In Italy in 2019, there were fewer births and more deaths worldwide, except for Bolzano, the national statistical agency ISTAT, which was reported on Monday in the annual national demographic report. According to ISTAT, Italy’s demographic decline over the past few years has persisted in 2019 with a significant deficit of “ natural turnover ” between births and deaths.
The report said that in 2019, the difference between births and deaths decreased by 214,000 units. In general, all regions have more deaths than births, with the exception of the autonomous province of Bolzano. The average population growth in Italy recorded a negative index of 3.6 (per 1000 inhabitants), ranging from a positive Bolzano index of 1.5 to a negative 8.1 in Liguria.
The regions of Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Piedmont, and Molise also had a negative population growth rate of over 5.5 per 1000. Negative birth rates compared to deaths concerned Italian citizens (-270,000), while foreigners living in Italy recorded a positive increase (55 510), the statistical office reported. The natural growth rate of foreigners reported in the country was 10.5 per 1000.
The highest increase in the number of foreign population was also recorded in the province of Bolzano (13.3 per 1000) and the lowest in Sardinia (5.1 per 1000). ISTAT said that without the contribution of foreigners, the demographic decline of the Italian population will be much more rapid.
