The number of babies born in Italy dropped 2.6 per cent last year, while the number of Italians leaving the country surged, reflecting the uphill battle that Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni faces to reverse the country’s long-running demographic decline.
Just 370,000 babies were born in Italy in 2024, about 10,000 fewer than last year and well below the half a million born a decade ago, according to figures published by Italy’s national statistics agency Istat on Monday. It was the 16th consecutive year of falling births.
Italy’s demographic woes last year were also exacerbated by a sudden emigration “boom” — with 191,000 Italians relocating abroad in 2024 — a sharp 20.5 per cent rise over the previous year, Istat reported.