The Italian regions, in particular the South, are among the last in Europe for social progress: only the regions of Eastern Europe and Greece are doing worse. This is what emerges from the latest edition of the EU 2.0 social progress index, presented by the European Commissioner for Cohesion, Elisa Ferreira, to measure social progress at a regional level going beyond gross domestic product (GDP) alone.
The index uses twelve components and 53 socio-economic and environmental indicators, to better reflect the development and needs of society, without relying solely on GDP.
«It is not enough on its own, it is probably the most accepted and standardized approach to measuring development but the economic, social indicators, but also those on well-being, citizens’ perception and trust all have a role to play», highlighted Ferreira , presenting the report to the European Committee of the Regions. The 2024 edition of the report confirms that at a European level there are still significant social disparities that vary between the regions of the North and the South and East. Finland (with a score of 129.6), Denmark (128.6) performed best. , Sweden (128) and the Netherlands (122), while Italy with a score of 88.4 is above Bulgaria (60.8), Romania (63.4), Greece (79.7), Croatia ( 79.9), Cyprus (84.4) and Hungary (84.9).
On a regional basis, Sicily confirms its black spot for the adoption of social policies, with a progress index of 75.9 preceded by Campania (80.0), Calabria (82.5) and Puglia (82.7). Among the regions in which social progress is most advanced are the Autonomous Province of Trento with 99.3, Friuli-Venezia Giulia (97.5) and the Autonomous Province of Bolzano (96.9).
The report highlights that regions with higher social progress “tend to have lower poverty rates and a smaller gender gap in employment” but the fact that “social progress weakens as wealth increases suggests that a high income alone does not guarantee high social progress.”
