Italy's births down by 12,500 in first 9 months of this year - ISTAT

(ANSA) - ROME, DEC 14 - ISTAT said Tuesday that Italy registered 12,500 fewer births in the first nine months of 2021 than it did in the equivalent period last year.
    "This strong decrease should be linked to the unfolding of negative effects sparked by the COVID-19 epidemic, which saw the biggest decrease ever registered in January 2021 (almost 5,000 fewer births, -13. 6%)," the national statistics agency said.
    The fall is the continuation of a downward trend In 2020 there were 404,892 births in Italy, 15,000 fewer than in 2019.
    ISTAT said Italy's fertility rate has dropped to its lowest ever level, with an average of 1.17 children born per Italian woman.
    (ANSA).