(Tiper Stock Exchange) – Birth rate at historic low, mortality still high: less than 7 newborns and more than 12 deaths per 1,000 inhabitantthe. This was revealed by an Istat report which shows that the resident population in Italy al 1 January 2023 is 58 million and 851 thousand units, 179 thousand less than the previous year, for a reduction equal to 3‰.
Thus, the trend of declining population continues. but with a lower intensity than both in 2021 (-3.5‰), and above all in 2020 (-6.7‰), years during which the effects of the pandemic had accelerated a process that had already started in 2014.
Having ascertained that – we read – in 2022 the resident population shows a decrease similar to that of 2019 (-2.9‰), on a territorial level there is a significant demographic decline that affects the South (-6.3‰). The Center (-2.6‰) and above all the North (-0.9‰), which despite having a negative demographic balance, have better values than the national average. At the regional level, the population is increasing only in Trentino-Alto Adige (+1.6‰), Lombardy (+0.8‰) and Emilia-Romagna (+0.4‰). The regions, however, in which the most population has been lost are Basilicata, Molise, Sardinia and Calabria, all with decrease rates lower than -7‰.
Life expectancy at birth in 2022 is estimated at 80.5 years for men and 84.8 years for women, only for the former, compared to 2021, is there a recovery quantifiable in about 2 and a half months of life longer. For women, on the other hand, the value of life expectancy at birth remains unchanged compared to the previous year. Survival levels in 2022 are still below those of the period
pre-pandemic, recording values 6 months lower than in 2019, both among men and women.
Although the slowdown in the life expectancy of women compared to men is a process that can already be seen in the years preceding the pandemic, the latter may have exacerbated the trend. The impact of the crisis on the healthcare system, and the consequent difficulty in scheduling of visits and medical check-ups, may have been particularly strong for women, more prone than men to
do prevention. For example, the data from the “Aspects of daily life” survey show that between 2019 and 2021 the percentage of women who declared that they had given up on healthcare services increased by 5 percentage points (from 7.5% to 12. 7%), for men this increase was instead 4 percentage points (from 5% to 9.2%). In the North, life expectancy at birth is 80.9 years for men and 85.2 for women.
In 2022 the deaths in Italy are 713 thousand, with a mortality rate of 12.1‰. Compared to the previous year, the number of deaths is 12 thousand higher, but 27 thousand lower than in 2020, the year of maximum mortality due to the pandemic.
The report also notes a slight increase in the number of foreigners: the population of foreign citizens as of 1 January 2023 it was 5 million and 50 thousand units, an increase of 20 thousand individuals (+3.9‰) on the previous year.