In Italy, the crude birth rate in 1850 was 38.4 live births per thousand people, meaning that 3.8 percent of the population had been born in that year. Apart from some slight fluctuation in the 1860s, between 1850 and the Second World War, Italy's crude birth rate decreased very gradually. 38.9 was the highest recorded figure in 1865, and it decreased to 27.1 in 1930. Over the next 35 years (including the Second World War and Italian Civil War) the birth rate fluctuated, but overall it dropped to 18.6, and then the decline fell consistently to 10.9 in 1985, where it then plateaued. In the 2000s, the crude birth rate did increase in the first decade, to 9.7 in 2010, before dropping again, and it is expected to fall to it's lowest level of 7.6 in 2020.

For most of the past two centuries, falling birth rates have been associated with societal progress. During the demographic transition, where pre-industrial societies modernize in terms of fertility and mortality, falling death rates, especially among infants and children, are the first major change. In response, as more children survive into adulthood, women have fewer children as the need to compensate for child mortality declines. This transition has happened at different times across the world and is an ongoing process, with early industrial countries being the first to transition, and Sub-Saharan African countries being the most recent to do so. Additionally, some Asian countries (particularly China through government policy) have gone through their demographic transitions at a much faster pace than those deemed more developed. Today, in countries such as Japan, Italy, and Germany, birth rates have fallen well below death rates; this is no longer considered a positive demographic trend, as it leads to natural population decline, and may create an over-aged population that could place a burden on healthcare systems.

Italy: Fertility rate, births per woman: The latest value from 2023 is 1.2 births per woman, a decline from 1.24 births per woman in 2022. In comparison, the world average is 2.41 births per woman, based on data from 196 countries. Historically, the average for Italy from 1960 to 2023 is 1.65 births per woman. The minimum value, 1.19 births per woman, was reached in 1995 while the maximum of 2.66 births per woman was recorded in 1964.

Italy IT: Birth Rate: Crude: per 1000 People data was reported at 7.800 Ratio in 2016. This records a decrease from the previous number of 8.000 Ratio for 2015. Italy IT: Birth Rate: Crude: per 1000 People data is updated yearly, averaging 10.000 Ratio from Dec 1960 (Median) to 2016, with 57 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 19.700 Ratio in 1964 and a record low of 7.800 Ratio in 2016. Italy IT: Birth Rate: Crude: per 1000 People data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Italy – Table IT.World Bank.WDI: Population and Urbanization Statistics. Crude birth rate indicates the number of live births occurring during the year, per 1,000 population estimated at midyear. Subtracting the crude death rate from the crude birth rate provides the rate of natural increase, which is equal to the rate of population change in the absence of migration.; ; (1) United Nations Population Division. World Population Prospects: 2017 Revision. (2) Census reports and other statistical publications from national statistical offices, (3) Eurostat: Demographic Statistics, (4) United Nations Statistical Division. Population and Vital Statistics Reprot (various years), (5) U.S. Census Bureau: International Database, and (6) Secretariat of the Pacific Community: Statistics and Demography Programme.; Weighted average;

Time series data for the statistic Fertility_Rate and country Italy. Indicator Definition:Total fertility rate represents the number of children that would be born to a woman if she were to live to the end of her childbearing years and bear children in accordance with age-specific fertility rates of the specified year.The statistic "Fertility Rate" stands at 1.20 births per woman as of 12/31/2023, the lowest value since 12/31/1996. Regarding the One-Year-Change of the series, the current value constitutes a decrease of -3.23 percent compared to the value the year prior.The 1 year change in percent is -3.23.The 3 year change in percent is -3.23.The 5 year change in percent is -8.40.The 10 year change in percent is -13.67.The Serie's long term average value is 1.65 births per woman. It's latest available value, on 12/31/2023, is 27.20 percent lower, compared to it's long term average value.The Serie's change in percent from it's minimum value, on 12/31/1995, to it's latest available value, on 12/31/2023, is +0.84%.The Serie's change in percent from it's maximum value, on 12/31/1964, to it's latest available value, on 12/31/2023, is -54.89%.

