Italy's fertility rate dropped to 1.18 children per woman in 2024, taking it below the previous lowest level on record of 1.19 in 1995, Istat said on Monday.
    The national statistics agency said 370,000 babies were born in Italy last year, a drop of 2.6% compared to 2023.
    In 1995 526,000 children were born here.
    Istat said deaths were also down last year, dropping 3.1% on 2023 to 651,000 for a difference between births and deaths of 281,000.
    The agency said Italian life expectancy rose to 83.4 years last year, almost five months more than in 2023.
    It said the average Italian household had 2.2 members in the 2023-2024 period, down from 2.6 members 20 years ago.
    Istat said the number of foreign residents in Italy increased to 5.308 million in 2024, up by 166,000 on the previous year.
   
   

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