Results of the 2024 Italy Report
PRESS RELEASE
EURISPES
36TH ITALY REPORT
Italy at the crossroads
The Italy 2024 Report, now in its 36tha edition, revolves around 6 chapters, each of which offers a dichotomous reading of the reality examined. Each chapter is illustrated through 6 essays and 60 phenomenological factsheets. Thus, through a dual reading of reality, themes that Eurispes considers representative of Italy’s current political, economic and social situation are addressed.
The thematic dichotomies identified for the Italy 2024 Report are:
Certainty/Uncertainty – Construction/Maintenance – Legality/Illegality – Identity/Lost – Severity/Permissiveness – Memory/Forgetfulness
The general remarks signed by the President of Eurispes, Gian Maria Fara, which open the Italy Report, outline the country’s situation and offer an interpretation of some of the processes of change underway: “In last year’s Report we drew attention to the fact that we were living in a period of extraordinary times and that this situation, in many respects unexpected and unforeseeable, required everyone to make an effort of cultural adjustment, first of all, and then political, economic and social. The extraordinary times, therefore, to which we have been referring for some years in our analyses, are leading to a situation in which uncertainty and instability have become a norm, capable of conditioning all our possibilities for further development.
We have realised that the world is interconnected and we are informed of every negative event in real time: the novelty lies, in our view, in the growing hiatus between the amount of our informed awareness of what is happening in the world and our ability to reduce all this information to cognitively manageable dimensions‘.
‘Italy is at a crossroads in terms of the cultural, political and economic choices to be made. Courage is needed. We will never tire of repeating that the first possible answer lies in ‘having courage’.
Let us accompany our reasoning with a simple metaphor. Make an effort of imagination and place a long road in front of your eyes. A road full of potholes: large and small, shallow and deep, regular and irregular. Two clear alternative options present themselves in front of you: plug the potholes? Or remake a new road, perhaps orienting it differently from the current one, so as to avoid the obstacles of tree roots and other natural elements that alter its surface? In short, is adaptation or transformation preferable? Is it preferable to move towards a policy that attempts to curb emergencies with interventions that are also suitable, but not decisive, or a profound reform, laborious even complex, which restructures an entire system in a far-sighted and functional manner?
In the answer we give is also our idea of the future.
There is no doubt, in fact, that when we operate on the line of adaptation we are trying to improve, to adjust situations, consolidated over time, in which we are used to operating, to try to harmonise them with the new conditions of growth and progress. Quite different is the approach of transformation. When the path we are on leads us to a crossroads and forces us to make fundamental choices: which direction to take? Which project to develop and pursue? What future to build?
Do we have, therefore, arrived at a crossroads, we have to choose: adaptation or transformation? Pact for preservation, or pact for the future?
Enlargement, Variety and Mutation: these are three forces of nature unleashed by modern globalisation that together are generating a picture of reality that is increasingly difficult to represent, understand and analyse. We are therefore faced with a multidimensional complexity. A circumstance, this one, to be noted, in our opinion, because it explains many phenomena that characterise our extraordinary age, and contribute to the need to design a new road rather than patching up the old one.
Crises force choice and decision, and in normal times they can also have a beneficial effect, but today’s crisis does not allow for alternatives. It is no longer a question of opting for one emergency solution or another, for different tactics; the possible path is one and only one: transformation, more precisely systemic transformation, indicative of the capacity of a system to regenerate itself, blocking and avoiding in time every possible involutional process of regression.
Moreover, Italy has already experienced a similar situation of systemic regeneration in the past when, after the period of reconstruction following the end of the Second World War, it experienced the so-called ‘economic miracle’ that radically changed the structure of the country. One cannot fail to recall, in this regard, the great guiding value of the policies codified in precise public medium and long-term planning documents, business plans and wide-ranging trade union agreements, i.e. in acts constructed by political forces and private development players, who, even in situations of strong ideological and political opposition, proved decisive and capable in promoting the systemic transformation of Italy, anchoring it to precise values of widespread social equity.
