Istat releases socio-economic hardship index for Italian municipalities

The Italian National Institute of Statistics (Istat) has released results from a project designed to measure socio-economic hardship at a sub-municipal level across 25 Italian cities, including Rome, Milan, Naples, and Turin. Hardship is defined as the condition where individuals struggle to meet basic needs due to insufficient social, economic, labor, or educational resources.

To map these vulnerabilities, Istat utilizes the Socio-Economic Hardship Index (IDISE), a composite metric derived from seven core indicators and various socio-demographic context factors. The study focuses on residents in family households within residential census sections.

In Lombardy, the data highlights significant economic disparities. In Milan, a sharp divide exists between affluent areas like the Historic Center and Brera and marginalized neighborhoods such as San Siro and Quarto Oggiaro. The gap between these extremes in Milan represents the highest disparity in the region, with a dynamic range of 3.27 points.