Daily difficulties bite into and bite off entire pieces of this land that continue to vanish. National Confcommercio believes that the South, in the comparison between 2022 and 2024, has given up another 161 thousand residents while, in the same observation period, the North has strengthened itself with a further population growth of 125 thousand units.
In Calabria, according to Istat, there were 17,296 “absents” in the three-year period in question. Behind the scenes of the crisis, therefore, the drama of a rapidly disappearing portion of the South is taking place. Those who leave the scene are, above all, the internal areas. The studies all show the same profile of depression that is pushing this land towards the abyss of a phase of structural stagnation which is no longer just economic but, above all, social. Moreover, the theme of desertification of the most isolated areas had also been at the center of other reports with chilling long-term observations and forecasts. Svimez, for example, had calculated that by 2080 the South was at risk of disappearing with 8 million fewer residents.
Depopulation represents a critical element which politics is also addressing to try to build a barrier before it is too late. But the future of the South risks being inevitably affected by the nightmare of federalism which constantly refers to a scenario of further loneliness that ferments amidst the historical fragilities of an Italy that is struggling to grow.
Yet, despite the criticality of the negative demographic trend, from the study just produced by the Confcommercio experts, a South emerges that enjoys excellent health. And even in 2024 it continues to grow more than double the North. These are assessments that take into account the statistical evidence relating to the first two quarters of 2024, which, however, confirm the feeling that, in Italy, the income-confidence-consumption circuit has somehow become jammed: the greater real disposable incomes, due to the employment growth, contract renewals and the drastic drop in inflation have not translated into greater consumption. It is the weak point of the current economic situation and the reflection can be seen in the estimates on the territory in quantity.