Italian population falls to under 59 million - ISTAT

(ANSA) - ROME, DEC 18 - Italy's population continues to decline, national statistics agency ISTAT said on Monday.
    As of December 31, 2022 the number of people living in the country fell to 58,997,201, according to the 2022 census.
    Italy is "losing population and ageing despite the contribution of foreigners", ISTAT said.
    Some 51.2% of the total population is female and 48.8% is male.
    The generational ratio is also increasingly unbalanced, ISTAT said.
    For every child under the age of six, there are now more than five elderly people, while if in 1971 there were 46 over-65s for every 100 young people under 15, today there are 193.
    The birth rate also fell to a new record low of 393,000 in 2022, almost 7,000 fewer births than in 2021 (-1.7%). (ANSA).