The fertility rate of a country is the average number of children that women from that country will have throughout their reproductive years. From 1850 until 1910, Italy's fertility rate dropped from 5.5 children per woman to 4.4, and over the next fifty years it dropped a lot more sharply, fluctuating along the way. By 1920 it had dropped to 3.3, as a result of the First World War and the economic turmoil that followed. The interwar years saw some fluctuation, but overall the fertility rate dropped to just 2.6 in 1945. In the 75 years that have followed the war, Italy's fertility rate has followed previous trends, where there are some periods of increase, but overall it declined. In the late 1900s Italy had one of the lowest fertility rates in the world, at just 1.2 children per woman in 200, although this has increased slightly in the past two decades, and is expected to be just over 1.3 in 2020.

About this dataset

Context

The dataset tabulates the data for the Italy, TX population pyramid, which represents the Italy population distribution across age and gender, using estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey (ACS) 2019-2023 5-Year Estimates. It lists the male and female population for each age group, along with the total population for those age groups. Higher numbers at the bottom of the table suggest population growth, whereas higher numbers at the top indicate declining birth rates. Furthermore, the dataset can be utilized to understand the youth dependency ratio, old-age dependency ratio, total dependency ratio, and potential support ratio.

Key observations

• Youth dependency ratio, which is the number of children aged 0-14 per 100 persons aged 15-64, for Italy, TX, is 44.3.
• Old-age dependency ratio, which is the number of persons aged 65 or over per 100 persons aged 15-64, for Italy, TX, is 28.5.
• Total dependency ratio for Italy, TX is 72.9.
• Potential support ratio, which is the number of youth (working age population) per elderly, for Italy, TX is 3.5.

Content

When available, the data consists of estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey (ACS) 2019-2023 5-Year Estimates.

Age groups:

• Under 5 years
• 5 to 9 years
• 10 to 14 years
• 15 to 19 years
• 20 to 24 years
• 25 to 29 years
• 30 to 34 years
• 35 to 39 years
• 40 to 44 years
• 45 to 49 years
• 50 to 54 years
• 55 to 59 years
• 60 to 64 years
• 65 to 69 years
• 70 to 74 years
• 75 to 79 years
• 80 to 84 years
• 85 years and over

Variables / Data Columns

• Age Group: This column displays the age group for the Italy population analysis. Total expected values are 18 and are define above in the age groups section.
• Population (Male): The male population in the Italy for the selected age group is shown in the following column.
• Population (Female): The female population in the Italy for the selected age group is shown in the following column.
• Total Population: The total population of the Italy for the selected age group is shown in the following column.

Good to know

Margin of Error

Data in the dataset are based on the estimates and are subject to sampling variability and thus a margin of error. Neilsberg Research recommends using caution when presening these estimates in your research.

Custom data

If you do need custom data for any of your research project, report or presentation, you can contact our research staff at research@neilsberg.com for a feasibility of a custom tabulation on a fee-for-service basis.

Inspiration

Neilsberg Research Team curates, analyze and publishes demographics and economic data from a variety of public and proprietary sources, each of which often includes multiple surveys and programs. The large majority of Neilsberg Research aggregated datasets and insights is made available for free download at https://www.neilsberg.com/research/.

Recommended for further research

This dataset is a part of the main dataset for Italy Population by Age. You can refer the same here

Italy IT: Death Rate: Crude: per 1000 People data was reported at 10.100 Ratio in 2016. This records a decrease from the previous number of 10.700 Ratio for 2015. Italy IT: Death Rate: Crude: per 1000 People data is updated yearly, averaging 9.800 Ratio from Dec 1960 (Median) to 2016, with 57 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 10.700 Ratio in 2015 and a record low of 9.300 Ratio in 1961. Italy IT: Death Rate: Crude: per 1000 People data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Italy – Table IT.World Bank.WDI: Population and Urbanization Statistics. Crude death rate indicates the number of deaths occurring during the year, per 1,000 population estimated at midyear. Subtracting the crude death rate from the crude birth rate provides the rate of natural increase, which is equal to the rate of population change in the absence of migration.; ; (1) United Nations Population Division. World Population Prospects: 2017 Revision. (2) Census reports and other statistical publications from national statistical offices, (3) Eurostat: Demographic Statistics, (4) United Nations Statistical Division. Population and Vital Statistics Reprot (various years), (5) U.S. Census Bureau: International Database, and (6) Secretariat of the Pacific Community: Statistics and Demography Programme.; Weighted average;

