Spain (24th) is the Western European country whose prosperity has improved most in the past decade, driven by a notable improvement in Safety and Security. There has been a sharp decline in property crime,while the percentage of people who have reported stolen property in the last year has fallen from 14% to 8%.
Read MoreItaly is 30th in the overall Prosperity Index rankings. Since 2011, Italy has remained at the same position.
Italy performs most strongly in Health and Infrastructure & Market Access but is weakest in Economic Quality. The biggest improvement compared to a decade ago came in Living Conditions.
Visit our Rankings table to see how Italy compares to other countries.