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GDP increasing by 1.1% in 2025 and a further acceleration to 1.3% in the first months of 2026, 20,300 new jobs, a world record port and air traffic growing four times above the national average. Calabria presents itself to the Milanese financial and business community as a dynamic, attractive region ready to act as a bridge for international capital.
The occasion was the meeting “The bridge that already exists. Attractiveness of Italy: Calabria, investing in the territories”, promoted by L’Economia del Corriere della Sera with the Calabria and Fincalabra Region, and with the technical support of FuturItaly, held today in the Sala Buzzati of the newspaper in via Solferino.
Development numbers: the FuturItaly Working Paper
The data presented confirm the change of pace of the Calabrian economy compared to the rest of the country and the South:
Economic growth: GDP at +1.1% in 2025 and +1.3% in the first part of 2026 (Bank of Italy data), positioning Calabria as the first Italian region in terms of growth rate.
Work and Export: +3.8% employed (+20,300 workers), with an unemployment rate down to 9.8%. Exports exceed one billion euros for the fifth consecutive year (+10.8% in 2025 and +5.4% in the first half of 2026).
Infrastructure and Logistics: The port of Gioia Tauro (1st Italian transshipment port and 48th in the world) records the historical record with 4.49 million containers handled (+14%).
Transport and Tourism: Regional airports handle 4.3 million passengers (+21% on an annual basis, with the peak in Reggio Calabria at +56.7%). Foreign tourist presences grew by +28.5% (+11.6% in total).
Business fabric and Innovation: Company turnover jumped from 26 to 42 billion between 2013 and 2023 (+64%). Workers in the software sector recorded a +52.9% (2020-2024), more than double the national average.
President Occhiuto’s strategy: «Corporate approach and certain rules»
Interviewed by the deputy director of Corriere della Sera, Daniele Manca, the president of the Calabria Region, Roberto Occhiuto, illustrated the political and economic vision underlying these results:
«In Calabria we are building an ecosystem favorable to those who want to do business. Incentives are fundamental, but the real difference lies in the certainty of authorisations, administrative simplification and rapid turnaround times.
We have obtained an extraordinary and exclusive exemption from the European Commission: we are the only region in Italy to be able to reduce tax by up to 50% on labor costs for three years. I interpret my role with the approach of an entrepreneur, working to solve problems and change the narrative of the territory. With UniCal, its position in the center of the Mediterranean and the Single SEZ, Calabria has all it takes to become Europe’s logistical and production hub in the Mediterranean.”
Key sectors and large public concessions
The comparison highlighted the strategic chains on which the next investment opportunities will focus:
Innovation and Tech: The Cosenza hub is the eighth local system in Italy for IT employment (first in the South). The University of Calabria (UniCal) leads the academic rankings in the IT sector, strengthened by the recent agreement with the Government and Region on AI, supercomputing and data centers.
Energy and Environment: The region produces more than double the electricity it consumes and plans to install 3,173 MW of new renewable sources by 2030.
Large Public Services: A season of important tenders and concessions is underway, including the management of the waste cycle (twenty-year concession worth over 8 billion euros), the water service (700 million investments) and the airport network (215.5 million).
Comparison with financial markets and institutions
The event saw strong support from the leaders of the banking, industrial and investment world.
The round table was attended by Mario Altieri (Country Head Italy of Morgan Stanley), Ludovico Diaz (CEO NTT DATA Italy), Francesco Canzonieri (CEO Nextalia SGR), Renato Mazzoncini (CEO A2A) and Francesco Profumo (President of Isybank).
The work was preceded by a closed-door summit between President Occhiuto and a dense delegation of international top managers and fund managers – including representatives of HSBC, Lazard, Macquarie, Advent International, Bregal Milestone, Fortress, Jefferies, Azimut, Invimit, Veolia, DXC Technology and Jakala – to concretely discuss the settlement projects and the development of public-private partnerships in the Calabrian territory.