Italy

Italy

Southern Europe

EuropeEUSchengen
71
Overall score
Strong overall
Language
Italian
Currency
EUR
Citizenship
10 years (4 ancestry / 2 marriage)
Personal tax
23–43% + regional
Cost of living
€1,600 / mo (single)

World-class lifestyle, food and culture with an investor visa, a 2024 digital-nomad visa and a flat-tax regime for wealthy newcomers - plus an ancestry (jure sanguinis) citizenship route, though general naturalisation takes ten years.

Pros

  • Digital nomad + investor visas
  • €100k/200k flat tax for new HNW residents
  • Ancestry citizenship route

Cons

  • 10-year general naturalisation
  • High taxes & bureaucracy
  • Italian required for citizenship

Best for

People of Italian descentRemote workers & investorsLifestyle-first movers

Score profile

Status & mobility
Passport
96
Citizenship
64
Residence
50
Money & business
Taxes
52
Corporate tax
31
Business
52
Investment
51
Economy
76
Wealth building
57
Living, study & work
Education
80
Salary & work
64
Cost of living
59
Buying power
78
Quality of life
Safety
73
Healthcare
89
Infrastructure
80
HDI
92

Status & mobility

Passport

Rules change often and depend on your situation. Confirm any travel or visa decision with a qualified professional, or do your own research, before acting.

Passport power
Excellent
96

Passport-index style mobility for the Italy passport. The score above is its world reach: the share of 198 destinations reachable without a prior visa.

191 / 198
Mobility
#4
Global rank
Yes
Biometric
  • Visa-free144
  • On arrival38
  • eTA9
  • Visa required7

Passport Index style mobility data (2024–2025 estimate). Placeholder figures; verify current entry rules with each destination’s authority before travelling.

Citizenship

Rules change often and depend on your situation. Confirm any citizenship decision with a qualified professional, or do your own research, before acting.

Citizenship accessibility
Moderate
64
Years required10 years (4 for ancestry-based, 2 via marriage)
Dual allowedtrue
LanguageB1 Italian
Residence10 years legal residence for general naturalisation
NotesJure sanguinis (descent) was tightened in 2025 to closer generations; verify eligibility carefully.
Residence

Rules change often and depend on your situation. Confirm any residence / visa decision with a qualified professional, or do your own research, before acting.

Openness to residents
Moderate
50
How this score is calculated

Our 0–100 score combines how international the population already is (migrant stock at 45%), governance quality (regulatory quality at 25%), and the curated residence-pathway signal (30%). Available indicators are reweighted; the published values are shown below.

Migrant stock11.0% of population (2024)
Regulatory quality0.64 (−2.5 to 2.5) (2024)

Source: World Bank World Development Indicators

Main pathways
Investor Visa (startup €250k / company €500k)Digital NomadSelf-employment (lavoro autonomo)Elective Residence
StudentStudent residence; up to 20 hrs/week work.
WorkWork permits via the Decreto Flussi quota; Blue Card for skilled.
Self-employedItalia Startup Visa for innovative founders; autonomo permits.
PermanentEU long-term residence after 5 years.

Money & business

Taxes

Rules change often and depend on your situation. Confirm any tax decision with a qualified professional, or do your own research, before acting.

Tax friendliness
Moderate
52
Personal23–43% national + regional/municipal surtaxes
Corporate24% IRES + ~3.9% IRAP
Capital gains26% on financial assets
Dividends26%
Exit taxCorporate exit tax (ATAD); flat-tax regime caps foreign income for new residents
Foreign cosCFC rules apply (ATAD)
Personal tax

Rules change often and depend on your situation. Confirm any tax decision with a qualified professional, or do your own research, before acting.

Personal tax
Low
22
Personal23–43% national + regional/municipal surtaxes
FreelanceRegime forfettario: 5–15% flat tax for small turnover
Capital gains26% on financial assets
Dividends26%
Exit taxCorporate exit tax (ATAD); flat-tax regime caps foreign income for new residents
Corporate tax

Rules change often and depend on your situation. Confirm any tax decision with a qualified professional, or do your own research, before acting.

Corporate tax
Limited
31
Corporate24% IRES + ~3.9% IRAP
Capital gains26% on financial assets
Dividends26%
Foreign cosCFC rules apply (ATAD)
Business
Business friendliness
Moderate
52
How this score is calculated

Our 0–100 score leans on the two things founders ask about most: the tax burden (headline corporate rate at 20%, broader tax friendliness at 15%, and freedom from exit-tax / CFC rules at 10%) plus the regulatory and bureaucratic environment (regulatory quality 15%, government effectiveness 15%), on top of the curated company-rules signal (25%). Available indicators are reweighted; the values are shown below.