Instead, it has operated by relying exclusively on the present, on the day-to-day, with partial, often improvised responses, with measures that are at best useful for plugging a few leaks. Ours has now become a country hinged on the present, and ‘presentism‘ has become our philosophy of life. However, Italy, despite its serious difficulties, has the human, cultural and economic resources to emerge from an increasingly systemic and multidimensional crisis. It is simply a matter of overcoming – as we wrote more than ten years ago – the subculture of ‘presentism’ and projecting into the future‘.
“The crossroads that the transformation processes present us with also concerns the impact of climate change on our country, the reorganisation of the welfare system to better address, with an effective and far-sighted action of co-planning and co-programming between State-Business-Community, the medium and long-term effects of demographic changes, migration flows, social inclusion, and the structural changes that are occurring with increasing intensity in the world of work and education.
The crossroads of transformation also concerns the contribution that our country can make at the international level to the construction of a new multilateral order that corrects the obvious wear and tear of the current system to form one that is more valid in resolving conflicts and imposing peace. I repeat: the duty, the will and the ability to impose peace, therefore, again, in reducing the tensions that are widespread in the world, in acknowledging and resolving the needs of those Communities that suffer most from the great imbalances that characterise the current dynamics of development.
It is, therefore, once at the crossroads of transformation that the primacy and capacity for planning and vision of politics, ethics, science, culture, in a close and renewed synergy, can be reaffirmed’.
“In conclusion, among the countless options that crowd our horizon, we would like to emphasise three possible ways out.
The first, to return to the centrality of man. Today, there is talk in philosophy of a new humanism in the face of the power of technology and the increased uncertainties of the future that awaits us. In the face of today’s complexity, we want to give, through the words of the sociologist Edgar Morin, a clear indication, amounting to a categorical imperative: ‘It is time for man to rediscover himself’. It is about human action becoming shared, rediscovering ethics, solidarity, responsibility, planetary co-responsibility in safeguarding the environment, available resources, and peoples.
The second, to rethink advanced systems according to wealth redistribution criteria. For the creation of a more equitable system of resources and wealth within nations, where those who already have much, without losing that much, can put some of their wealth back into the shared circuit, into the economies, without considerably affecting the level of prosperity achieved. A 2 per cent tax on the super-rich would reduce inequality and raise resources crucial to the growth of nations.
Third, but not insignificant, factor: to position education, together with media and new technology education, as the backbone of economies in terms of their capacity to produce wealth.
Lastly, an appeal, perhaps ambitious – or that some will consider utopian – but possible, to the community of scholars, scientists, philosophers, economists, theologians, historians, technologists, in short, to our system of knowledge, together with politics and citizens, to contribute to a collective and shared reflection, transversal and multidisciplinary, to imagine and draw up a new ‘Pact for the Future’ that sees society as a whole as the protagonist of the transformation.
In this sense, it is worth recalling the very concept of utopia. To return, in short, to something that resembles religion or politics but which surpasses them by adapting to our times. Returning to impossible designs, to goals that are difficult to achieve, to projects that are complex and difficult to realise. It is no coincidence that, albeit in mystical terms, Kierkegaard spoke of a necessary tension of the ‘real self’ towards the ‘ideal self’ as the ultimate goal of an unstoppable and inescapable evolution.
Because man has always needed, before anything else, the conviction that he can make progress, that he has a goal to achieve.
We return, finally, to the idea of man as a positive generating power and the need to build a new shared ethic. And we can also move towards the future by drawing on the past’.
The Report is enriched not only by in-depth thematic fact sheets on various phenomena, but also by sample surveys that, in this year’s edition, probed some of the topics traditionally observed by Eurispes, including: trust in institutions; international conflicts and the energy crisis; the economic situation of families; the Israeli-Palestinian conflict; Artificial Intelligence and Social Networks; opinion on ethical issues; new eating styles; the relationship with the animal world and numerous other topics of close relevance.
Comparing the results with previous Eurispes surveys shows, compared to last year, a slight improvement in some indicators of the economic situation of Italian families. However, there remains a section of the population that is faced with difficult situations such as not making it to the end of the month without great difficulty (57.4%). Bills (33.1%), rent (45.5%) and mortgage payments (32.1%) are also a problem for many families. On the other hand, the prices of consumer goods are rising in the opinion of 83% of Italians and this trend forces them to find ways to make ends meet. People mainly ask their family of origin for help (32.1%) and use instalment purchases a lot (42.7%), they pay for some services such as tuition, babysitting, etc. under the table (33.6%) and almost 3 out of 10 Italians forego dental treatment/interventions or medical check-ups.
