Nearly half of Italian households are struggling to pay rent, and more than a third are skipping medical checkups to make ends meet. These findings emerge from the Eurispes 2026 Italy Report, released this week, painting a stark portrait of economic vulnerability across the country.
Why This Matters:
• 60% of Italian families report difficulty reaching the end of the month, with one in three dipping into savings to cover basic expenses.
• Rent payments are now the single greatest financial stressor, affecting 45.6% of households.
• Healthcare sacrifices are rising sharply: 34.6% are skipping routine medical checkups (up from 27.2% in 2025), and 32.1% are foregoing dental care (up from 28.2%).
• Food prices have surged for 93.3% of Italians, followed by fuel costs (91.2%) and restaurant meals (83.4%).
Economic Pessimism Deepens Across the Country
Italian households are bracing for harder times. The 38th edition of the Eurispes Italy Report 2026, presented on May 27, reveals that 47.8% of citizens anticipate a worsening economic situation over the next twelve months—an increase of more than 10 percentage points from the prior year. This growing anxiety reflects not just domestic economic fragility but also broader concerns about geopolitical instability and international tensions.
The report's authors describe the national mood as one of "diffuse fragility," a condition marked by widespread financial insecurity and shrinking room for error. With inflation still biting and wages stagnating, Italian families are being forced into impossible trade-offs between housing, healthcare, and basic consumption.
Rent, Utilities, and Mortgages: The Triple Squeeze
Housing costs dominate the list of financial pressures. 45.6% of Italian families report serious difficulty paying monthly rent, making it the most challenging expense to manage. But the squeeze doesn't stop there. Utility bills trouble 28.7% of households, while mortgage payments weigh heavily on 27.2%. Medical expenses, meanwhile, are a burden for 25.5%.
The result is a nation where financial breathing room has all but disappeared. Around 60% of families struggle to balance their budgets each month, and approximately 33.1% are forced to draw down savings simply to cover day-to-day costs. Only 24.4% of Italian households manage to save anything at all—leaving the remaining 75.6% with zero capacity for financial cushioning.
These numbers reflect a structural erosion of economic security. According to OECD data cited in the report, the purchasing power of Italy's middle class has declined by roughly 7.5% since 2021. In 2025 alone, real household income contracted by 1.6%, even as the cost of essentials continued to outpace official inflation rates. Wealth concentration remains extreme: the richest 10% of Italian families control 59.9% of the nation's total wealth.
What This Means for Residents: Healthcare Becomes a Luxury
One of the most troubling revelations in the Eurispes survey concerns the growing number of Italians postponing or abandoning medical care due to cost. Routine medical checkups are now skipped by 34.6% of citizens—a sharp rise from 27.2% just one year ago. Dental care is similarly out of reach for 32.1%, compared to 28.2% in 2025.
Beyond these headline figures, the report documents a cascade of other medical sacrifices: specialist consultations, prescription medications, therapeutic treatments, and even veterinary care for pets are increasingly viewed as unaffordable luxuries. The long-term health consequences are severe. Public health experts warn that delaying preventive care leads to more acute interventions later, driving up overall healthcare costs and reducing life expectancy in good health—particularly for women and elderly populations.
The retreat from healthcare access is not uniform. It disproportionately affects economically disadvantaged groups, residents of Southern Italy, and people with lower educational attainment, creating a two-tier health system where access depends on financial resources rather than medical need.
Inflation's Uneven Bite: Food and Fuel Lead the Surge
When asked about price trends over the past year, 82% of Italians reported negative assessments, with nearly 39% estimating inflation at over 8%—well above official figures. The Eurispes data highlights which categories have seen the steepest increases:
• Food and groceries: 93.3% of respondents noted price hikes
• Fuel: 91.2% reported increases
• Restaurant meals: 83.4% experienced higher costs
• Travel and holidays: 82.2% saw price jumps
These categories represent the core of household consumption, meaning inflation is felt most acutely in areas that cannot easily be substituted or eliminated. The combination of rising food and energy costs creates a compounding effect on household budgets, particularly for lower-income families who spend a higher proportion of their income on these essentials.
Geographic Variations: South vs. North
While economic fragility is a nationwide phenomenon, the Eurispes report identifies notable regional differences. Sicily and Sardegna show a paradoxical pattern: 49.6% of families in these regions report reaching the end of the month without particular difficulty—the highest rate in Italy. Yet these same regions have the lowest savings capacity nationwide, at just 20.5%. This suggests that households in the South are managing expenses more tightly but have no margin for accumulation or emergency reserves.
