Italy’s demographic crisis deepens, new data show

ROME

Italy’s new births reached a new record-low in 2024, the country’s national statistics institute ISTA said Monday, further plunging the country into a seemingly irreversible demographic crisis.

Last year, 370,000 babies were born, according to ISTAT, marking the 16th consecutive annual drop. The figure was the lowest recorded since the country’s unification in 1861.

Meanwhile, there were 281,000 more deaths than births in 2024. As a result, the Italian population fell by 37,000 to 58.93 million, in line with a decade-long trend.

The demographic decline has defied many successive Italian governments, including the current one headed by far-right Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, who has not been able to curb the trend.

ISTAT said that 191,000 Italians moved out of the country last year. This represented the highest number this century and an increase of 20% from the previous year, although ISTAT said that a regulatory change could be a key factor explaining the sharp increase.

Last year, Italy introduced fines on Italians living abroad who did not register as expatriates in the foreign country they live in, which may have pushed many to regularize their position.

Foreigners represented 9.2% of Italy’s population in 2024, or 5.4 million people.