"From the next budget law, the problem of the declining population and new births must be addressed concretely, with appropriate measures", Meloni said to her cabinet during the discussion on the Economic and Financial Document (DEF) blueprint.
Last year, in absolute terms, births fell below the 400,000 mark for the first time since the unification of Italy in 1861, coming in at 393,000, Istat said in its demographic indicators for 2022.
To make matters worse, while the birth rate is at rock bottom, the mortality rate remains high at more than 12 deaths per 1000 of population, the statistics institute added.
The number of births in Italy has dropped in consecutive years since 2008, falling by about 184,000, with approximately 27,000 arriving since 2019, Istat said.
The fall in the birth rate is due to a combination of factors, including the drop in size, and the progressive ageing, of the female population.
ANSA
