ATECO Italy: Classificazione Delle Attività Aconomiche - Italian Classification of Economic Activities
The Classificazione Delle Attività Aconomiche (ATECO) is the official framework for classifying business establishments in Italy. ATECO, produced and maintained by the Istituto Nazionale di Statistica (ISTAT), was first published in 1981 and has been revised six times, most recently at the end of 2024. ATECO, which is based on the European Union's NACE, is structured into six levels, from broad sections at the highest level to more specific sub-categories at the bottom reflecting Italy's industrial structure. ATECO is used widely across public agencies and private organizations in Italy.
Metadata
| Publisher type | National |
| Publisher(s) | |
| Jurisdictions | Italy |
Versions
ATECO 2025 (Current)
ATECO 2025 took effect on 1 January 2025. It is identical to the European Union's NACE Rev. 2.1 up to the four-digit (Class) level.
Changes Between ATECO 2007 v. 2022 and ATECO 2025
ATECO 2007 v. 2022 has been comprehensively revised in ATECO 2025. Codes have been introduced, deleted, and retitled across all sections of the system. The changes introduced in the classification levels 1-4 of ATECO 2025 reflect those introduced in the newly released NACE Rev. 2.1 with the number of industries increasing in all but the two-digit (Division) level. The more detailed levels (5 and 6) were also expanded with several industries established for emerging activities like influencers with the sub-category 73.11.03 (Influencer marketing). Notable additions include categories covering other professional research activities such as 72.10.1 (Research and experimental development on biotechnology) and 70.10.2 (Other research and experimental development on natural sciences and engineering) which has the new subcategories 70.10.21 (Research and experimental development on geology) and 70.10.22 (Research and experimental development on conservation science).
Structure of ATECO 2025
ATECO 2025 is structured into six levels, as follows:
Section: 22 Sections identified by the letters A to V.
Division: 87 Divisions identified by two-digit numeric codes (01-99).
Group: 287 Groups identified by three-digit numeric codes (01.1-99.0).
Class: 651 Classes identified by four-digit numeric codes (01.11-99.00).
Categories: 920 Categories identified by five-digit numeric codes (01.11.0-99.00.0).
Sub-categories: 1290 Sub-categories identified by six-digit numeric codes (01.11.00-99.00.00).
The table shows the composition of each of the 22 sections of ATECO 2025. At the five and six-digit level, the Section C (Manufacturing) is the most detailed section with 308 Categories and 403 Sub-categories followed by Section G (Wholesale and retail trade) with 174 Categories and 270 Sub-categories. In having two additional levels, Italy's ATECO approach to adapting the NACE system differs from other national classification systems in Europe which generally add one additional level, see e.g. Germany's WZ, the Netherland's SBI, and France's NAF. As an example, under the NACE Rev. 2.1 Class 31.00 (Manufacture of furniture), ATECO 2025 has added the five-digit Categories 31.00.1 (Manufacture of furniture for shops, offices and other similar places), 31.00.2 (Manufacture of kitchen furniture), and 31.00.3 (Manufacture of other home furniture). The Category 31.00.3 has eight Sub-categories including 31.00.31 (Manufacture of home furniture, excluding kitchen furniture, chairs, sofas and similar products), 31.00.32 (Manufacture of outdoor furniture), and 31.00.33 (Manufacture of chairs and seats).
