Engineering products, textiles and clothing, production machinery, motor vehicles, transport equipment, chemicals; foodstuffs, beverages, and tobacco; minerals, nonferrous metals
Italy is the world's seventh-largest manufacturing country,[36] characterised by a smaller number of global multinational corporations than other economies of comparable size and many dynamic small and medium-sized enterprises, notoriously clustered in several industrial districts, which are the backbone of the Italian industry. Italy is a large manufacturer[37] and exporter[38] of a significant variety of products. Its products include machinery, vehicles, pharmaceuticals, furniture, food and clothing.[39] Italy has a significant trade surplus. The country is also well known for its influential and innovative business economic sector, an industrious and competitive agricultural sector (Italy is the world's largest wine producer),[40] and manufacturers of creatively designed, high-quality products: including automobiles, ships, home appliances, and designer clothing. Italy is the largest hub for luxury goods in Europe and the third luxury hub globally.[41][42] Italy has a strong cooperative sector, with the largest share of the population (4.5%) employed by a cooperative in the EU.[43]
Despite these important achievements, the country's economy today suffers from structural and non-structural problems. Annual growth rates have often been below the EU average. Italy was hit particularly hard by the late-2000s recession. Massive government spending from the 1980s onwards has produced a severe rise in public debt. In addition, Italian living standards have a considerable North–South divide: the average GDP per capita in Northern Italy significantly exceeds the EU average, while some regions and provinces in Southern Italy are significantly below the average. In Central Italy, GDP per capita is instead average.[44][45] In recent years, Italy's GDP per capita growth slowly caught-up with the Eurozone average,[46] while its employment rate still lags behind. However, economists dispute the official figures because of the large number of informal jobs (estimated to be between 10% and 20% of the labour force) that lift the inactivity or unemployment rates.[47] The shadow economy is highly represented in Southern Italy, while it becomes less intense as one moves north. In real economic conditions, Southern Italy almost matches Central Italy's level.[48]
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^"Archived copy"(PDF). Archived(PDF) from the original on 20 April 2017. Retrieved 25 December 2017.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)