Traditionally farming is an important sector of the Abruzzi economy, primarily in the basins of Fucino and Sulmona and in the rolling country. Here you can find mainly intensive farming with modern machines and specialised cultivation.

The most important products are durum wheat, barley, sugar beet and potatoes. Common is also the cultivation of vegetables, vine, olive and fruit trees. Also typical is the production of saffron in the area of L’Aquila and liquorice in Atri. During the last years especially olive oil and winegrowing have been able to hold their ground. Particularly winegrowing with its quality wines (D.O.C.) Montepulciano d’Abruzzo (red) and Trebbiano d’Abruzzo (white) has won major awards both nationally and internationally.

The oldest agricultural activity is sheep farming, in which the Abruzzi occupies the sixth rank in Italy. In the old days transhumance (migrant cattle breeding) was practised but nowadays indoor cattle breeding. In the Abruzzi gastronomy the sheep farming products are famous and valued: Mozzarella, Pecorino and Scamorza. Fishing has also some importance (2% of the national production) which now is done in an industrial manner with the harbours of Pescara, Ortona and Giulianova as its centres.

The industry has experienced a strong growth since the seventies thanks to the availability of energy from hydroelectric power production and the discovery of gas deposits in the area surrounding San Salvo near Vasto. Small and middle sized companies can be found mostly in the area around Pescara and Chieti, where you can find chemical, machine building, textile, and food industries. Near Teramo and L’Aquila, on the other hand, you can find companies that produce furniture, construction materials or precision and telecommunication instruments. Of special relevance is the electronic and telecommunication sector in the Fucino basin. 
Important as well is the food industry with its many typical products: Pecorino, Torrone from L’Aquila, confectionary, liquorice. Arts and crafts also offer products of high rank like pottery, especially pottery from Castelli, knives, bobbin-laces, carpets.

During the last 20 years tourism has experienced a noteworthy boom, using the many attractions this region offers: the fascination that emerges from the massifs of the Apennine Mountains, national park and reservations, the charm of the beaches, the abundance of art, culture and folklore. This boom has also benefited from the extension of the hotel and transport infrastructure, most of all from the building of the motorway Rome-Teramo and the enlargement of the Pescara airport.