Italy’s population shrank again in 2019, the latest official data from Italian statistics agency ISTAT shows, with the number of babies registered the lowest since records began in 1861 with the unification of the nation.

Only 420,170 births were recorded, part of a decade-long decline and a fall of 19,000 on 2018.

The total population fell by 189,000 to 60.25 million, the fifth straight year of decline, meaning that since 2014 Italy has lost some 551,000 residents.

Each of Italy’s 20 regions recorded more deaths than births, with the exception of the autonomous province of Bolzano in the north.

Bolzano instead has a considerably higher average rate of children per couple than the rest of Italy – 1.67 compared to 1.3 – a figure that’s higher even than the EU average of 1.6. 

The reason behind this exception could be that the province has in recent years been offering relatively generous child benefits to locals and implementing other family-friendly measures.

Until this year, Italy lacked a comprehensive child benefit policy. 

In June, the government approved the so-called “Family Act”, a decree aimed at supporting families and reversing the plummeting birth rate.

It includes a universal monthly allowance for children to be paid from the seventh month of pregnancy until a child turns 18, longer mandatory paternity leave (10 days), salary supplements for mothers returning to work and increasing funding for childcare.

However, Bolzano has been offering new parents payments of around double the amount outlined in the Family Act for several years now.

Bolzano also has more childcare services available than in other parts of the country.

In terms of the workforce, employers in Bolzano offer far more flexible working hours and arrangements to working mothers. 

Italy’s demographic crisis is thought to be both a symptom and a cause of the nation’s chronically stagnant economy.

While most Italians want to have at least two children, according to ISTAT, Italy’s high levels of unemployment, the proliferation of low-paying, short-term work contracts, and a lack of affordable housing and childcare mean many young people put off starting a family.

Womens’ labour market inclusion is another issue, with many women saying it’s difficult, if not impossible, to return to work after having children.

Only 53 per cent of women aged 20 to 64 work in Italy overall.

Some of the measures in the Family Act could take up to two years to come into force, ministers said when the details were announced last month.

However, this may not be enough to reverse the trend just yet, with Italy facing a record recession and up to half a million jobs being lost due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Italy’s population is also shrinking because Italians are leaving the country at a growing rate – particularly young adults in search of work and opportunities.

The number of Italians moving abroad rose by 8.1 per cent year-on-year, in 2019, while immigrant arrivals declined by 8.6 per cent, ISTAT found.

Without the arrival of foreign citizens, Italy’s demographic decline over the past six years would have been significantly steeper, ISTAT said.

Foreigners accounted for 8.8 per cent of the resident population of Italy at the end of last year.

The highest growth in the foreign population was also recorded in the province of Bolzano (13.3 per 1000), while the lowest was on the island of Sardinia (5.1 per 1000).

According to simulations that took into account the climate of uncertainty and fear created by the coronavirus pandemic, in the immediate future Italy could risk another fall in the number of newborns by about 10,000, distributed between 2020 and 2021, ISTAT said.