North was driving force of Italian recovery in 2021 - ISTAT

(ANSA) - ROME, JUL 1 - ISTAT said Friday that Italy's northern regions, which were hit hardest by the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, were the driving force of the nation's economic recovery last year.
    The national statistics agency said the GDP of north-western Italy rose by 7.4% in 2021, while the north-east's grew by 7%, compared to a national average of 6.6%.
    It said central Italy posted growth of 6% while the south grew by 5.8% even though it had the best performance in the construction (up 25.9%) and agriculture sectors (up 3.6%).
    (ANSA).