The established Blue Economy sectors in Italy directly employ more than 400 thousand people and generate approx. €18.2 billion in GVA (2021). While representing a moderate share of the national economy, the Italian Blue Economy sectors contribute by approx. 1.1% to national GVA and 1.8% to national employment.
The relative size and share of the Blue Economy in Italy has been fluctuating since 2009 in terms of employment. Between 2009 and 2014, its workforce decreased from more than 610 thousand jobs in 2013 (representing about 2.7% of national employment) to less than 400 thousand in 2014 (1.8% of national employment). Since then, it has increased gradually up to a level of 509 thousand people in 2018 and 2019 (2.2%). The COVID-19 pandemic hit the country’s Blue Economy particularly hard, with a 30% contraction in its workforce between 2019 and 2020. Only less than one third of these jobs were regained in 2021.
In terms of GVA, Italy’s pre-pandemic Blue Economy was fluctuating in nominal terms between €17 billion (the lowest level registered in 2013) and €23.7 billion, the peak reached in 2019 (representing 1.5% of the GVA of the national economy). The impact of the health crisis was amongst the largest in the EU, with a 45% contraction down to €13.1 billion in 2020. Approximately half of this loss was recovered in 2021.
The largest Blue Economy sector in Italy is Coastal tourism, a sector that is particularly vulnerable to shocks such as those generated by COVID-19 and the subsequent energy crisis. The sector contributes to more than 30% to the country’s Blue Economy GVA and nearly half of its workforce. The second largest Blue Economy sector in Italy in terms of GVA is Maritime transport, representing 19% of total Blue Economy GVA and 15% of its employment. Shipbuilding and repair contributes another 19% to the country’s Blue Economy GVA, and 12% to its workforce. The Marine living resources sector is the second largest in terms of Blue Economy employment, with a share of 19% of its workforce.
In the EU, Italy ranks 2nd in employment for the Marine living resources and Maritime transport sectors; 3rd in GVA for Coastal tourism and Shipbuilding and repair; 5th in GVA and 6th in employment in Port activities.
Italy's coastline spans 9 136 km, making up 8.75 % of the total EU coastline. Five Italian seaports feature in the top 30 ports in Europe in terms of gross weight of goods handled (2021 data): Trieste (8th), Genoa (13th), Livorno (22nd), Ravenna (24th), and Venice (30th). Other large container ports are the ports of Gioia Tauro, Cagliari (known as Sarroch - Porto Foxi), Augusta, Taranto, Milazzo, Naples. In total, Italian container ports handle more than 490 million Tonnes of cargo per year. In terms of fisheries activity, the main ports are Mazara del Vallo, Trapani, Palermo, Chioggia, Ancona, Molfetta and Manfredonia.
In terms of passengers, Italy has the two largest ports in the EU (Messina and Reggio di Calabria), which serve as gateways between Sicily and continental Italy (serving more than 8 million passengers/year each). Other large passenger ports in Italy are the ports of Naples (7th in the EU), Piombino, Isola d’Elba, Livorno, Capri, Ischia, Genova, Trapani, Civitavecchia, and Palermo.
Several organizations are monitoring the Italian Blue Economy at the national level, as illustrated below:
Unioncamere - the Italian Union of Chambers of Commerce - publishes annual reports and studies on the Italian “economy of the sea”. These reports aim to analyze the potential of the Italian maritime economy and provide valuable information for policymakers, businesses, and researchers.
SRM Research Center is an Italian research institute that focuses on maritime economics and the blue economy. It publishes reports, studies, and analyses on various aspects of the Italian economy of the sea, including maritime transport, port activities, coastal development, fisheries, aquaculture, and marine renewable energy.
The Blue Forum Italia Network promotes collaboration, knowledge sharing, policy coherence, conflict prevention and resolution and empowerment and contributes to promoting the use and sustainable management of the sea for the benefit of the various maritime stakeholders and coastal communities.
Other national sources of information on the Italian Blue Economy are:
- Ministry of Agricultural, Food and Forestry Policies.
- National Institute for Environmental Protection and Research (ISPRA).
- Unioncamere’s marine economy observatory.
- OsserMare Blue Forum Italian Network.
- Italian Institute for Marine Research (IAMC-CNR).
For more national level data, please visit the Dashboards section within the EU Blue Economy Observatory, where you can also find information about Educational and Employment opportunities in the Blue Economy sectors.