In 2024, the Italian region that registered the highest fertility rate was Trentino-South Tyrol, where the average number of children born per woman reached 1.39 infants. Over the last years, the fertility rate in Italy has constantly decreased, except for 2021, when a slight increase of 0.01 points was recorded. Fewer and fewer children born per womanThe average number of children born per woman significantly varied from the middle of the twentieth century to the present day. In 2017, Italian women were on average a mother of one child, whereas about seven decades earlier, females had on average at least two kids. The lowest fertility rates worldwide From the global perspective, Italy was one of the world's twenty countries with the lowest fertility rate in 2024. This figure in Taiwan reached only 1.11 children per woman, placing the territory on top of the ranking.

Italy IT: International Migrant Stock: % of Population data was reported at 9.681 % in 2015. This records a decrease from the previous number of 9.713 % for 2010. Italy IT: International Migrant Stock: % of Population data is updated yearly, averaging 5.227 % from Dec 1990 (Median) to 2015, with 6 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 9.713 % in 2010 and a record low of 2.505 % in 1990. Italy IT: International Migrant Stock: % of Population data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Italy – Table IT.World Bank.WDI: Population and Urbanization Statistics. International migrant stock is the number of people born in a country other than that in which they live. It also includes refugees. The data used to estimate the international migrant stock at a particular time are obtained mainly from population censuses. The estimates are derived from the data on foreign-born population--people who have residence in one country but were born in another country. When data on the foreign-born population are not available, data on foreign population--that is, people who are citizens of a country other than the country in which they reside--are used as estimates. After the breakup of the Soviet Union in 1991 people living in one of the newly independent countries who were born in another were classified as international migrants. Estimates of migrant stock in the newly independent states from 1990 on are based on the 1989 census of the Soviet Union. For countries with information on the international migrant stock for at least two points in time, interpolation or extrapolation was used to estimate the international migrant stock on July 1 of the reference years. For countries with only one observation, estimates for the reference years were derived using rates of change in the migrant stock in the years preceding or following the single observation available. A model was used to estimate migrants for countries that had no data.; ; United Nations Population Division, Trends in Total Migrant Stock: 2008 Revision.; Weighted average;

Projections estimate that the population in Italy will decrease in the following years. In January 2025, the Italian population added up to 59 million people, but in 2030 Italians will be 58 million individuals. Twenty years later, the population will be around 52 million people. Low birth rate and old population The birth rate in Italy has constantly dropped in the last years. In 2023, 6.4 children were born per 1,000 inhabitants, three babies less than in 2002. Nationwide, the highest number of births was registered in the southern regions, whereas central Italy had the lowest number of children born every 1,000 people. More specifically, the birth rate in the south stood at 7 infants, while in the center it was equal to 5.9 births. Consequently, the population in Italy has aged over the last decade. Between 2002 and 2024, the age distribution of the Italian population showed a growing share of people aged 65 years and older. As a result, the share of young people decreased. The European exception Similarly, the population in Europe is estimated to decrease in the coming years. In 2024, there were 740 million people living in Europe. In 2100, the figure is expected to drop to 586 million inhabitants. However, projections of the world population suggest that Europe might be the only continent experiencing a population decrease. For instance, the population in Africa could grow from 1.41 billion people in 2022 to 3.92 billion individuals in 2100, the fastest population growth worldwide.

At the beginning of the 19th century, the area of modern-day Italy, at the time a collection of various states and kingdoms, was estimated to have a population of nineteen million, a figure which would grow steadily throughout the century, and by the establishment of the Kingdom of Italy in 1861, the population would rise to just over 26 million.

Italy’s population would see its first major disruption during the First World War, as Italy would join the Allied Forces in their fight against Austria-Hungary and Germany. In the First World War, Italy’s population would largely stagnate at 36 million, only climbing again following the end of the war in 1920. While Italy would also play a prominent role in the Second World War, as the National Fascist Party-led country would fight alongside Germany against the Allies, Italian fatalities from the war would not represent a significant percentage of Italy’s population compared to other European countries in the conflict. As a result, Italy would exit the Second World War with a population of just over 45 million.

