Descrizione 1
Nicolò G. Tria
The indicator quantifies the number of active industrial enterprises, the related local productive units present in the territory, and the number of employees. In 2021, at the national level, the number of active enterprises in the narrow sense of industry was 390,507, showing a slight decrease (-0.3%) compared to the previous year. At the regional level, very small decreases are recorded, in line with the national trend. The number of employees in 2021 stands at 4,032,028, an increase of 1.3% compared to the previous year, but regional trends are highly variable, ranging from a 4.3% increase (Sicily) to a 4.8% decrease (Liguria). In ten years (2012-2021), industrial enterprises decreased by 10.8% (-11.6% for local units), and employees by 1.6%.
The indicator measures the number of industrial enterprises operating during the reference year, as well as the local units that carry out productive activities and the employees.
According to the ATECO 2007 Classification, updated in 2022, the narrow definition of industry includes the economic activity sections 'B' (Extraction of minerals from quarries and mines), 'C' (Manufacturing activities), 'D' (Supply of electricity, gas, steam, and air conditioning), and 'E' (Supply of water; sewage systems; waste management and remediation activities).
The classic definition of an enterprise is used: based on the European Council Regulation (CEE) 696/93, an enterprise is defined as "the smallest combination of legal units" that constitutes an organizational unit for the production of goods and services, enjoying a certain decision-making autonomy, particularly regarding the allocation of its current resources. An enterprise carries out one or more activities in one or more locations.
Local units refer to the various locations where a single enterprise carries out one or more productive activities. The number of employees is calculated as the annual average of both dependent and independent workers.
The purpose is to quantify industrial enterprises, local productive units present in the territory, and the number of employees. This descriptive and contextual information provides a representation of the state and demographic evolution of one of the most impactful anthropogenic (economic) determinants on the environment and health.
The main regulatory references and objectives are to quantify industrial enterprises, local productive units present in the territory, and the number of employees. This descriptive and contextual information provides a representation of the state and demographic evolution of one of the most impactful anthropogenic (economic) determinants on the environment and health.
Descrizione 2
Statistical Register of Active Enterprises (ASIA - Enterprises) Registro statistico delle imprese attive (ASIA - Imprese)
Actions are to introduce additional layer of analysis of enterprises according to their size.
Qualificazione dati
ISTAT, Registro statistico delle imprese attive (Asia-Imprese) accessed at the database http://dati.istat.it/ under the headings: Enterprises/Structure/Companies and Employees and Local Units and Employees.
National
Regional
2012-2021
Qualificazione indicatore
Basic data are presented as-is or after minimal mathematical processing (e.g., year-on-year percentage change, geographical and sectorial percentage composition).
In 2021, the number of active industrial enterprises in Italy is 390,507, showing a slight decrease (-0.34%) compared to the number of enterprises registered in the previous year (Table 1). At the regional level, very small decreases are recorded, in line with the national trend, except for Molise, Sardinia, Campania, and Basilicata, where increases, albeit minimal, are observed. The South is, moreover, the only area where industrial enterprises did not decrease in absolute terms between 2020 and 2021. Nevertheless, the annual variations remain within the range (+1%; -1%). At the sectorial level, the largest decrease occurred in section B (extraction of minerals from quarries and mines) (-3.78%), while the only increase was seen in enterprises in section D (water supply, sewer systems, and waste management) (+2.66%).
Fifty-four percent of the industries are located in Northern Italy (30% in the Northwest, with over 76,000 in Lombardy alone, and 24% in the Northeast, with over 43,000 in Veneto alone); 21% in the Center, and 25% in the South and Islands.
The number of employees absorbed by the industrial sector in 2021 is 4,077,095, an increase of 45,067 units compared to the previous year (+1.12%) (Table 2). In line with the number of enterprises, employees in the extractive sector decreased (-2.61%), especially in metallic minerals (-97.83%), although this was offset by increases in other sectors.
Sixty-six point seven percent of employees work in enterprises in Northern Italy (36.8% in the Northwest, with over one million in Lombardy alone, and 29.8% in the Northeast); 18% in the Center and 15% in the South and Islands.
In 2021, the ratio between the number of employees and local units is approximately 9:1.
Between 2012 and 2021, local units of active industrial enterprises decreased by 11.6%, from 494,155 to 436,944 units, while employees decreased by a less marked 1.64%, from 4,128,631 to 4,060,862 units (Table 3).
For the extractive sector (section B), the most significant reductions were recorded: -23.6% for local units and -20.7% for employees. Manufacturing activities (section C) as a whole showed decreases in both local units (-13.38%) and employees (-2.35%), though with substantial internal variability. In contrast, section D (supply of electricity, gas, steam, and air conditioning) recorded an increase of 37% in the number of local units, although employees decreased (-7%). Finally, both local units and employees increased in section E (supply of water, sewer systems, waste management, and remediation), with increases of +10.4% and +18.8%, respectively.
Over the course of ten years, the employee-to-local unit ratio changed from approximately 8:1 to 9:1.
Dati
Figure 1: Number of industrial enterprises by region (years 2012-2021)
| ISPRA elaboration based on ISTAT data. |
Table 1: Industrial enterprises (narrow industry) by economic activity section, region, and regional aggregate (2021)
| ISPRA elaboration based on ISTAT data. |
Table 2: Employment in industrial enterprises (narrow industry) by economic activity section, region, and regional aggregate (2021)
| ISPRA elaboration based on ISTAT data. |
Table 3: Local units and employees by economic activity section, narrow industry (ATECO 2007 2 digits) (2012-2021)
| ISPRA elaboration based on ISTAT data |
Table 4: Local units and employees in active enterprises by regional aggregate (2020-2021 changes)
| ISPRA elaboration from ISTAT data |
In terms of size, the Italian industrial sector is dominated by manufacturing activities. Referring to the 2021 data, 94% of industrial enterprises (over 365,000 enterprises) are represented by manufacturing activities, with metal products (75,945), food products (54,461), and repair, maintenance, and installation of machinery and equipment (37,317) being the industries with the highest number of local units. Following are activities in the supply of electricity, gas, steam, and air conditioning (3.3%); activities in water supply, sewer systems, and waste management (2.6%); and extractive activities (0.5%). Manufacturing activities also employ 92% of employees (3.7 million).
This composition is also reflected at the regional level: the largest number of manufacturing activities is located in Lombardy (72,427), despite a slight decrease from the previous year (73,113), and 964,140 employees work there. Veneto follows with 41,644 enterprises (41,838 the previous year) and 535,111 employees, and Tuscany with 36,143 enterprises (36,247 the previous year) and 287,323 employees.
Looking at the ten-year trend for the manufacturing sector, the data on the tobacco industry stands out, with an increase of 62.5% in local units and 326.3% in employees. Among the most significant reductions are seen in the wood industry (excluding furniture) (-33.5%; -29.6%), textiles (-24.3%; -20.9%), and other products from non-metallic mineral processing (-23.2%; -24.0%). The furniture industry ranks fourth in reductions (-20.1%; -14.6%).
Regarding the ten-year trend of other industries whose specific emissions are analyzed by other indicators under the Industry theme, the paper industry saw a 15.0% decrease in local units but remained virtually constant in terms of employees (-0.2%). Chemical products saw very modest reductions. Metallurgical products saw a decrease of 11.5% in local units and 8.1% in employees. Industries producing metal products (excluding machinery and equipment) remained mostly stable in local units (-0.8%) but saw an increase in employees (+9.5%).