Just over 393,000 children were born
in Italy in 2022, representing a 1.7% drop over the previous
year and taking the birth rate to a new record low, Istat said
on Thursday.
The downwards trend also seems to be continuing in 2023 as well:
according to provisional data, in the first half of the year
there was a 1.9% reduction in the birth rate, equal to 3,500
fewer babies born, over the first half of 2022, the national
statistics agency said.
ISTAT added that the number of births has been falling
uninterruptedly for 15 years, dropping by 31.8% from the record
peak of 576,659 births in 2008 to the present level.
The contribution to the birth rate of the foreign population in
Italy also seems to be waning, ISTAT said.
In addition, the statistics agency said 41.5% of the children
born in Italy in 2022, or 163,317, were born out of wedlock.
The proportion of children born to unmarried parents has risen
by 33 percentage points since the start of the millenium, ISTAT
added.
Reversing the decline in the birth rate is a stated top priority
for the government of Premier Giorgia Meloni.
In the 2024 budget bill the State proposes to cover up to 3,000
euros a year in social-security contributions for working
mothers with two children, with the youngest being under 10, and
those with three children or more, with the youngest up to 18.
However, other measures in the same package such as raising VAT
on baby products such as powdered milk and baby food might seem
to go in the opposite direction.
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