Media: Italy’s birth rate to reach new historic low in 2024
According to the country’s national statistics bureau (ISTAT), births in Italy will hit a new record low in 2024 – the 16th consecutive annual decline and the lowest since 1861, Reuters reports
“Italy’s ever-falling birth rate is considered a national emergency. And despite the fact that successive government officials have promised to make this problem a priority, none have so far been able to halt the drop,” the publication reads.
Between January and July 2024, 4,600 fewer babies were born against the same period a year earlier, down 2.1 percent, ISTAT said in a statement.
Last year, Italy recorded 379,890 births, or about six newborns per thousand inhabitants. This is a 3.4 percent decline on 2022 and a 34.1 percent drop on 2008 – the last year the country saw an increase in births.
Data for the first seven months show that the fertility rate – the average number of children born to each woman – fell to 1.2, far below the rate of 2.1 needed for a steady population.
