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LIGURIA
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GEOGRAPHY AND DEMOGRAPHY
Located between the Alps and the Apennines in the north and the Tyrrhenian Sea in the south, Liguria's 5 420 km2 extend through an arc of some 336 km of coastline with an average width of about 22 km.
The mountains bordering the region in the north act as a weather barrier, making the Ligurian climate mild; the region presents varied and typically Mediterranean vegetation. More than 50% of the total surface is covered by woodland.
The demographic structure - with a constant birth rate, rising mortality (due in part to the ageing of the population) and negligible net immigration which is insufficient to set off the natural deficit - is a reason for concern for the region. Population density in Liguria is high: average of 290 inhabitants per km2 in 2001 but reaching 477 inhabitants per km2 in the province of Genoa.
The population of Liguria is in constant decline, in particular since the 1970s and most markedly in the cities of Genova, Savona and La Spezia. According to census data, between 1991 and 2001 Liguria registered the largest decline in population (- 6.2%) among the Italian regions, whereas the population of Italy as a whole increased by 0.4% in the same time period.
The birth rate in Liguria is the lowest of Italy (7.2 per thousand in 2001). The infant mortality rate was about 5.4 deaths per 1 000 births in 1999. At the same time, the death rate is the highest of Italy (13.6 per thousand in 2001, while the national average is 9.6 per thousand).
The population is very unevenly distributed, with some 82% of the total living in the coastal area and about 39% in Genoa alone. However, over-urbanisation is forcing parts of the population into the immediate hinterland (this holds true even in the area of the Rivieras, where climatic and economic conditions are favourable).
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INFRASTRUCTURES
The Region has a good transport service (motorways, roads, railroads) on the coast and near the coast, whereas in the northern part , due to its mountainous territory the infrastructures are less developed. Genova and La Spezia are two important ports for all the country, and Genova has an active airport too. Motorways and railroads link the region with France, Torino, Milano, Bologna, Florence, Rome.
A good motorways network (376 km in 2000) makes communications with the border regions relatively easy. The main motorway is located along the coastline, connecting the main ports of Nice (in France), Savona, Genoa and La Spezia. The number of passenger cars per 1000 inhabitants (524 in 2001) is below the national average (584).
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ECONOMY
Regional GDP is higher than the national average when measured in both per worker and per inhabitant terms (the differences are respectively 6.8% and 7.5%); however the difference in terms of wage income per worker is much lower (about 2.7%).
Ligurian agriculture has increased its specialisation pattern in high-quality products (flowers, wine, olive oil) and has thus managed to maintain the gross value-added per worker at a level much higher than the national average (the difference was about 42% in 1999).
Although industry has become scaled down, it has turned towards a widely diversified range of high-quality and high-tech products (food, shipbuilding, electrical engineering and electronics, petrochemicals, aerospace etc.). In this way it manages to achieve a per capita gross value-added which is close to that of the Italian industry as a whole in 1999.
In the services sector, the gross value-added per worker in Liguria is 4% above the national average. This is due to the increasing diffusion of modern technologies, particularly in commerce and tourism.
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LABOUR MARKET
The activity rate in Liguria is below the national average (45.6% in 2001 compared to 48.5%).
The employment rate is above the national average (58% in 2001 compared to around 55%) and has increased by 7% since 1991. However, this is mostly due to an increase in the female employment rate, as the male employment rate has remained stable in the same time period. The male employment rate (%) is 54.1%.
The unemployment rate is 5.80% (female unemployment rate: 8%). The percentage (of total employment) of employment in agriculture is 3.70%, industry 22.7%, and in the service sector 73.7%.
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DATA RELATED TO REGIONAL STRUCTURAL FUNDS MECHANISMS
EU Objective 2, for the period 2000-2006.
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RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT
The total amount of Government investments (% of GDP) in R&D is 0.19%. The total amount of University investments (% of GDP) in R&D 0.42%.
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DATA RELATED TO REGIONAL PROGRAMME OF INNOVATIVE ACTIONS
During the period 2004-2005 Liguria implemented a RPIA whose total resources reached Euro 7.9 million (Euro 3 million - European Commission, Euro 3 million - public investment and Euro 1.9 million - private investment).
The priorities of the programme was regional development for the implementation of strategies in favour of technological innovation.
The programme's main objective was to define and implement new means of regional policy to promote economic growth and competitiveness in enterprises and to develop their capacity for innovation in the knowledge based society. The objective was obtained thanks to a strategy which involved all the actors in the innovation process: research and development centres (e.g. universities)m enterprises, technological districts and industrial districts, financial operators and those involved in human resources.
The programme concentrated particularly on: The creation of new enterprises, born as a result of research (spin off); Staff placements and knowledge exchange; Development programmes between research centres, universities and enterprises; The promotion of research results in order to propose good practices and experimental methods to sustain innovation.
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