The picture of Italy that emerges from the 34th Quality of Life Survey notes some encouraging economic inputs but compromised by the weight of high prices and the global geopolitical situation. The litmus test for growth is value added per inhabitant: according to Prometeia's estimates, nationwide GDP per capita will grow by an average of 5.8 percent over last year, with peaks of +6.9 percent in the province of Belluno, +6.5 percent in Arezzo and +6.4 percent in Biella. Milan, which tops the list with a value of 58.7 euros per head (almost four times higher than Agrigento, which is last and registers no increase), scores +6.1 percent over 2022. Another indicator registering a trend increase is the employment rate: according to Istat, the number of employed people, as of October 2023, exceeded that of October 2022 by 2 percent, with real territorial records in the South, including the +18.2 percent in the province of Brindisi, followed by the +14.4 percent recorded in Benevento and the +14 percent in Vibo Valentia. The other side of the coin, however, is discouraging. Soaring costs-from mortgages and utility bills to groceries, vacations, and rents, with rents at +3.1 percent on average-have led Italian households to eat into their savings, many of which were set aside during and immediately after COVID-19: in fact, after years of increases, bank deposits have recorded 3.8 percent declines between August 2023 and the same month in 2022. Inflation has also led to a slowdown in household spending on durable goods, which overall declined by 2.6 percent in 2022.