Rome: Italy’s demographic landscape continued its downward trend in 2023, marking the 15th consecutive year of declining births, according to the latest data released by the national statistics bureau, ISTAT, on Friday.
The persistent decrease in births poses a grave concern for Italy, acknowledged as a national emergency. Despite successive governments pledging to prioritize addressing the issue, none have been successful in reversing the trend thus far.
In 2023, Italy recorded a mere 379,000 births, reflecting a 3.6% decline compared to 2022 and a staggering 34.2% drop since 2008, which marked the last year of an increase in births. This figure also represents the lowest number of births since the country’s unification in 1861.
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The fertility rate plummeted to 1.20 children per woman, down from 1.24 in 2022, significantly below the replacement rate of 2.1 required for a stable population.
In contrast, there were approximately 661,000 deaths registered in 2023, a decrease from the previous three years when the COVID-19 pandemic inflated mortality rates in Italy. ISTAT noted a significant increase in life expectancy, reaching 83.1 years, up by six months compared to 2022.
Despite the demographic challenges, Italy’s population experienced a marginal decline of 7,000 individuals, reaching 58.99 million, mainly attributed to the influx of foreign migrants and returning Italian emigrants.
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Foreigners constituted 8.99% of the total population in 2023, totaling 5.3 million, marking a 3.2% increase from the previous year, with a predominant presence in the northern regions of the country.
Italy’s overall population has been on a downward trajectory since 2014, resulting in a cumulative loss exceeding 1.36 million individuals, equivalent to the population of Milan, the country’s second-largest city.
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ISTAT projections from September indicated a potential loss of nearly 10% of Italy’s residents over the next 25 years, forecasting a population decline to 54.4 million by 2050 under a baseline scenario.
Highlighting Italy’s rapidly aging population, ISTAT emphasized that nearly one in four residents were aged over 65, with the number of individuals over 80 surpassing those under 10 for the first time. This demographic shift starkly contrasts with the ratio observed half a century ago, which stood at one to nine.
Furthermore, the number of centenarians reached a record high of 22,500, underscoring the profound demographic changes occurring within Italian society.
