Italy’s economy grew by 0.3% in the first quarter of 2025 compared to the final three months of 2024, according to preliminary data released on Wednesday by national statistics agency Istat. The year-on-year growth rate stood at 0.6%, with a carry-over annual GDP growth of 0.4%.
Istat said the quarterly increase was driven by gains in agriculture, forestry and fishing, as well as industry. However, the services sector made no contribution to the overall growth figure.
“From the demand side, there is a positive contribution by the domestic component (gross of change in inventories) and a negative one by the net export component,” the agency reported.
The fourth quarter of 2024 had seen a 0.2% increase in GDP, meaning growth has slightly accelerated entering 2025.
Economy Minister welcomes strong start
Economy Minister Giancarlo Giorgetti welcomed the figures, highlighting that Italy had outperformed many of its European peers.
“Istat has certified there was a positive growth in the first quarter that was better than other European countries,” Giorgetti said. “It’s an important signal that demonstrates the correctness of our forecasts and the effectiveness of the government’s economic policies.”
Despite the positive start, the government recently halved its 2025 growth forecast to 0.6% in the latest Public Finance Document (DFP).
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Inflation ticks up to 2% in April
In a separate report, Istat said Italy’s annual inflation rate rose to 2.0% in April, up from 1.9% in March. The increase was largely driven by rising prices in food and transport-related services.
Food inflation accelerated to 3.0%, up from 2.4% the previous month, while transport-related services jumped from 1.6% to 4.4%.
Core inflation, which excludes energy and unprocessed food, rose to 2.1% in April from 1.7% in March. Inflation excluding all energy-related items rose from 1.8% to 2.2%.
Istat’s so-called “shopping trolley” index, which tracks the prices of food, household, and personal care goods, also increased—from 2.1% in March to 2.6% in April.
Consumer prices were up by 0.2% in month-on-month terms.