Most Italians (55.5%) believe that the country’s economic situation has worsened over the past year, for 18.6% the situation has remained stable, while only one in ten (10%) indicated signs of improvement. 15.6% did not know or did not want to give an answer. Looking to the future, citizens are instead cautious: for 33.2%, the Italian economic situation will remain stable over the next twelve months. Pessimists, who expect a worsening, are 31.6%, while 10.8% expect a period of economic growth. However, 40.9% of citizens say that their personal and family economic situation has remained stable over the last 12 months. Although with varying intensity, overall 35.4% of Italians report a worsening of their economic condition, while 14.2% speak of an improvement.
Slightly more than one in four manage to save (28.3%), 36.8% draw on their savings to make ends meet.
In economic difficulties, some have resorted to the support of friends, colleagues and other relatives (17.2%); 16% have taken out a loan from a bank, while 13.6% have had to borrow money from private individuals (not friends or relatives) with the danger of slipping into the meshes of usury. The online sale of goods and objects is widespread (27.5%). 37.6% of Italians had to give up a babysitter and 24.3% a carer. 15.3% had to sell or lost assets such as their house or business/entrepreneurial activity.
People buy a lot in instalments (42.7%), often on interest-free online platforms (21.3%). 14.6% rented clothes and accessories for parties or ceremonies, and 11.7% moved back home with their family of origin. As meeting medical expenses puts them in difficulty in 28.3% of cases, renunciations also affect health and people do without specialist visits for specific ailments or illnesses (23.1%), medical therapies/interventions (17.3%), and the purchase of medicines (15.9%).
As an institute we continue to advocate, as we have done for the past 20 years, the introduction of the family quotient as income support for Italian families. The family quotient, unlike the current situation in Italy, where taxation has an individual basis that, for the same income, penalises single-income families and those with dependent children, would favour a reduction in taxes. In essence, it would overturn the current system of taxation, which is based on individual incomes. This system would benefit families with children, thus becoming, albeit indirectly, a birth rate incentive. Taxation would thus fall on the average per capita income, rather than on the unitary family income. Introducing also in Italy the family quotient according to the French model could undoubtedly result in average annual tax savings for families, which would increase as income and the number of family members increase. The advantages are ensured by the fact that progressive rates would be applied on the average per capita income (by definition lower) and not on the income of each family member.
Probably driven by a renewed need for security in an uncertain context such as the current one, citizens’ trust is growing again, but it is expressed, with more than half of the consensus, in particular for a few institutions: the President of the Republic, the Police and Law Enforcement Forces, the Armed Forces and the Intelligence Service. Next to these: the Church, School, Health, Civil Defence and Voluntary Associations.
The President of the Republic, Sergio Mattarella, enjoys broad consensus in terms of the trust expressed by citizens in him (60.8%; +8.6% compared to 2023).
Parliament shows a slight increase in trust (from 30% in 2023 to 33.6% in 2024), but disappointed citizens remain the majority (58%). Citizens are divided on the judgement on the judiciary: 47% say they are confident compared to 44% of those who are disillusioned, and on regional presidents (appreciated by 41.2% and ‘rejected’ in 47.4% of cases).
Slightly more than a third of Italians (36.2%) express their agreement with the government, but those who are distrustful remain the majority (55.4%).
In 2024, we find the Carabinieri very high up in the ranking of the Forces of Law and Order, which, reaching 68.8% of the consensus accorded by Italians, regains, compared to 2023, a good 16 percentage points and returns to results closer to those of 2019 and 2020. The Guardia di Finanza also grows from 55.1% of consensus in 2023 to 66.1% in 2024 (+10%). Similarly, the State Police gets 10.7% more consensus, from 52.8% in 2023 to 63.5% in 2024.
As regards Defence, Italians’ appreciation for the Italian Army rises from 64.3% in 2023 to 69.4% in 2024 (+5.1%). The Air Force grows by almost 10 points (from 64% to 73.7%), the Navy by 6.4% (from 67.5% to 73.9%). The Intelligence Service receives 62.8% of the responses and moves forward by 7.3 percentage points compared to 2023.
