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Construction industry in Italy - statistics & facts
The Italian construction industry was, in relative terms, smaller than in other European countries. In France, Germany, Poland, Sweden, the United Kingdom, and quite a few other countries, value of the construction sector as a share of their gross domestic product (GDP) was higher than in the Mediterranean country. Nevertheless, there were also a few European countries with an even lower ratio, such as Switzerland, the Netherlands, Portugal, Ireland, and Greece. Lower construction spending levels can often be correlated to fewer homes, commercial buildings, and infrastructure being built. In fact, Italy had one of the lowest number of housing starts per capita in Europe. Nevertheless, the industry has developed positively in in 2021 and 2022, with the revenue from construction in Italy increasing significantly, particularly in the building construction, completion, and finishing, and the installation segments.
Despite Italy not having such a strong construction sector relative to its size as other major European countries, the industry has shown positive signs in the past couple of years with the revenue going up and building costs getting under control.
Italian construction companies
Nevertheless, Italy had the third-largest construction industry in Europe in absolute figures, reaching an annual production value of 278 billion euros in 2022. In addition to that, Italy had a couple of companies that were in the ranking of the largest construction firms in the world in 2023. Some of these companies are very active abroad. In particular, the largest construction company in the country, WeBuild SpA, generated most of its global contracts' revenue outside Italy, with the United States being its second-largest market.Rising construction costs
In 2023, the producer price of buildings in Italy increased by 2.8 percent for residential buildings and it fell slightly for commercial buildings. That came after construction costs soared in 2021 and, particularly, in 2022, with those costs growing by over seven and eight percent year-on-year. Therefore, the lower growth-rates of construction costs have offered a respite to contractors and real-estate developers. Wages, the price of construction materials, equipment, and land are some of the components that can explain price changes. For example, the price growth of several building materials in Italy fell significantly, even if, overall, the cost of most materials kept rising, but at a lower rate than in previous years. The price of cement, lime, plaster, bricks, and baked clay products had risen by over 45 percent in 2022, but by less than 15 percent in 2023. Labor costs in the construction industry also kept rising at a somewhat slower pace in 2023.Despite Italy not having such a strong construction sector relative to its size as other major European countries, the industry has shown positive signs in the past couple of years with the revenue going up and building costs getting under control.
