and the euro area average (while remaining higher). In 2020, the index hit the historical minimum (93.3) due to COVID-19 containment measures, which led to the closure or strong restriction of production activities. The industrial production rebound in 2021 (104.7) was stronger than in France and Germany but was outpaced by the euro area average. After stagnating between 2021 and 2022 (105.1), the index declined again in 2023 (102.5). The medium- to long-term trend remains positive: in 2023, the index gained 2.5 percentage points compared to the base year 2015. The “capital goods” group showed the highest year-over-year increase (15.5 percentage points), while mining activities experienced a sharp decline (-31.6 p.p.). Nearly all variability in industrial production over time is explained by changes in manufacturing activity volumes.

The efficiency indicator, calculated for the years from 1990 to 2020, represents carbon dioxide emissions per unit of value added in the manufacturing and construction sectors in Italy. The substantial reduction in emission intensity over the years (-48% between 1990 and 2020) indicates an improvement in the level of efficiency achieved by the Italian manufacturing and construction industry.