Cagliari, housing costs are rising and people are fleeing the city: nearly 5,000 residents have lost their jobs since 2019.

Since 2019, Cagliari has lost nearly 5,000 inhabitants. This is inevitably due to the population decline and the decision of many young Sardinians to seek their fortunes abroad. But so too are the cost of living, rent prices, and the ever-increasing real estate market. Many families are choosing to relocate to the hinterland or other nearby municipalities for economic reasons. The latest available ISTAT data (2024) confirms this: Cagliari has 146,692 residents, over 4,000 fewer than in 2019. Conversely, Capoterra, Uta, Settimo San Pietro, and Elmas have seen population increases over the same period.

The expert

"The case of Cagliari, however, can be interpreted with two important considerations that escape traditional registry records," emphasizes Luisa Salaris, professor of Demography at the University of Cagliari. "On the one hand, there is a resident population, which is the official one. But there is also a 'persistent population,' meaning those who live in the city. Cagliari is a city inhabited by a huge number of people, around 80,000 every day. So it's not a real decline that should be worrying compared to other cities," she explains. "In recent decades," she adds, "a synergy has developed with the Metropolitan City, with Cagliari losing residents who have moved to neighboring municipalities."