As for the other corps, which have more recently joined the survey, we find the Fire Brigade at the top with a very large confidence rate (84.1%). The Coast Guard comes in at 71.8% of consensus. Trust in the Prison Police also rises from 53.4% of consensus in 2023 to 59.5% in 2024. While for the Local Police there is a slight increase: from 53.2% to 54.3%.
Among the other institutions, both public and private, that increase in the degree of trust from one year to the next are: the Catholic Church (52.1%), the School (66%), the Health System (58.3%). There is an increase in trust in Consumer Associations (from 46% to 48.1%) without, however, reaching half of the positive judgements, as is the case for the Public Administration (from 39.6% to 44.4%) and Entrepreneurs’ Associations (from 39% to 46%). The strongest leap forward is recorded for Civil Protection with 78.5% (69.9% in 2023). Also interesting is the result achieved by the university (from 64.9% to 71.8%), and by associations working in the voluntary sector (from 60.6% to 68.7%).
There are only three institutions that suffer a drop in support compared to 2023: parties, which fall from a confidence of 32.5% to 29.8%, trade unions, which decrease slightly from 43.1% to 42.7%, and religious denominations other than Catholic (from 38% to 34.5%).
In this year’s Italy Report, Eurispes set out to explore, on the one hand, the opinions of Italians with respect to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and, on the other, the prevalence and characteristics of anti-Semitic prejudice in our country. In some cases, it was possible to compare the data with the results of the survey conducted by the institute in 2004, a good twenty years later.
The Eurispes survey on anti-Semitism and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict highlighted the opinions of Italians with respect to particular issues. The majority, 60.7%, do not question the right of the State of Israel to exist; however, within this percentage, 32.1% also emphasise that this must be alongside the recognition of a Palestinian State. By contrast, 18.8% clearly deny the right of the Israeli state to exist. One fifth of the sample (20.5%) cannot comment on this. Compared to what emerged in 2004 by asking the same question to Italian citizens, non-negligible differences can be observed: in particular, only 2.8% denied this right.
Islamic terrorism is mentioned as the most dangerous element for a pacification of the conflict in the Middle East region (21.7%). In second place are the policy of the government led by the Prime Minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu (12.8%) and the policy of the United States in the Middle East (12.5%), followed by the conflict between moderates and fundamentalists within some Arab countries (10.9%).
The supporters of the need for aid (economic, strategic, arms supply, etc.) to Israel are a minority (15.9%), while exactly half (50.1%) say they are against it. As many as a third of the sample (33.9%), on the other hand, do not know or prefer not to give an answer to this question.
One-third of the sample (33.4%) agreed with the statement that Jews control economic and financial power; 3 in 10 believed they control the media and 27.5% supported the view that Jews determine Western political choices.
15.9% of Italians downplay the significance of the Shoah (it would not have produced so many victims), 14.1% deny it.
54% of Italians judge incidents of anti-Semitism as a real indication of a problem and 55.4% believe they are the consequence of the spread of language based on hatred and racism.
Despite a certain caution in talking about a ‘Third World War in pieces’, precariousness and international conflicts worry Italians. Defence resources are a divisive topic. Most citizens are not convinced that the executive will be able to cope with the complexity of a number of proposed domestic and foreign policy issues, while supporters numerically reflect the share of those who declare their trust in this institution. Citizens say ‘no’ to the Strait Bridge, the reintroduction of the Citizenship Income and the extension of the Superbonus.
Of particular concern to Italians are job insecurity (13.8%), international conflicts (12.8%), the possibility of loved ones falling ill (12.5% vs. 18.1% last year), the increase in electricity, gas and similar (12.3% vs. 16.3% in 2023), and Italy’s possible involvement in international conflicts (10.2%).
72.6% of respondents believe “a little” or “not at all” that this government will be able to restore public finances (77.2% in 2023); protect the country from international terrorism (59.1%; 65.8% in 2023); fight petty crime (61.8%; 65% last year) or organised crime (62.1%; 66.4% in 2023). The majority (64.9%; -3.5% compared to the previous survey) do not believe that this government will be able to revive consumption, or manage the immigration crisis (68.3%; -2.6%). In line with the previous survey, 68.6% believe little or not at all that the executive will be able to fight unemployment, or give prospects to young people (70.7%; -2.4%), or support the birth rate in Italian families (63.4%). Even the possibility of increasing citizens’ rights (70.2%) and building a collaborative relationship between majority and opposition (74.7%) find widespread scepticism. Six out of ten Italians (60.7%) express mistrust in the Executive’s ability to affirm Italy’s role in international politics, while 53.3% are not convinced of its ability to support Italian products in the world. Lastly, a majority share also expresses mistrust in the possibility of this government being able to carry out a good electoral reform (69%).
