The decrease has been especially sharp in southern Italy, where the youth population has fallen by 28 per cent, compared to 23.2 per cent for the whole nation.
The national statistics agency said that Italy is the EU country with the lowest proportion of 18-34-year-olds in relation to the total population - 17.5 per cent in 2021, compared to an EU average of 19.6 per cent.
It said that, despite registering a big loss in the number of youngsters, the proportion of people aged between 18 and 34 is higher in southern Italy, at 18.6 per cent, than in the centre and north (16.9 per cent).
ANSA
