Italy Records Lowest Birth Rate in 2022

The Italian National Institute of Statistics has announced a historic decline in the birth rate in Italy, falling below 400,000 in 2022 as the population continues to decrease. In its annual report, it noted that Italy recorded over 12 deaths for every seven births last year, with the population shrinking by 179,000, lowering it to 58.85 million inhabitants. The institute reported 392,600 births in 2022, marking the fourteenth consecutive year of declining birth rates, the lowest number recorded since the unification of the country in 1861, compared to 400,249 births in 2021. It added that a "key factor" is the reduction and aging of females in the age group of 15 to 49 years, which is traditionally considered the fertility phase. The low birth rate in Italy is regarded as a national emergency, and addressing it is one of the main commitments that Giorgia Meloni took on before last year's elections, which brought her in as the first woman to serve as Prime Minister. The population decline lessened slightly compared to 2021 and 2020, which were heavily impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. The fertility rate dropped to 1.24 children per woman, down from 1.25 children in 2021, with a decline noted in central and northern regions and a slight increase in the south.