Government and power in Italy

Who leads Italy, how the World Bank's governance indicators score it, how many women sit in parliament and government, what the state spends and taxes, and the official bodies that hold power to account. System of government: Unitary parliamentary republic with strong regions ('regional state').

Who leads Italy?

• Head of state: Sergio Mattarella (President of the Republic of Italy)
• Head of government: Giorgia Meloni (President of the Council of Ministers of the Republic of Italy)
• Foreign minister: Antonio Tajani (Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of the Republic of Italy)

Source: Heads of State, Heads of Government, Ministers for Foreign Affairs: Public List (United Nations Protocol and Liaison Service), list dated 15 October 2026. All world leaders.

Governance scores

The World Bank's Worldwide Governance Indicators combine surveys of households and firms with assessments by public, private and non-governmental bodies. Each score runs from 0 to 100; higher means the sources rate governance better. They measure perceptions, and each has a margin of error.

Voice and accountability

Measures how far citizens can choose their government, and freedom of expression, association and the media.

Political stability and absence of violence

Measures the likelihood of political instability or politically motivated violence, including terrorism.

Government effectiveness

Measures the quality of public services and the civil service, and how independent they are from political pressure.

Regulatory quality

Measures the government's ability to make and carry out policies that let the private sector develop.

Rule of law

Measures confidence in and respect for the rules of society, including contract enforcement, property rights, the police and the courts.

Control of corruption

Measures how far public power is used for private gain, including petty and grand corruption and "capture" of the state by elites.

Official bodies that hold power in Italy

Government

• Presidency of the Council of Ministers
  Council of Ministers communiqués, decrees and government news.
• Presidency of the Republic
  Presidential speeches, statements and acts signed by the head of state.

Parliament

• Chamber of Deputies
  Bills, stenographic records, votes and deputies' information.
• Senate of the Republic
  Senate bills, session records and senators' information.

Elections

• Ministry of the Interior – Eligendo
  Official historical and current election results at national and local level.

Courts

• Supreme Court of Cassation
  Judgments and annual reports of the highest court for civil and criminal matters.
• Constitutional Court
  Constitutional rulings, orders and hearing calendars.

Public audit

• Court of Audit
  Audit reports on public finances, the certification of state accounts and judgments on fiscal liability.

Lobbying register

• Register of interest representatives (Chamber of Deputies)
  Interest representatives registered to access the Chamber of Deputies.

Public contracts

• Autorità Nazionale Anticorruzione (ANAC)
  The national public contracts database, procurement supervision, transparency obligations and anti-corruption plans.
• Acquisti in rete PA (Consip)
  Framework agreements, the electronic market for public administration and tender notices.

Laws and the official gazette

• Normattiva
  The official database of Italian state legislation in force, with historical versions.
• Official Gazette
  The official gazette publishing laws, decrees and official acts.

Government below the national level

• Regions (20; 5 with special statutes: Sicily, Sardinia, Aosta Valley, Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol, Friuli-Venezia Giulia): Regional council and president directly elected
• Autonomous provinces of Trento and Bolzano/Bozen: Elected councils that together form the regional council
• Provinces and metropolitan cities: Since Law 56/2014, chosen by and from local councillors; metropolitan mayor is the mayor of the main city
• Prefectures (Prefettura – Ufficio territoriale del Governo): Prefect appointed by the national government
• Comuni (7,894 from February 2026): Mayor (sindaco) and council directly elected for five years

How local power works in Italy

Places in Italy

• All 21 regions
• The 42 largest cities
• Official statistics for Italy

Sources

• World Bank: Worldwide Governance Indicators: Voice and accountability (governance score 0-100), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 70f2804fd1e2…)
• World Bank: Worldwide Governance Indicators: Political stability and absence of violence (governance score 0-100), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 1317de0c85e1…)
• World Bank: Worldwide Governance Indicators: Government effectiveness (governance score 0-100), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 a775e808dc65…)
• World Bank: Worldwide Governance Indicators: Regulatory quality (governance score 0-100), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 83b57e36ff8c…)
• World Bank: Worldwide Governance Indicators: Rule of law (governance score 0-100), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 0bccc3c054e8…)
• World Bank: Worldwide Governance Indicators: Control of corruption (governance score 0-100), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 3b15a5340cdd…)
• World Bank: World Development Indicators: Seats held by women in national parliament (SG.GEN.PARL.ZS), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 1ae1dc13981a…)
• World Bank: World Development Indicators: Women in ministerial positions (SG.GEN.MNST.ZS), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 a4e448a5b8bd…)
• World Bank: World Development Indicators: Central government spending (GC.XPN.TOTL.GD.ZS), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 808094019f50…)
• World Bank: World Development Indicators: Tax revenue (GC.TAX.TOTL.GD.ZS), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 08c94b750f31…)
• World Bank: World Development Indicators: Military spending (MS.MIL.XPND.GD.ZS), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 a7f6913a783b…)
• World Bank: World Development Indicators: Armed forces personnel (MS.MIL.TOTL.P1), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 fa4663c743ba…)
• World Bank: World Development Indicators: Statistical Performance Indicator (overall score) (IQ.SPI.OVRL), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 08ac7cde9129…)
• World Bank: World Development Indicators: Births registered (SP.REG.BRTH.ZS), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 f8d443034ba7…)
• World Bank: World Development Indicators: People using the internet (IT.NET.USER.ZS), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 0d78dc658329…)

Each saved copy is the file exactly as downloaded, kept so the figures can be checked even if the source changes. Report an error.