Depopulation is bad. Healthcare is no better. Nor is education. Employment data also doesn't paint a comforting picture: growth is slow. The 2026 Svimez report, "The Economy and Society of Southern Italy," reveals an old and battered Sardinia.
By 2050 , the island's population could decline from 1.6 to approximately 1.2 million, a 20% reduction: one of the highest in Southern Italy. This decline is also due to the island's birth rate of 4.1 per thousand, the lowest in Italy at 0.85 children per woman (and a declining trend). Between 2006 and 2026, there was a 31.4% reduction in the number of young people, 153,000 fewer, a higher decline than that recorded in Southern Italy (-21.6%). There is no evidence of a migration exodus: in 2025, 2,529 young people between the ages of 25 and 34 will emigrate: 173 for every 10,000 inhabitants between the ages of 25 and 34, a figure significantly lower than the Southern Italian average (233 for every 10,000 inhabitants). Compared to 2005, young emigrants have decreased by 18%, in contrast to the 8.7% increase recorded in Southern Italy.
Health is also poor. In 2024, private healthcare spending transferred to the TS system per capita was €601, the highest among Southern Italian regions. In the first eight months of 2026 , compliance with waiting list deadlines was 64.1% for initial visits and 78.4% for diagnostic tests. For initial visits, a deterioration of 4.3 percentage points was recorded. In 2024 , 17% of Sardinians forwent specialist visits or tests, the highest percentage in the country. The reasons are primarily related to waiting lists (12%).
But there are also positive signs. GDP increases by 1.1%. This is also thanks to growth in construction (1%), industry (3.4%), and services (0.6%). Investment is improving, at 3.1%, but foreign demand is declining, at -3.4%. On the other hand, exports, compared to the first quarters of 2025 and 2026, soar by 11.6%. Employment in high-tech is declining, at -2.8%. However, overall growth is seen in the services sector. Between 2021 and 2025, the employment rate will rise from 53.6% to 58.2% and the unemployment rate from 13.5% to 9.2% (young people from 38.7% to 24.6%). However, in the first two quarters of 2026, employment growth was modest, +0.6%, while industry contracted by 9%, with particularly sharp contraction in manufacturing (-12.2%) and construction (-5.7%). Services, on the other hand, experienced a contrasting trend (+2.9%).
Regarding welfare , 27,644 Sardinian families received an inclusion allowance in the first half of this year, averaging €625 per month. 149,009 Sardinians requested a universal single allowance in the first six months of 2026. Sardinia is the region with the highest school dropout rates: between 2017/18 and 2024/25, it lost 13.5% of its students, a decrease of 27,016. Along with Sicily, Sardinia is the region with the highest dropout rates, at around 14%.
A record for climate change: Cagliari has seen the highest increase in tropical nights in Italy.
(Unioneonline)