39.1% of Italians think that it is not yet the case to talk about World War III as stated by Pope Francis, but that there is a concrete risk. On the other hand, 26.2% agree, while 13.6% do not think there is a concrete risk. Finally, 21.1% of respondents have no definite opinion. 36.2% think that at this historical moment, defence spending represents a cost, while 30.5% see it as an investment. By contrast, 1 in 3 Italians (33.3%) do not have an opinion.
Still on the subject of security and defence, Italians are divided on the possibility of reinstating military conscription for young people: 50.2% of Italians are in favour, 49.8% against. On the other hand, a higher percentage (54.4%) is in favour of training volunteers who, in case of need, can be deployed to flank the Armed Forces, while the majority of Italians (61.9%) are against compulsory recruitment for military service through legislation or extraordinary provision, in view of the possibility of defending the country. Moreover, on this issue, Italians also oppose (59.3% against 40.7%) an increase in military spending to ensure adequate equipment for the defence of the country.
60.4% of respondents are against the construction of the Messina Strait Bridge. A majority of Italians also oppose the reintroduction of the Citizenship Income (61.2%) and the extension of the Superbonus for construction (58.5%). 52.7% of the sample is against the idea of setting a 30 km/h speed limit within urban centres, while 64.6% are in favour of introducing financial education at school.
On the new criminal phenomena front, as part of the Memorandum of Understanding between the Central Directorate of the Criminal Police and Eurispes, renewed in April 2024, an attempt was made to observe the phenomenon of juvenile gangs from the lived experience of citizens.
Youth gangs in Italy are composed of fewer than 10 individuals, predominantly male and between 15 and 17 years old. In most cases, gang members are Italian. The crimes most often attributed to youth gangs are offences such as fights, beatings and injuries, bullying, disturbing the peace and vandalism. According to the Eurispes survey, in 2024, almost 4 out of 10 citizens denounce the actual presence of this phenomenon in the area where they live, especially in the regions of the South (42.1%) and the North-West (40.5%) and in medium and large-sized municipalities. Especially the very young between 18 and 24 years old claim to be aware of the presence of youth gangs in the place where they live (55.7%).
Through a series of targeted questions, it was possible to draw a picture of Italians’ opinions on Artificial Intelligence and Social Networks, obtaining a clear overview of the degree of information (decidedly scarce) and the perception of the risks associated with these technologies.
33.9% of Italians have a vague idea of what Artificial Intelligence is and a similar proportion claim to know nothing about it (31.9%). Among the best informed, those who claim to know enough about it prevail (25%), while only one in ten claims to be very well informed on the subject (9.2%). The majority of those who said they knew something about AI, however, claimed they had never tried it (53.9%). The opinion on AI is generally positive (65.8%), the prevailing view is that it is a controllable technology (54.1%) even if dangerous (57.4%) and that it will replace man (54.2%). Less shared is the opinion that we will regret creating it (47.6%). Those who have tried to use AI did so out of curiosity to see how it worked (72.4%) and for leisure/play (63.7%). 46% used it for work and 41.5% for study purposes.
On the other hand, the judgments on social networks are severe: they encourage the spread of fake news (78.3%); they fuel cyberbullying (73.3%); they spread bad behaviour patterns (72.3%); they encourage the expression of aggression and verbal violence (69.5%); 66.1% are convinced that they damage social life.
Approximately one in five respondents have been victims of aggression or insults on social networking sites (21.3%) and cyber frauds (20.7%); 18% have had their privacy violated; slightly fewer have been victims of false identity deception (17.7%); 14.9% have suffered identity theft; 14% cyber stalking and 8.1% have been victims of revenge porn.
