The data comes from ISTAT’s report on demographic indicators for 2023.
In absolute terms, this was 14,000 fewer births than in 2022, a drop of 3.6 per cent, while the birthrate fell from 6.7 births per thousand people, ISTAT added.
The national statistics institute said births in Italy have fallen by 34.3 per cent since 2008, the last year to register an increase.
The average number of children per woman fell from 1.24 in 2022 to 1.20 in 2023.
The historical minimum is 1.19 children per woman, registered in 1995.
As of January 1, 2024, the resident population stood at just under 59 million, down 7000 units over the previous year.
The data confirms the slowdown in population decline, driven exclusively by the arrival of foreign migrants to Italy.
2023 saw the overall positive foreign migration balance of 274,000 units, as the result of two separate dynamics: a positive balance of 326,000 new foreign resident arrivals and negative balance of 53,000 resident Italian citizens due to emigration abroad.
On a geographical level, the resident population grew in the north of Italy, remained substantially stable in the centre and shrank in the south.
Deaths in 2023 fell by 54,000 over the previous year to reach 661,000, a drop of 8 per cent, ISTAT said.
The drop in mortality translated into a considerable leap in life expectancy at birth, gaining six months on 2022 to reach 83.1 years last year.
For men, life expectancy at birth stood at 81.1 years (+6 months over 2022) while for women was 85.2 years (+5 months over 2022).
ANSA