Regulation & bureaucracy
Regulatory quality0.64 (−2.5 to 2.5) (2024)
Government effectiveness0.79 (−2.5 to 2.5) (2024)

Source: World Bank World Development Indicators

Rules & taxes
Foreign co.Yes: full foreign ownership
Local co.S.r.l. (incl. simplified S.r.l.s. from €1) via notary
FreelanceRegime forfettario: 5–15% flat tax for small turnover
Corporate tax24% IRES + ~3.9% IRAP
Capital gains26% on financial assets
Exit taxCorporate exit tax (ATAD); flat-tax regime caps foreign income for new residents
Foreign cosCFC rules apply (ATAD)
Investment

Rules change often and depend on your situation. Confirm any investment / tax decision with a qualified professional, or do your own research, before acting.

Investing environment
Moderate
51
How this score is calculated

Our 0–100 score is mostly the investor-tax signal (capital-gains treatment, broker access, wealth tax, and ETF or other taxes on investment, 70%), lightly contextualised by equity-market depth (market cap / GDP at 18%) and credit depth (domestic credit to the private sector / GDP at 12%). Available indicators are reweighted.

Market cap27% of GDP (2014)
Private credit60% of GDP (2024)

Source: World Bank World Development Indicators

Capital gains26% on financial assets; flat-tax regime shields foreign income
DividendsData not available yet
ETFs & fundsData not available yet
Wealth taxIVIE/IVAFE on foreign property & financial assets
BrokersGood: Directa, Fineco, Interactive Brokers
Foreign accessData not available yet
Tax-advantagedData not available yet
Economy
Economic strength
Good
76
How this score is calculated

Our 0–100 score combines income level (GDP and GNI per capita, output per worker), growth momentum (real GDP growth), price stability (inflation) and labour utilisation (unemployment). Available indicators are reweighted; the sector split and industry profile below are descriptive, not scored.

Output & income
GDP$2.4T (2024)
GDP / person$40,385 (2024)
GNI / person$61,620 PPP (2024)
GDP growth0.7% / yr (2024)

Source: World Bank World Development Indicators

Stability & labour
Inflation1.0% / yr (2024)
Unemployment6.4% (2025)
Output per worker$130,388 PPP (2024)

Source: World Bank World Development Indicators

Sector composition
Agriculture2.0% of GDP (2024)
Industry22.3% of GDP (2024)
Services65.0% of GDP (2024)

Source: World Bank World Development Indicators

Main industries
Machinery & manufacturingFashion & luxuryAutomotiveFood & wineTourismDesign
Top exports
MachineryFashion & textilesVehicles & partsFood, wine & pharmaceuticals
TypeHigh-income, manufacturing- and design-led
Key sectorsIndustrial machinery (Made in Italy), Fashion & luxury, Tourism
SummaryA manufacturing and design powerhouse known for machinery, fashion, autos and food, plus major tourism.
CurrencyEuro (eurozone member)
Wealth building

Rules change often and depend on your situation. Confirm any tax / investment decision with a qualified professional, or do your own research, before acting.

Wealth accumulation
Moderate
57
How this score is calculated

How favourable Italy is for building wealth: earnings and business/investment upside, tax drag, and how much a typical income keeps after living costs. Estimated from the factors below.

Salary & work
Moderate
60
Business
Moderate
53
Investment
Moderate
62
Tax friendliness
Moderate
52
Cost of living
Moderate
59

Living, study & work

Education
Education score
Excellent
80
How this score is calculated

Our 0–100 score combines attainment (expected schooling at 30% and mean schooling at 25%) with participation (tertiary enrolment at 25%) and public investment (government education spending at 20%). Available indicators are reweighted; tuition and study rules remain separate profile fields below.

Attainment
Expected schooling16.7 years (2023)
Mean schooling10.8 years (2023)

Source: UNDP Human Development Report 2025

Participation & investment
Tertiary enrolment76% gross (2023)
Education spending4.1% of GDP (2022)

Source: World Bank World Development Indicators

Tuition€900–4,000 / yr (public; income-scaled)
Public uniPublic universities low & income-based; many scholarships
LanguagesItalian, English (growing number of programs)
Student workUp to 20 hrs/week
Salary & work
Labour-market strength
Moderate
64
How this score is calculated

Our 0–100 score combines output per worker (a proxy for wage potential at 40%), unemployment (35%) and labour-force participation (25%). Available indicators are reweighted; the curated profile fields remain below.