Section ID | Section Title | Divisions | Groups | Classes | Categories | Sub-categories |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
A | Agriculture, fishing and forestry | 3 | 14 | 39 | 48 | 57 |
B | Mining and quarrying | 5 | 10 | 15 | 15 | 18 |
C | Manufacturing | 24 | 92 | 232 | 308 | 403 |
D | Electricity, gas, steam, and air conditioning supply | 1 | 4 | 12 | 12 | 12 |
E | Water supply, sewerage, waste management and remediation activities | 4 | 6 | 11 | 14 | 16 |
F | Construction | 3 | 11 | 26 | 26 | 44 |
G | Wholesale and retail trade | 2 | 18 | 83 | 174 | 270 |
H | Transportation and storage | 5 | 17 | 30 | 43 | 48 |
I | Accommodation and food service activities | 2 | 9 | 11 | 17 | 36 |
J | Publishing, broadcasting and content production and distribution activities | 3 | 7 | 15 | 16 | 16 |
K | Telecommunication, computer programming, consulting, computing infrastructure and other information service activities | 3 | 8 | 9 | 13 | 17 |
L | Financial and insurance activities | 3 | 10 | 20 | 25 | 30 |
M | Real estate activities | 1 | 3 | 5 | 5 | 8 |
N | Professional, scientific and technical activities | 7 | 16 | 22 | 36 | 74 |
O | Administrative and support service activities | 6 | 18 | 32 | 39 | 59 |
P | Public administration and defense; compulsory social security | 1 | 3 | 9 | 21 | 21 |
Q | Education | 1 | 6 | 12 | 17 | 25 |
R | Human health and social work activities | 3 | 9 | 20 | 20 | 32 |
S | Arts, sports and recreation | 4 | 10 | 20 | 25 | 37 |
T | Other service activities | 3 | 12 | 24 | 41 | 62 |
U | Activities of households as employers, and undifferentiated goods and service-producing activities of households for own use | 2 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 4 |
V | Activities of extraterritorial organizations and bodies | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
Total | 87 | 287 | 651 | 920 | 1290 |
Resources
ATECO 2007 v. 2022 (Legacy)
ATECO 2007 v. 2022 was in force from 1 January 2022 to 31 December 2024. It is identical to the European Union's NACE Rev. 2 up to the four-digit (Class) level.
Changes Between ATECO 2007 v. 2021 and ATECO 2007 v. 2022
In ATECO 2007 v. 2022 the contents and titles of codes were updated, and new categories and sub-categories were created. A major reorganization was done in Section M (Professional, scientific, and technical activities) where the category 74.90.1 (Agricultural consultancy) was given more detail with the new sub-categories 74.90.13 (Agricultural consultancy provided by agricultural experts) and 74.90.14 (Agricultural consultancy provided by other economists specializing in agriculture) both derived from the ATECO 2007 v. 2021 sub-category 74.90.12 (Agricultural consultancy provided by agricultural technicians and agricultural experts). Secondly, category 74.90.3 (Environmental and energy saving consultancy) was created with three subcategories 74.90.31-74.31.33 covering different aspects environmental and energy consulting. In summary, between both versions the number of five-digit categories increased from 618 to 620 and the number of sub-categories increased from 1226 to 1241.
Structure of ATECO 2007 v. 2022
ATECO 2007 v. 2022 is structured into five levels, as follows:
Section: 21 Sections identified by the letters A to U.
Division: 88 Divisions identified by two-digit numeric codes (01-99).
Group: 271 Groups identified by three-digit numeric codes (01.1-99.0).
Class: 615 Classes identified by four-digit numeric codes (01.11-99.00).
Categories: 920 Categories identified by five-digit numeric codes (01.11.1-99.00.0).
Sub-categories: 1241 Sub-categories identified by six-digit numeric codes (01.11.10-99.00.00).
Resources
ATECO 2007 v. 2021 (Legacy)
ATECO 2007 v. 2021 was in force from 1 January 2001 to 31 December 2021. It is identical to the European Union's NACE Rev. 2 up to the four-digit (Class) level.
Changes Between ATECO 2007 and ATECO 2007 v. 2021
2007 v. 2021 was a minor update of ATECO 2007 affecting only the agricultural sector where four sub-categories were created including 01.19.21 (Growing of flowers in protected out-of-soil crops) and 01.19.29 (Growing of flowers in protected out-of-soil crops excluding out-of-soil crops).
Structure of ATECO 2007 v. 2021
ATECO 2007 v. 2021 is structured into five levels, as follows:
Section: 21 Sections identified by the letters A to U.
Division: 88 Divisions identified by two-digit numeric codes (01-99).
Group: 272 Groups identified by three-digit numeric codes (01.1-99.0).
Class: 615 Classes identified by four-digit numeric codes (01.11-99.00).
Categories: 918 Categories identified by five-digit numeric codes (01.11.1-99.00.0).
Sub-categories: 1226 Sub-categories identified by six-digit numeric codes (01.11.10-99.00.00).
Resources
ATECO 2007 (Legacy)
ATECO 2007 was in force from 1 January 2008 to 31 December 2024, during which it was revised in 2021 and 2022. It corresponds to NACE Rev. 2 up to the four-digit (Class) level.
