(ANSA) - Rome, December 19 - Italy's population inches upward thanks only to its immigrant population, the Italian statistical agency Istat said Thursday. At the end of 2012 there were 59.7 million residents, or 291,000 people more than the previous year, Istat said in its annual statistical review. Immigrants rose by 369,700 people over the same period. Deaths in Italy again outpaced births, widening the gap in 2012. Births fell by more than 12,000 to 534,200 in 2012, while deaths increased by nearly 20,000 to about 612,900 last year.