Output per worker$130,388 PPP (2024)
Unemployment6.4% (2025)
Participation49.3% of 15+ (2025)

Source: World Bank World Development Indicators

Mean monthly earnings of employees
Overall$3,174 · $4,691 PPP (2024)
Tech (IT & comms)$4,353 · $6,433 PPP (2024)

Source: ILOSTAT (International Labour Organization)

FreelanceGrowing; regime forfettario attractive for freelancers
Job marketMilan is the main tech/finance hub; lower pay than Northern EU.
Cost of living
Affordability
Moderate
59

Our 0–100 affordability score is derived from the local consumer price level (World Bank, US = 100): the cheaper everyday prices are, the higher it scores. Lower price level means your money goes further here.

Price level68 (US = 100) (2024)

Source: World Bank World Development Indicators

Rent€800–1,400 (1BR major city)
Monthly€1,600
CitiesMilan, Rome, Turin, Bologna
Buying power
Purchasing power score
Good
78
How this score is calculated

Our 0–100 score estimates how far money goes for the typical person here. It combines GNI per capita at PPP (30%) and actual household consumption per person at PPP (15%) with a price-advantage term from the local price level (25%) that rewards lower prices, then adjusts for income equality via the Gini index (20%), so unequal economies don't ride a high average, plus price stability via consumer inflation (10%). Available indicators are reweighted; it is a comparison, not a personal budget estimate.

GNI / person$61,620 PPP (2024)
Consumption / person$33,356 PPP (2023)
Price level68 (US = 100) (2024)
Income inequality34.3 Gini (2023)
Inflation1.0% / yr (2024)

Source: World Bank World Development Indicators

Quality of life

Safety
Safety & stability
Good
73
How this score is calculated

Our 0–100 score combines personal safety (intentional homicide rate at 35%), institutional quality (rule of law at 25% and control of corruption at 20%), and political stability and absence of violence (20%). Available indicators are reweighted; the published values are shown below. Always check current government travel and security advice before relocating.

Personal safety
Homicide rate0.6 per 100,000 (2023)

Source: World Bank World Development Indicators

Institutions & stability
Rule of law0.62 (−2.5 to 2.5) (2024)
Control of corruption0.55 (−2.5 to 2.5) (2024)
Political stability0.31 (−2.5 to 2.5) (2024)

Source: World Bank World Development Indicators

Healthcare
Healthcare score
Excellent
89
How this score is calculated

Our 0–100 score combines health outcomes (life expectancy at 25% and under-5 mortality at 20%) with system capacity (physicians at 20% and hospital beds at 15% per 1,000 people) and health spending per capita (20%). Available indicators are reweighted; the published values are shown below.

Outcomes
Life expectancy84.0 years (2024)
Under-5 mortality2.7 per 1,000 births (2024)

Source: World Bank World Development Indicators

Capacity & resourcing
Physicians4.19 per 1,000 (2022)
Hospital beds3.06 per 1,000 (2022)
Health spending$4,993 PPP / person (2024)

Source: World Bank World Development Indicators

System & costs
SystemUniversal public (SSN) + private
InsuranceResidents enrol in the SSN; private optional
Avg costVoluntary SSN registration from ~€2,000/yr for some non-EU residents
Infrastructure
Infrastructure score
Excellent
80
How this score is calculated

The score combines digital access, resilience and download performance (30%), electricity access and network losses (30%), and transport infrastructure covering rail, logistics and aviation (40%). Available inputs are reweighted, but a country needs both digital and transport data to receive a score.

Digital infrastructure
Internet use89.2% (2024)
Internet resilience69 / 100 (2026)
Fixed speed78 / 100 download index (2026)
Mobile speed69 / 100 download index (2026)

Sources: World Bank World Development Indicators · Internet Society Pulse Internet Resilience Index

Utilities
Electricity access100.0% (2023)
Grid losses7.1% of output (2024)

Source: World Bank World Development Indicators

Transport
Transport quality3.80 / 5 (2022)
Rail density58.5 km / 1,000 km² (2021)
Air connectivity3,146 departures / million people (2023)

Source: World Bank World Development Indicators

HDI
Human development score
Excellent
92
How this score is calculated

The UN Human Development Index is the geometric mean of three dimension indices (a long and healthy life, knowledge, and a decent standard of living), shown on a 0–100 map scale (HDI × 100). The 2023 UNDP inputs behind each dimension are listed below.

HDI0.915 (2023)

Source: UNDP Human Development Report 2025

Long & healthy life
Life expectancy83.7 years (2023)

Source: UNDP Human Development Report 2025

Knowledge
Expected schooling16.7 years (2023)
Mean schooling10.8 years (2023)

Source: UNDP Human Development Report 2025

Standard of living
GNI / person$52,389 PPP (2023)

Source: UNDP Human Development Report 2025

Resources

Mock data for demonstration only. Not legal or tax advice.