Changes Between ATECO 2002 and ATECO 2007
ATECO 2002 was comprehensively reviewed in ATECO 2007. From the first to the fourth level of the system, the changes reflect the move from NACE Rev. 1.1 to NACE Rev. 2. In terms of structure, the number of classification levels increased from five in ATECO 2002 to six in ATECO 2007 with the addition of six-digit sub-categories. Consequently, several five-digit categories were given further detail e.g. the category 86.22.0 (Specialist medical practices and outpatient clinics) which has the sub-categories 86.22.01 (Health services provided by surgeons), 86.22.02 (Outpatient clinics and outpatient clinics of the National Health Service), 86.22.03 (Activities of radiotherapy centers), 86.22.04 (Activities of dialysis centers), 86.22.05 (Homeopathy and acupuncture practices), 86.22.06 (Aesthetic medicine centers), and 86.22.09 (Other specialist medical practices and outpatient clinics). In summary, the number of five-digit categories increased from 883 in ATECO 2002 to 918 in ATECO 2007 under which were 1224 newly established six-digit sub-categories.
Structure of ATECO 2007
ATECO 2007 is structured into six levels, as follows:
Section: 21 Sections identified by the letters A to U.
Division: 88 Divisions identified by two-digit numeric codes (01-99).
Group: 272 Groups identified by three-digit numeric codes (01.1-99.0).
Class: 615 Classes identified by four-digit numeric codes (01.11-99.00).
Categories: 918 Categories identified by five-digit numeric codes (01.11.1-99.00.0).
Sub-categories: 1224 Sub-categories identified by six-digit numeric codes (01.11.10-99.00.00).
Resources
ATECO 2002 (Legacy)
ATECO 2002 was in force from 2003 to 2007. It is identical to the European Union's NACE Rev. 1.1 up to the four-digit (Class) level.
Changes Between ATECO 1991 and ATECO 2002
From the first to the fourth level ATECO 2002, the changes reflect the move from NACE Rev. 1 to NACE Rev. 1.1 which was a relatively minor update. At the detailed level, five-digit categories were created and deleted across the system. Most of the new five-digit categories in ATECO 2002 were in the Section I (Transport, storage and communications), Section J (Financial activities), and Section O (Other public, social and personal services).
Structure of ATECO 2002
ATECO 2002 is structured into five levels, as follows:
Section: 17 Sections identified by the letters A to Q. Two sections (C and D) are further divided into a total of 16 sub-sections identified by two letters (e.g. CA and CB).
Division: 62 Divisions identified by two-digit numeric codes (01-99).
Group: 224 Groups identified by three-digit numeric codes (01.1-99.0).
Class: 514 Classes identified by four-digit numeric codes (01.11-99.00).
Categories: 883 Categories identified by five-digit numeric codes (01.11.1-99.00.0).
Resources
ATECO 1991 (Legacy)
ATECO 1991 was in force from 1991 to 2002. It is identical to the European Union's NACE Rev. 1 up to the four-digit (Class) level.
Structure of ATECO 1991
ATECO 1991 is structured into five levels, as follows:
Section: 17 Sections identified by the letters A to Q. Two sections (C and D) are further divided into a total of 16 sub-sections identified by two letters (e.g. CA and CB).
Division: 60 Divisions identified by two-digit numeric codes.
Group: 222 Groups identified by three-digit numeric codes.
Class: 512 Classes identified by four-digit numeric codes.
Categories: 874 Categories identified by five-digit numeric codes.
Versions prior to ATECO 1991
ATECO 1981 was published in 1981 which was partially based on the general nomenclature of economic activities in the European Community, which was not subject to Community regulation.
Resources
Where is it used?
Istat is the main user of ATECO codes in its statistical publications such as the industrial production index. ATECO codes are included in business registers and other administrative databases maintained by Istat.
ATECO codes are used to define where certain regulations apply. For example, ATECO codes were used to identify which businesses in Italy were to close during the COVID-19 lockdowns and tax rates defined by the Italian Revenue Agency differ according to ATECO codes.
In the private sector, ATECO codes are included in large databases on Italian companies such as the AIDA database from Bureau van Dijk. Such databases are used for different aspects of market research and investment analysis.
ATECO codes are commonly used in academic research investigating various issues, from the risk of mafia capture of Italian businesses to occupational exposure to nanoparticles.