Quality of Life 2025: Bologna ranks fourth in Italy according to Il Sole 24 Ore

Bologna continues to rank among the most liveable provinces in Italy. In the 2024 edition of the long-standing Quality of Life survey by Il Sole 24 Ore, the city reaches fourth place at national level out of 107 provinces, preceded only by Trento, Bolzano and Udine.

This is a significant achievement, marking an improvement of five positions compared to last year.

The ranking is based on ninety indicators divided into six macro-areas – wealth and consumption; business and employment; environment and services; demography, health and society; justice and security; culture and leisure – offering a detailed overview of territorial well-being.

A growing territory across society, work and environment

Bologna leads the country in “Demography and Society”, a category that includes education, women’s quality of life, life expectancy and immigration. This first-place result follows a remarkable climb of twenty positions compared to the previous survey.

The city also performs strongly in “Business and Employment”: tourism, employment rate, startup dynamism, exports and pensions place Bologna third in Italy, with a further improvement of twenty positions compared to 2024.

Ranked sixth nationally in “Environment and Services”, Bologna records progress in the quality of life for children, young people and the elderly, in the use of renewable energy, in waste management and in administrative efficiency.

The territory also climbs ten positions in “Wealth and Consumption”, now ranking eighth thanks to indicators such as salaries, GDP per capita, income levels and inequality.

The Emilia-Romagna region confirms its overall competitiveness: Parma also ranks among the top ten Italian provinces, highlighting a solid, high-quality territorial context – one that is increasingly attractive for the MICE sector as well.