Italian exports close 2025 with an overall growth of 3.3% compared to the previous year, reaching a value of 643 billion euros. A positive result which however hides profoundly different territorial dynamics. Furthermore, the fourth quarter ends in chiaroscuro, with almost all areas of the country in economic decline.
The Center is growing, the Islands are doing badly
In 2025 the growth of national exports in value is the synthesis of differentiated territorial dynamics:
- Centre: +13.2%;
- South: +3.2%;
- North West: +2.3%;
- North-east: +2.0%;
- Islands: -11.0%.
Driving the annual result is above all Central Italy, which records a strong increase of +13.2% compared to 2024, bringing the area’s exports to 131.5 billion euros. The North-West and the North-East grew more modestly, respectively by +2.3% (239 billion) and +2.0% (197 billion), while the South recorded a +3.2% with exports equal to 46 billion euros.
The most painful note comes from the Islands, which recorded a collapse of 11.0%, mainly due to the sharp decline in sales of refined petroleum products from Sicily and Sardinia.
The regions that export the most
Among the regions, Tuscany stands out as the true protagonist of 2025, with a trend change of +21.3%. Supporting this extraordinary performance are above all pharmaceutical, chemical-medicinal and botanical items, together with base metals and metal products. These two sectors alone account for 3.6 percentage points of the overall growth in national exports.
Below is the list of Italian regions with data for 2025 compared to the previous year:
- Tuscany: +21.3%;
- Friuli-Venezia Giulia: +17.8%;
- Calabria: +10.8%;
- Liguria: +10.2%;
- Lazio: +9.6%;
- Abruzzo: +6.9%;
- Campania: +3.6%;
- Piedmont: +2.7%;
- Puglia: +2.6%;
- Lombardy: +1.8%;
- Emilia-Romagna: +1.3%;
- Bolzano: +0.8%;
- Veneto: -0.2%;
- Umbria: -1.0%;
- Trentino: -3.3%;
- Molise: -3.9%;
- Valle d’Aosta: -6.3%;
- Brands: -7.6%;
- Sicily: -10.8%;
- Sardinia: -11.4%;
- Basilicata: -17.8%.
In terms of outlet markets, Tuscany recorded extraordinary increases towards Switzerland (+201.1%), Spain (+76.4%), France (+39.2%) and OPEC countries (+44.5%). Lazio also contributed positively to growth, with an increase in sales to the United States of +54.2%.
The main destination countries for Italian exports
In 2025, the European Union confirms itself as the main commercial outlet for Italian companies, with an overall growth in exports to EU countries of +4.2%. Within the euro area, the performances towards Spain (+10.6%) and France (+5.3%) stand out, while Germany grows more modestly (+2.4%).
The only negative note among the major European partners concerns the Netherlands, which recorded a drop of -1.8%, penalized above all by the decline in exports from Central Italy (-15.4%) and from the South and Islands (-13.2%).
| Main countries and geoeconomic areas | Geographical divisions | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Northwest | North-east | Center | South and Islands | Italy | |
| EU countries: | 3.5 | 4.3 | 12.7 | -2.8 | 4.2 |
| Austria | -1.7 | 3.0 | 2.4 | 5.8 | 5.6 |
| Belgium | 11.9 | 0.5 | 4.1 | -4.5 | 4.3 |
| France | 1.5 | 1.6 | 30.3 | -2.2 | 5.3 |
| Germany | 2.6 | 7.2 | -1.3 | -0.4 | 2.4 |
| Netherlands | 9.2 | 4.0 | -15.4 | -13.2 | -1.8 |
| Spain | 3.7 | 6.6 | 54.1 | -3.2 | 10.6 |
| Czechia | 4.4 | 0.8 | 20.4 | 9.9 | 4.6 |
| Poland | 3.7 | 7.2 | 10.5 | 9.1 | 5.9 |
| Romania | 2,3 | 5.5 | 1.7 | -7.6 | 2.4 |
| Non-EU countries: | 1.0 | -0.9 | 13.7 | 0.1 | 2.4 |
| United Kingdom | 0.1 | -9.4 | 11.7 | -2.0 | -1.4 |
| Russia | -10.4 | -12.5 | -14.8 | -7.6 | -15.4 |
| Swiss | -0.3 | 0.1 | 112.0 | 6.3 | 16.3 |
| Türkiye | -7.8 | -1.2 | -51.3 | -3.8 | -23.1 |
| Northern Africa | 4.9 | 9.1 | 29.3 | -14.2 | 2.6 |
| Other African countries | 1.6 | -0.4 | -14.6 | 3.5 | -2.0 |
| North America | 1.5 | 0.1 | 24.2 | 4.3 | 6.8 |
| United States | 1.7 | -0.2 | 25.4 | 3.5 | 7.2 |
| Central and South America | 3.3 | -1.4 | -10.1 | -18.6 | -3.4 |
| Middle East | 10.5 | -0.3 | 24.0 | -5.6 | 7.2 |
| Other Asian countries | -1.4 | -0.3 | 3,4 | 6.1 | -0.4 |
| China | -6.4 | -13.5 | 6.0 | -6.6 | -6.6 |
| Japan | -4.1 | 2.6 | 14.9 | 3,4 | 2.1 |
| India | 3.7 | 9.2 | 41.7 | -5.7 | 9.4 |
| Oceania and other territories | -4.2 | 5,6 | 38.9 | 5.4 | 5.8 |
| Opec | 14.2 | 5.3 | 38.3 | -17.9 | 11.0 |
| Mercosur | 4.0 | -6.1 | 9.3 | 0.5 | 0.9 |
| Asean | 10.1 | 21.1 | -23.0 | 34.1 | 6.6 |
| World | 2,3 | 2.0 | 13.2 | -1.2 | 3.3 |
But the fourth quarter slows down
Despite the positive annual balance, the last three months of 2025 show signs of weakening. In fact, the fourth quarter recorded a cyclical decline for all territorial divisions, with the exception of the Centre. The data is as follows:
- Centre: +0.7%;
- North West: -0.5%;
- Northeast: 1.1%;
- South and Islands: -6.7%.
These numbers suggest that international demand slowed in the second half of the year, likely due to global market uncertainty and commodity price volatility.
