Retail government bonds in Italy: how much individuals hold and what is on sale
Short answer: BTP Valore, Italian government bonds sold only to individuals at issue, amount to EUR 112.6 billion as of 30 September 2026, 4.16% of government securities outstanding. Italy ranks fifth by this share among the 13 countries for which an official source gives both the amount and the debt. The share grew from 1.48% at the end of 2023 to 2.59% at the end of 2024 and 3.67% at the end of 2025. BTP Futura, also sold only to individuals, adds EUR 20.6 billion. BTP Italia, the inflation-linked bond with one window for individuals and one for institutions, stands at EUR 47.4 billion.
How has it changed?
| Date | Amount | Share of debt |
|---|---|---|
| 31 December 2023 | 35.4 bn EUR | 1.48% |
| 31 December 2024 | 64.9 bn EUR | 2.59% |
| 31 December 2025 | 96.4 bn EUR | 3.67% |
Share of Italian government securities outstanding (titoli di Stato in circolazione), not of total debt, at the end of each year. BTP Valore are tradable on the MOT market after issue, so part of the amount may now be held by institutions. Source: MEF Dipartimento del Tesoro, monthly composition of government securities; calculation obrotomierz.pl. File: obieg-szereg.csv.
Every figure for Italy in the dataset
Each row is one figure as published in an official source, with what it covers. Class A is a programme sold only to individuals; class C counts all government securities that households hold, with no retail programme; class X is a broader line or one that includes deposits, so it is never added to the A rows it contains.
| Programme | What it covers | Class | Amount | As of | Share of debt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BTP Valore (incl. BTP Più) | marketable BTPs placed only with retail investors at issue (tradable afterwards on MOT) | B | 112.6 bn EUR | 2026-09-30 | 4.16% |
| BTP Più (of which, within BTP Valore) | subset of the row above | B | 14.9 bn EUR | 2026-09-30 | 0.55% |
| BTP Futura | marketable BTP placed only with retail investors at issue (2020-2021) | B | 20.6 bn EUR | 2026-09-30 | 0.76% |
| BTP Italia (rivalutato) | inflation-linked BTP with a retail window and an institutional window at issue | X | 47.4 bn EUR | 2026-09-30 | 1.75% |
| BTP Italia Sì | new BTP Italia variant (2026); placement split not checked | X | 8.8 bn EUR | 2026-09-30 | 0.33% |
- BTP Valore (incl. BTP Più): share of Italian government securities only (titoli di Stato in circolazione); valuation: nominal.
- BTP Più (of which, within BTP Valore): share of Italian government securities only (titoli di Stato in circolazione); valuation: nominal.
- BTP Futura: share of Italian government securities only (titoli di Stato in circolazione); valuation: nominal.
- BTP Italia (rivalutato): share of Italian government securities only (titoli di Stato in circolazione); valuation: inflation-revalued (rivalutato).
- BTP Italia Sì: share of Italian government securities only (titoli di Stato in circolazione); valuation: inflation-revalued (rivalutato).
How Italy compares
An official source gives the amount of government bonds sold to individuals in 16 countries; for 13 of them it also gives the debt, so we can compute a share. The figures are not fully comparable: each country measures its debt differently, and the class column above says what the amount covers.
| Country | Amount | As of | Share of debt |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hungary | 12,542.1 bn HUF | 2026-09-30 | 18.51% |
| Portugal | 45.4 bn EUR | 2026-09-30 | 14.44% |
| Poland | 194.4 bn PLN | 2026-08-31 | 8.64% |
| Ireland | 19.4 bn EUR | 2025-12-31 | 8.36% |
| Italy | 112.6 bn EUR | 2026-09-30 | 4.16% |
| Czechia | 130.7 bn CZK | 2026-09-30 | 3.53% |
| Latvia | 503 m EUR | 2026-09-30 | 2.20% |
| Spain | 26.0 bn EUR | 2026-08-31 | 1.73% |
| Austria | 5.4 bn EUR | 2025-12-31 | 1.73% |
| South Africa | 21.9 bn ZAR | 2025-03-31 | 0.43% |
| United States | 145.2 bn USD | 2026-10-31 | 0.36% |
| Belgium | 1.6 bn EUR | 2026-06-30 | 0.29% |
| Canada | under 0.05 bn CAD | 2025-03-31 | 0.00% |
| United Kingdom | 139.6 bn GBP | 2026-03-31 | not given |
| Singapore | 20.2 bn SGD | 2026-11-02 | not given |
| Brazil | 279.3 bn BRL | 2026-09-30 | not given |
What is on sale today
- BTP Italia, BTP Italia Sì (both inflation + margin)
- BTP Valore, BTP Più (both step-up)
- BTP Valore Insieme (fixed)
Sales: several times a year, 5-day windows. We checked this on the issuer’s page, dt.mef.gov.it, on 25 October 2026.
