Italy chemical industry - statistics & facts
Italy is one of the largest chemical markets worldwide. The country was among the 10 leading European economies in the chemical industry in 2023, with a revenue of approximately 67 billion euros. Apart from being one of the main chemical producers, Italy also ranked as one of the major chemical exporters worldwide and had one of the largest numbers of employees in the chemical sector that year.
Technological innovation and sustainability are important for the growth of this leading sector of the Italian economy, both on the domestic and international markets. In 2023, the chemical industry was the country’s manufacturing sector with the highest involvement in the green transition, as most of its enterprises were committed to funding green technologies for their production processes.
Structure of the chemical industry in Italy
Italy’s chemical industry is concentrated in the northern part of the country, close to Italian end-use industries and downstream chemical markets in Europe. In particular, the region of Lombardy has the highest concentration of chemical companies in the country and is one of the leading chemical manufacturing regions in Europe. Chemical production in Italy is widespread across a number of foreign multinationals, Italian medium and large companies, and local small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). SMEs are an important part of the chemical landscape in Italy, accounting for over 40 percent of the country’s chemical production. In total, Italy is home to some 3,900 enterprises dedicated to manufacturing chemicals. Regarding the different branches of the chemical industry, Italy stands out in the production of plastics and rubbers and specialty and consumer chemicals such as paints, coatings, adhesives, cosmetics, and detergents.Italy's leading chemical companies
With a revenue of over four billion euros in 2023, Versalis ranked as the leading chemical company in Italy that year. Versalis is a subsidiary of the multinational oil and gas company Eni and is dedicated to the production of petrochemical products. Ranking second and third were Mapei and Bracco with revenues of 4.2 and 1.9 billion euros, respectively. Mapei is a chemical company dedicated to the production of adhesives, sealants, and construction chemicals, whereas Bracco is a chemical-pharmaceutical leader in the development of medical substances to improve the accuracy of biomedical imaging. Petrochemical company Versalis also had the largest number of employees in Italy of any chemical company. Italian multinational Mapei, however, had the largest number of global employees of any Italy-headquartered chemical company, with roughly 12,700 people.Technological innovation and sustainability are important for the growth of this leading sector of the Italian economy, both on the domestic and international markets. In 2023, the chemical industry was the country’s manufacturing sector with the highest involvement in the green transition, as most of its enterprises were committed to funding green technologies for their production processes.