Digital nomadism is not yet a widespread phenomenon in our country, but many (47.3%) would consider moving abroad. Undeclared work, on the other hand, is or has been a reality for 4 out of 10 workers. Overall, lack of safety at work is reported in a third of cases.
Fewer than a tenth of Italians (9.1%) work entirely remotely in a location other than that where their company is based, so they are digital nomads, and 38.3% know people who do so. 8.2% left the job they were doing in order to prioritise their own quality of life and inclinations; 28.5% have at least one relative, friend, acquaintance who has made this choice.
5.2% report having given up work permanently because of the birth of a child; many more, 31.2%, know someone who has done so. For 6.7%, giving up work following the birth of a child was temporary; 36.6% have relatives, friends or acquaintances who have stopped working for some time.
Almost half of the Italian workers (47.3%) considered, more or less concretely, the possibility of a job transfer to a foreign country; underlying this hypothesis was the search for better economic conditions (28.2%).
The majority of the respondents who are currently working or have done so in the past (59.5%) state that they have never worked without a contract. Of these, 38.2% would not accept to do so, 21.3%, on the other hand, would accept if needed. On the other hand, 40.5% state that they have worked without a contract. One third of the workers denounce the lack of job security (33.8%).
For several years now, Eurispes has been conducting a survey to sound out the opinion of Italians on topics of primary importance, the so-called ethical issues: the ethical and legal investigation of these issues is crucial, since it involves topics intimately linked to civil rights, individual freedom and human dignity.
In 2024, 66.7 per cent of citizens are in favour of euthanasia, 65.3 per cent approve of euthanasia in the case of dementia, if indicated by the subject in his or her advance directive, 78.4 per cent support the need to be able to adhere to a living will, while assisted suicide garners 47.8 per cent of those in favour.
On the maternity front, heterologous fertilisation is widely supported as a medical practice (60%), while the possibility of resorting to the so-called ‘surrogate womb‘ is supported by a much lower percentage of Italians (37.1%), the same applies to the hypothesis of the artificial womb (39.9%).
With regard to the extension of civil rights, the possibility of same-sex marriage is supported by 64.5 per cent of Italians, who to an even greater extent (69.3 per cent) agree with the legal protection of de facto couples regardless of sex.
The adoption of children also for same-gender couples continue to be not fully supported (54.5%), although favourable positions have increased considerably over time (+23.4% compared to 2019). Adoption even for singles, compared to the same possibility for gay people, has a higher approval rating (61.5%). The recognition of children of same-sex couples (adoption of the partner’s child or of children born with heterologous fertilisation or gestation for others, allowed abroad) sees Italians in favour in 58.4% of cases.
With regard to the possibility of authorising a change of sex through self-declaration by the person concerned, even without medical certification, only four out of ten Italians agree (40.7%). On the recognition of gender identities that are not reflected in the feminine or masculine, agreement exceeds half of the indications (53.5%). Finally, the legalisation of soft drugs and prostitution are a distant idea for most citizens (those in favour, in both cases, do not exceed half of the sample).
Over the past year, mood swings have been an emotional state shared by 60% of Italians: about 3 in 10 have sought the support of a psychologist.
According to data collected by Eurispes, in the last year almost 1 Italian in 5 has taken drugs such as anxiolytics, antidepressants, mood stabilisers, antipsychotics (19.8%). Anxiolytics and tranquillisers are among the most commonly used psychotropic drugs (85.1%). About 3 out of 10 Italians have sought the support of a psychologist (29.7%). 10.3% have followed online therapy sessions. A lower percentage had experienced psychiatric therapy (7.6%) or participated in group psychological therapies (6.7%). 5.3% indicated that they had attended addiction support centres. Few have practised hypnosis (3.5%).
Over the past year, mood swings were an emotional state shared by 60% of Italians. Insomnia (59%) and feeling depressed (58.9%) were equally widespread. In addition, 38% said they had experienced panic attacks. Among all, 18 to 24 year olds were the most affected by mood swings (72.7%), depressive symptoms (71%) and panic attacks (51.2%).
In the uncertainty of our times, believing in something becomes more and more an urgency for the individual along with the incessant human desire to understand and exercise some form of control over one’s destiny. In this sense, Eurispes wanted to investigate the idea that citizens have of the world of the occult.