Margin over inflation
BTP Italia pays Italian inflation (FOI index excluding tobacco) plus a margin fixed at issue. The latest issue, BTP Italia Sì 1 of June 2026, pays 1.60% plus 0.6% at maturity; the highest margin since 2012 was 3.55% (BTP Italia no. 2, June 2012). BTP Valore and BTP Più pay fixed step-up coupons, not inflation. The table shows the latest issues; all 21 are in marze.csv.
| Series | On sale from | Matures | Margin over Italian inflation (FOI excluding tobacco) |
|---|---|---|---|
| BTP Italia Sì 1 | 15 June 2026 | 23 June 2031 | 1.60% (plus 0.6% at maturity) |
| BTP Italia no. 20 | 27 May 2025 | 4 June 2032 | 1.85% |
| BTP Italia no. 19 | 6 March 2023 | 14 March 2028 | 2.00% |
| BTP Italia no. 18 | 14 November 2022 | 22 November 2028 | 1.60% |
| BTP Italia no. 17 | 20 June 2022 | 28 June 2030 | 1.60% |
| BTP Italia no. 16 | 18 May 2020 | 26 May 2025 | 1.40% |
| BTP Italia no. 15 | 21 October 2019 | 28 October 2027 | 0.65% |
| BTP Italia no. 14 | 19 November 2018 | 26 November 2022 | 1.45% |
| BTP Italia no. 13 | 14 May 2018 | 21 May 2026 | 0.55% |
| BTP Italia no. 12 | 13 November 2017 | 20 November 2023 | 0.25% |
| BTP Italia no. 11 | 15 May 2017 | 22 May 2023 | 0.45% |
| BTP Italia no. 10 | 17 October 2016 | 24 October 2024 | 0.35% |
Source: the issuer’s documents for each series. File: marze.csv.
Sources
- MEF Dipartimento del Tesoro: Composizione dei titoli di Stato in circolazione (monthly PDF), 31.12.2012 to 30.09.2026 (read on 7 November 2026)
- Issuer’s page for individuals: https://www.dt.mef.gov.it/it/debito_pubblico/titoli_di_stato/ (checked on 25 October 2026)
Data and citation
Every number on this page comes from our open dataset on government savings bonds for individuals in 195 countries (CC BY 4.0, DOI 10.5281/zenodo.23638786 for all versions; the citation below gives the DOI of this version). Files for Italy and the other countries: obieg.csv, obieg-szereg.csv, obieg-zrodla.csv, produkty.csv and marze.csv (column names in Polish, described on the dataset page).
Błażewski, R. (2026). Government savings bonds for individuals in 195 countries (version 2026-11-13) [Data set]. obrotomierz.pl. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.24168443
Frequently asked questions
How much do individuals hold in Italy’s retail government bonds?
BTP Valore, Italian government bonds sold only to individuals at issue, amount to EUR 112.6 billion as of 30 September 2026, 4.16% of government securities outstanding. Italy ranks fifth by this share among the 13 countries for which an official source gives both the amount and the debt. The share grew from 1.48% at the end of 2023 to 2.59% at the end of 2024 and 3.67% at the end of 2025. BTP Futura, also sold only to individuals, adds EUR 20.6 billion. BTP Italia, the inflation-linked bond with one window for individuals and one for institutions, stands at EUR 47.4 billion.
Can individuals buy government bonds directly in Italy?
Yes. Italy sells BTP Italia, BTP Italia Sì (both inflation + margin), BTP Valore, BTP Più (both step-up) and BTP Valore Insieme (fixed). Sales: several times a year, 5-day windows. The issuer’s page is dt.mef.gov.it.
What margin over inflation do Italy’s retail bonds pay?
BTP Italia pays Italian inflation (FOI index excluding tobacco) plus a margin fixed at issue. The latest issue, BTP Italia Sì 1 of June 2026, pays 1.60% plus 0.6% at maturity; the highest margin since 2012 was 3.55% (BTP Italia no. 2, June 2012). BTP Valore and BTP Più pay fixed step-up coupons, not inflation. The table shows the latest issues; all 21 are in marze.csv.
Other countries
- Retail government bonds in Hungary
- Retail government bonds in Portugal
- Retail government bonds in Ireland
- Retail government bonds in South Africa
- Retail government bonds in Czechia
- Retail government bonds in Austria
- Retail government bonds in the United States
- Retail government bonds in the United Kingdom
- Retail government bonds in Spain
- What all 195 countries sell to individuals
By Rafał Błażewski, obrotomierz.pl. Amounts and debt figures as published in the official sources listed above; shares calculated by us. We show who sells what and do not recommend any product; we earn nothing from government bonds.