Italy’s population continues to shrink, as births in 2022 dropped to a historic low, according to national statistics released Friday.
The southern European nation logged less than 400,000 babies born last year, according to ISTAT figures cited in Reuters. Italy’s population shrank by 179,000 with 12 deaths for every seven births recorded in 2022, the outlet noted.
“A major factor is the reduction and the ageing of the female population in the 15-49 age group conventionally considered reproductive,” Reuters reported, quoting national statistics bureau ISTAT. A quarter of Italy’s population is age 65 or older, according to ISTAT.
Births in Italy hit record low in 2022, population shrinks further https://t.co/fPuBwqo7EN pic.twitter.com/Ht9jFj2876
— Reuters (@Reuters) April 7, 2023
The country’s population has been in steady decline since 2014, with a total population loss of 1.36 million, Reuters reported. The cumulative loss compares roughly to the size of Italy’s second largest city, Milan. (RELATED: Birth Rates Spike Among Women In Their 30s And 40s, CDC Report Says)
With its population in freefall, Italy could face a drop from its current population of 58.85 million to 54.2 million by 2050 and to 47.7 million by 2070, according to September predictions from ISTAT.
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni made pro-family values a centerpiece of her campaign.
“They said it’s scandalous for people to defend the natural family founded on marriage, to want to increase the birth rate, to want to place the correct value on human life, to support freedom in education, and to say no to gender ideology,” Meloni said in a 2019 speech censored by Twitter in Sept. 2022.