By In Trieste
Friuli Venezia Giulias’s birth rate in 2019 lowest since 1861.
Italy’s declining birth rate hit a new record low in 2019 with 420,170 babies registered: the lowest number of births since the unification of Italy in 1861. Births dropped by more than 19,000 from 2018 – a 4.5 per cent fall – according to national statistics office ISTAT.
The falling birth rate is recorded across Italy but is more pronounced in the central region, with a drop of 6.5 per cent, reports Italian news agency ANSA.
The number of foreign women giving birth in Italy has decreased each year since 2000, with 62,944 foreign babies born in Italy last year (15 per cent of total births), a reduction of 2,500 births compared to 2018.
There were 18,000 residents more in Friuli Venezia Giulia in 2014, reports Il Piccolo. FVG counts 1 million 211.357 residents (as of 1/01/2020), which is 4.180 less than in 2019. Low birth rate and continuous expatriation are the reasons for the negative numbers in our region.
Italy recently announced plans to introduce a family allowance for children from their birth up to the age of 21, according to the country’s family minister Elena Bonetti, reports ANSA. The amount of the monthly allowance has not been set yet but according to plans announced by Bonetti it could range from €160 for the least well off families to €80 for the best off.
