The 2011 general census of industry and services aims to give a punctual and dynamic picture of the non-profit sector, as well as of companies and public institutions, offering a contribution to the economic policy decisions and governance of three important sectors of the life of the country. The first results reported the structure of companies, public institutions and non-profit institutions by sector, dimensions and territory, with a historical comparison of the Italian economic censuses in 2011 and 2001. The results describe a world in continual evolution; here are some figures: • on December 31, 2011 the number of active non-profit institutions in Italy was 301,191, an increase of 28% on 2001 • they represent 6.4% of the judicial/economic units active in Italy and 3.4% of employees • independently of their number of employees, non-profit institutions are, in some sectors, the leading producers in the country, for example in the sectors of artistic, sporting, entertainment and leisure activities the number of active non-profit institutions (146,997) is greater than that of companies (61,527) and public institutions (252). For the full results: http://censimentoindustriaeservizi.istat.it/