ISTAT, the Italian National Institute of Statistics [2] is the main producer of official statistical information in Italy and produces the census of population as well as several other economic censuses and social surveys. They recently came out with a report stating that the population is rapidly decreasing with the number of births going down and the average age of Italian residents increasing to approximately 45 years old. 

What the Statistics Say

The national statistics agency says that the total population has dropped down 86,000 people on January 1st, 2017, from the 60,579 million residents at the start of 2016. With the average person having a longer lifespan, the rates decreased from 608,000 deaths from the peak of 648,000 reached in 2015. The average age of a citizen living in Italy is now 45 years old, two years higher than it was back in 2007. Less people are deciding to have babies which is why the number of births has decreased from 486,000 in 2015 to 474,000 last year.

Why is this Happening?

ISTAT has also reported that 115,000 Italians moved abroad in 2016, up 12.6% from 2015 and almost three times the 40,000 that emigrated in 2010. One of the main reasons for this diminishing popoluation is because it seems that young people are leaving the country in order to find better jobs abroad and escape economic hardships, with the level of unemployment in Italy at an all time high. Some want to go to a new country that is more young and dynamic because they think of Italy as a very traditional country that doesn’t want to change its ways.

The Italian government is aware of this enormous problem and is focusing on creating new opportunities for the younger generations so that they will remain in their native country. Their goal is to not only have more jobs available but to find solutions that allow Italy to benefit from the recent influx of migration in Europe. Italy hopes to go back to being a country full of innovators and fresh ideas so that they are capable of competing with the rest of the world in a productive manner.