Italy is a "divided country" and
its south is facing possible human and industrial
desertification, according to an industry and employment report
released on Wednesday.
Svimez, a private association for development in Italy's
south, called the area "a land at risk of human industrial
desertification where people continue to relocate, don't have
children and become poor".
It added that, without assistance, this could lead to
permanent underdevelopment.
The Svimez report compared national and regional GDPs,
noting that southern regions underperform compared with the rest
of Italy.
It said the south's GDP dropped 3.5% in 2013, when Italy
was in recession, compared to a 1.4% drop for the north.
It added that southern Italy's GDP fell 13.3% between the
start of the global economic crisis in 2008 and last year.
According to Svimenz, this continual underperformance has
caused Italy to become is "divided and unequal where the south
slips further into withdrawal".
Notable losses in the South's manufacturing and employment
sectors were compared to the more prosperous center north and
national average.
Employment in Italy's South was reported at 5.8 million,
the lowest level since numbers available from 1977, with women
continuing to hold even fewer jobs.
Svimez also cited more than double the number of
impoverished families during 2007 to 2013, increasing from
443,000 to over one million.
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