Government Response: The Piano Casa 2026
Recognizing the severity of the housing crisis, the Italian Cabinet approved the Piano Casa 2026 on April 30, formalizing it through decree-law n. 66 on May 7. The plan aims to make 100,000 housing units available over the next decade, mobilizing over €10 billion in public funds alongside private investment.
The strategy rests on three pillars. First, a €7 billion program targeting the recovery and maintenance of approximately 60,000 currently uninhabitable public housing units between 2026 and 2030. A special commissioner has been appointed to accelerate renovations, including energy retrofitting and seismic upgrades. Second, the establishment of the Fondo housing coesione, managed by Invimit SGR, to boost social housing supply while minimizing land consumption. Third, incentives for private developers to build subsidized housing, with at least 70% of new units sold or rented at prices 33% below market rates.
Complementary measures include a multi-year refinancing of the first-home guarantee fund, a rent bonus for separated parents, and a new €24 million fund for 2026–2027 to assist public housing tenants facing involuntary rent arrears. The government has also introduced legislation to expedite eviction procedures for illegal occupations and expired leases, aiming to protect property rights and increase housing availability.
Broader Context: Italy Lags Behind European Peers
Italy's economic trajectory remains sluggish by European standards. GDP growth is projected at 0.5% for 2025 and 0.7% for 2026—well below the Eurozone average of 1.1% and 1.2%, respectively. Only Germany matches Italy's anemic performance, while Spain, Ireland, and Greece post significantly stronger gains.
The public debt-to-GDP ratio stood at 135.3% in 2024, second only to Greece. Although the deficit has fallen from 7.2% to 3.4% of GDP and the primary balance has returned to surplus, the debt burden remains a structural constraint on fiscal policy. Unemployment, at 5.2% as of March 2026, is moderate but masks significant underemployment and regional disparities.
Italy's poverty risk rate is estimated at 18.6% in 2026, above the EU average of 16.4%. Across the Union, approximately 92.7 million people—20.9% of the population—were at risk of poverty or social exclusion in 2025.
European and National Anti-Poverty Strategies
The European Commission adopted its first comprehensive EU Anti-Poverty Strategy in May 2026, with the ambitious goal of eradicating poverty by 2050 and reducing the number of people at risk by at least 15 million by 2030. The strategy prioritizes housing access, employment, and protections for children and youth, reinforcing the European Pillar of Social Rights and expanding the European Child Guarantee.
The European Social Fund Plus (ESF+), covering 2021–2027, dedicates at least 25% of its resources to combating poverty and social exclusion, with a minimum 5% earmarked for child poverty in the most affected member states.
Italy has responded with the Programma Nazionale Inclusione e Lotta alla Povertà 2021-2027, approved in December 2022 with over €4 billion in funding. The program focuses on strengthening social services, personalized support projects, and targeted interventions for vulnerable groups including ethnic minorities, immigrants, people with disabilities, and at-risk minors. The Piano d'Azione Nazionale per l'Attuazione della Garanzia Infanzia coordinates national policies to fight child poverty, while the Alleanza contro la Povertà in Italia, a coalition established in 2013, monitors public policy and proposes evidence-based interventions.
Public Health Experts Call for Urgent Action
Healthcare access is emerging as a critical flashpoint. Specialists advocate for reducing waiting lists through increased staffing and digital booking systems, strengthening territorial health services to provide proximity care, and offering financial assistance for those unable to afford co-payments or private services. Many argue for the integration of dental care into the National Health Service (SSN) to ensure equitable access.
The role of supplementary health funds—negotiated insurance schemes—is also gaining attention as a means to expand coverage for diagnostic tests, specialist visits, and dental care, particularly for prevention. Experts emphasize that investing in preventive care is far more cost-effective than managing advanced disease states, and that health must be treated as a common good rather than a budgetary line item to be minimized.
The Path Forward: Regenerating Community Spirit
The Eurispes report, subtitled "A Divided Country: Regenerating Community Spirit and the Sense of the State," examines six dichotomous themes—democracy versus authoritarianism, present versus future—alongside survey data on trust in institutions, family economics, technology use, and artificial intelligence. The overarching message is clear: Italy's social fabric is under stress, and without concerted policy intervention, the gap between the secure and the vulnerable will continue to widen.
While the Piano Casa 2026 and new anti-poverty programs represent meaningful steps, their success will depend on execution speed, adequate funding, and the ability to reach those most in need. For now, the data suggests that for millions of Italian families, financial resilience is not a given—it is a daily struggle.
