Italy's population to be 4 million lower in 2050 - Istat

(ANSA) - ROME, JUL 24 - Istat said Wednesday that Italy's population will continue to shrink in the coming decades, with the number of residents set to be down by around four million in 2050.
    The national statistics agency projected that the country's resident population will decrease from about 59 million in 2023 to 58.6 million in 2030, 54.8 in 2050 and 46.1 million in 2080.
    It added that around half of the Italian population will not be of working age in 2050.
    It said ratio of individuals aged 15 to 64 with respect to those not of working age (under 14 and over 64) will increase from about three to two in 2023 to about one to one in 2050.
    It said the average age of the Italian population will be 50.8 in 2050, and southern Italy will age faster, with the average age there 51.5.
    Istat said increasing life expectancy and marital instability mean that the number of people living alone will grow by 15% in the next 20 years, increasing from 9.3 million in 2023 to 10.7 million in 2043.
    It said households in which there is a couple with children, almost three out of 10 households (29.8%) today, could fall to less than a quarter of the total, 23%, in 2043. (ANSA).