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Istat: official statistics for Italy

Istat (Istituto nazionale di statistica) is Italy's national statistics office. It publishes consumer prices, the monthly labour force survey, quarterly and annual national accounts, the government deficit, demographic indicators, poverty and living conditions, and house prices. Press releases are in Italian with English versions of the main ones; the IstatData platform holds the underlying series.

Release calendar

What it publishes

• Consumer price indices NIC, FOI and the EU harmonised IPCA, with a preliminary estimate at month end.
• Monthly employment, unemployment and inactivity from the labour force survey.
• Quarterly GDP and annual national accounts; the general government deficit and quarterly public accounts.
• Demographic indicators: population, births, deaths, fertility, life expectancy and migration.
• Absolute and relative poverty, household income and EU-SILC living conditions.
• The house price index (IPAB) and building permits.

Key datasets

• Consumer prices (preliminary)
  Monthly inflation by index and product group.
  Updated: Monthly
• Employment and unemployment
  Monthly unemployment, youth unemployment and employment rates.
  Updated: Monthly
• Quarterly economic accounts
  GDP growth and demand components.
  Updated: Quarterly
• Demographic indicators
  Population, births, deaths, fertility, life expectancy and migration.
  Updated: Annual (March)
• Poverty in Italy
  Absolute and relative poverty for households and individuals.
  Updated: Annual (October)
• Demography portal
  Population and vital statistics down to municipal level.
  Updated: Monthly and annual

APIs and downloads

• IstatData (Esploradati)
  Istat's data browser with downloads in CSV and Excel.
• SDMX web services
  API access to Istat series using the SDMX standard.

When it publishes

Istat publishes a release calendar for the year, and each press release states the next release date. Inflation and labour market data are monthly; GDP has a preliminary estimate after each quarter and fuller releases later; demographic indicators appear in March and poverty statistics in October.

How to use it to check a claim

1. For inflation, say which index (NIC, FOI or IPCA) and whether it is preliminary or final.
2. For poverty, separate absolute poverty (essential basket) from relative poverty and the EU 'at risk of poverty' rate.
3. For foreign residents, distinguish foreign citizens from people born abroad, who may be Italian citizens.
4. Monthly labour figures are provisional; check the three-month comparison too.
5. Check the release date: Istat revises GDP and deficit figures with each annual accounts revision.

Common mistakes

• Treating youth unemployment (share of active 15-24 year olds) as the share of all young people.
• Using the FOI index result as the headline inflation rate.
• Comparing quarterly public account deficits without matching the same quarter.

Does Istat publish in English?

Yes, the main press releases and an English website are available, though many detailed tables and reports are in Italian only.

Which index is used to update rents in Italy?

The FOI index (consumer prices for blue- and white-collar worker households), excluding tobacco. Istat publishes it monthly with a calculator.

Questions answered using this source

• What is the population of Italy?
• What is the inflation rate in Italy?
• What is the unemployment rate in Italy?
• What is Italy's GDP growth rate?
• What is the average salary in Italy?
• What is Italy's budget deficit?
• How many immigrants are there in Italy?
• How many people live in poverty in Italy?
• What is the life expectancy in Italy?
• What is the birth rate in Italy?
• Are house prices rising in Italy?

Links checked 14 October 2026. This page describes what the source publishes and gives no verdict on any claim.