Fiscal Balance in Italy
Italy's fiscal deficit was in line with the European Commission's 3% target in the years before the pandemic, but has been much larger than that since. The COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated fiscal pressures, leading to increased spending and debt. The government has struggled to control the deficit since, partly due to difficulties in dealing with the unwinding of generous construction subsidies.
The fiscal balance in Italy averaged -4.3% of GDP in the decade to 2022, below the Euro Area average of -2.7% of GDP. The fiscal balance in 2022 was -8.0% of GDP. For more information on fiscal balance, visit our dedicated page
Italy Fiscal Balance Chart
Note: This chart displays Fiscal Balance (% of GDP) for Italy from 2014 to 2024.
Source: Macrobond.
Italy Fiscal Balance Data
| 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fiscal Balance (% of GDP) | -9.4 | -8.9 | -8.1 | -7.2 | -3.4 |
How should you choose a forecaster if some are too optimistic while others are too pessimistic? FocusEconomics collects Italian fiscal balance projections for the next ten years from a panel of 28 analysts at the leading national, regional and global forecast institutions. These projections are then validated by our in-house team of economists and data analysts and averaged to provide one Consensus Forecast you can rely on for each indicator. By averaging all forecasts, upside and downside forecasting errors tend to cancel each other out, leading to the most reliable fiscal balance forecast available for Italian fiscal balance.
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