Save the Children Italy reports one in ten children live in fragile urban districts with high poverty and school dropout

Save the Children Italy’s research titled “I luoghi che contano” mapped socioeconomic disadvantage in the 14 metropolitan cities of the country, identifying 158 vulnerable urban areas. The study found that one child out of ten in these large cities lives in a fragile district where economic hardship, school absenteeism and limited future prospects are concentrated.

In the most vulnerable zones, the school‑abandonment and failure rate reaches 15.4%, roughly double the citywide average of 7.6%. More than one‑third of residents aged 15‑29 are neither studying nor employed, and poverty in peripheries approaches 42%. The report also highlighted social stigma, with almost half of young people reporting a negative perception of their neighbourhood and a third experiencing isolation. Save the Children called for expanding educational resources and opening schools in these areas to address the inequities.

Key quotations from the research include: “Un bambino su 10 nelle grandi aree urbane vive in questi luoghi più fragili” and “Il tasso di abbandoni e bocciature raggiunge il 15,4%”.