Italy's overall wellbeing is on the rise despite the country's sluggish economy, according to a report released by ISTAT on Thursday. "Over the last year the indicators report an improvement in wellbeing," the national statistics agency said in its seventh BES report.

The BES report seeks to go beyond the strictly economic picture of how Italy is progressing given by GDP, offering an integrated picture of the main economic, social and environmental phenomena characterizing the country. "Over 50% of the 110 comparable indicators have registered an improvement," ISTAT said.