Italy’s fertility rate dropped to its lowest level on record in 2024, according to the National Statistics Institute (ISTAT). The institute reported that approximately 370,000 births were registered last year, a decline of 2.6% from 2023.
At the same time, the death rate fell by 3.1%, totaling 651,000 deaths in 2024. This resulted in a natural population decrease of 281,000, as there were more deaths than births. Despite this, Italy’s average life expectancy rose to 83.4 years, one of the highest globally, showing an increase of nearly five months from the previous year.
ISTAT’s data also showed that for every 1,000 residents, there were six births and 11 deaths.
The country’s fertility rate in 2024 reached 1.18 children per woman, significantly lower than the replacement level of 2.1 needed to maintain a stable population. This marks a slight drop from the previous record low of 1.19 in 1995.
ISTAT noted that the declining population, along with an increase in people living alone, has led to a reduction in Italy’s average family size, which has shrunk to 2.2 people from 2.6 over the past two decades.
However, Italy’s population decline was partially offset by the arrival of 166,000 new legal foreign residents in 2024. As a result, the foreign-born population in Italy reached 5.31 million.
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