15.9% of Italians have turned to magicians and fortune tellers. Of these, most did so in person (52%); others, however, preferred the online mode (21.6%). The motivation that prompted them was mainly the search for answers to sentimental questions (24%). The counselling cost less than EUR 100 in 62% of cases. While 36% said they spent more, with 27.9% spending between 101 and 500 euros and 6.9% between 501 and 1,000 euros.
There is also a quarter of Italians (26%) who believe that some individuals have psychic abilities. Some (21.7%) say they believe in the possibility of communicating with the dead, believe in reincarnation (17.8%) or that there are people who can predict future events (18%). For 26.6%, some people can have bad luck, as well as some objects (27.5%). Of the existence of lucky or unlucky numbers 24.9% are convinced. On the other hand, for 25.9% of Italians a bit of superstition can help to avoid unlucky events. Finally, more numerous are those who believe in the existence of other life forms in the universe (38.1%), while 25.9% believe some UFO sightings to be true.
The diet of Italians continues to change, new habits and trends emerge, new food consumption takes hold.
7.2% of Italians are vegetarians, followed by 2.3% who declare themselves vegan (9.5% overall, they were 6.6% in 2023). 5% claim to have been vegetarians before. Among the advantages of this diet would be the feeling of better physical condition (86.4%), the ease of maintaining a healthy weight (73.3%), and greater creativity in the kitchen (66.5%). On the other hand, 39.8% regret the flavours of the ‘traditional’ diet.
36.1% of vegetarians/vegans ‘never’ feel annoyed in the presence of people eating meat/fish, but overall 63.8% say they are annoyed ‘sometimes’, ‘often’ or ‘always’. Only 23.6% have never noticed a negative and intolerant attitude towards them, while 76.4% report such episodes, albeit with varying frequency. On the other hand, there seems to be more tolerance: in fact, 86.8% of those who are omnivorous state that they feel no or little annoyance in the presence of people who follow a vegetarian/vegan diet.
Among the new eating habits are the increasingly popular ‘without’ diets: the most consumed are lactose-free (30.9%), sugar-free (25%), gluten-free (21%), yeast-free (18.3%) and egg-free (13.8%) foods. Those who buy them are mainly those who are not intolerant compared to those who have a certified intolerance.
Of the other food options offered, 33.5% of Italians say they often and habitually use dried fruit and seed mixes, 25.2% protein foods, 23.5% seeds (flax, sunflower, hemp, etc.) and 22.6% dietary supplements. Foods containing cannabis are used in 19.6% of cases.
The presence of pets in our homes is now well established. Animal friends become to all intents and purposes members of the household, also in terms of care and nursing. Pets are mostly rescued from the street or chosen from a kennel/cattery. The love for animals is, however, generalised as the vast majority of Italians continue to say they are against hunting, vivisection, the use of fur coats and animals in circuses.
Almost one in four households in Italy has at least one pet (37.3%; +4.6% compared to 2023). Just over 4 in 10 Italians who take in an animal own a dog (41.8%) and almost 4 in 10 a cat (37.7%). 20.3% of those who have an animal with them spend less than EUR 30 a month on its care and maintenance. Around 60% of Italians, on the other hand, spend more than EUR 30 and less than EUR 100 per month. Since 2015, the percentage of those who manage to spend less than 30 euro per month and between 30 and 50 euro has decreased significantly.
Pets are mostly rescued from the street or chosen from a kennel/cattery/similar (39.7%), but in one in four cases (25%) it was a shop or cattery purchase, and in one in five a gift (20.8%).
14% of pet owners thought of fostering their pet because of financial difficulties but did not do so, while 7.1% had to make this decision. 13.9% thought of fostering their pet because of difficulties in managing it in terms of time or incompatibility with the family, but did not do so, while 6.5% had to opt for fostering others. 20% have given up having other animals, in addition to those they already own, because of economic difficulties, while 29.2% have had to give them up because of difficulties in managing them.
Regarding ethical issues related to the animal world, Italians continue to say ‘no’ to vivisection (76.6%), hunting (72.9%), the production and use of furs (78.3%) and the use of animals in circuses (78.1%).
EURISPES Press and Communication Office
Susanna Fara | cell. 329 2282239
ufficiostampa@eurispes.eu | tel. 06 68210205