From this point onwards the Italian economy started to recover from the war, and eventually boomed, leading to increased employment and standards of living, which facilitated steady population growth until the mid-1980s, when falling fertility and birth rates would cause growth to largely cease. From this point onward, the Italian population would remain at just over 57 million, until the 2000s when it began growing again due to an influx of migrants, peaking in 2017 at just over 60 million people. In the late 2010s, however, the Italian population began declining again, as immigration slowed and the economy weakened. As a result, in 2020, Italy is estimated to have fallen to a population of 59 million.

Between 2010 and 2023, the number of births in Italy decreased constantly. In 2010, 550,000 births were registered in the country, while in 2022 the figure dropped to less than 400,000, with less than 380,000 new babies in 2023. The largest number of births nationwide was registered in the North Italian region of Lombardy, with approximately 58,900 infants born in 2021. Indeed, Lombardy is the most populous region of the country. Birth rates Data on birth rates in Italy reveal that Lombardy is only fifth in terms of infants born per 1,000 inhabitants. In 2024, Trentino-South Tyrol recorded the highest birth rate nationwide, with 7.6 newborns per 1,000 inhabitants. Three Southern regions followed in the ranking: Campania, Sicily, and Calabria. In fact, in 2024, the South was the macro-region with the largest birth rate in Italy. Aging population Due to the lower birth rates, the Italian population is aging fast. According to estimates for 2025, the average age in Italy is 46.8 years, 3.4 years older than in 2010. This figure is estimated to increase further in the upcoming years. Projections made in 2019 suggested that the median age will reach 50.8 years in 2030. Afterward, the average age of Italians might reach 53.6 years by 2050.

The statistic shows the 20 countries with the lowest fertility rates in 2024. All figures are estimates. In 2024, the fertility rate in Taiwan was estimated to be at 1.11 children per woman, making it the lowest fertility rate worldwide. Fertility rate The fertility rate is the average number of children born per woman of child-bearing age in a country. Usually, a woman aged between 15 and 45 is considered to be in her child-bearing years. The fertility rate of a country provides an insight into its economic state, as well as the level of health and education of its population. Developing countries usually have a higher fertility rate due to lack of access to birth control and contraception, and to women usually foregoing a higher education, or even any education at all, in favor of taking care of housework. Many families in poorer countries also need their children to help provide for the family by starting to work early and/or as caretakers for their parents in old age. In developed countries, fertility rates and birth rates are usually much lower, as birth control is easier to obtain and women often choose a career before becoming a mother. Additionally, if the number of women of child-bearing age declines, so does the fertility rate of a country. As can be seen above, countries like Hong Kong are a good example for women leaving the patriarchal structures and focusing on their own career instead of becoming a mother at a young age, causing a decline of the country’s fertility rate. A look at the fertility rate per woman worldwide by income group also shows that women with a low income tend to have more children than those with a high income. The United States are neither among the countries with the lowest, nor among those with the highest fertility rate, by the way. At 2.08 children per woman, the fertility rate in the US has been continuously slightly below the global average of about 2.4 children per woman over the last decade.

The child mortality rate in Italy, for children under the age of five, was 390 deaths per thousand births in 1865. This translated into just under forty percent of all children born in 1865 not surviving past their fifth birthday. Child mortality remained above 250 until the mid 1920s, before falling at a much faster rate throughout the rest of the century thanks in part to the introduction and availability of new vaccinations. In 2020, the child mortality rate in Italy is expected to be just three deaths per one thousand births.

In the past years, the share of people aged over 65 years grew constantly in Italy. Estimates for 2025 report that **** percent of the Italian inhabitants are aged 65 years and older. Moreover, **** percent of the residents are aged between 15 and 64 years and only **** percent are 14 years old and younger. In 2025, the Italian region with the highest share of kids up to 14 years old was Trentino-South Tyrol, with **** percent. On the other hand, **** percent of the people in Liguria were over 65 years, making it the region with the highest share of elderly among its residents. Causes of an aging population The growing share of old people in Italy is due to two main factors. First, the birth rate in the country decreased over the last years. In 2024, less than ***** children were born per 1,000 inhabitants, 2 fewer infants than in 2002. Second, life expectancy increased over the same period. A 65-year-old Italian woman could expect to have almost ** more years of life ahead in 2002, while by 2024 this number reached ****. The increase for men was even greater, with male life expectancy at 65 growing from around ** years in 2002 to **** years in 2024. Future demographic trends The aging trend in the Italian population is not expected to change in the upcoming years. Projections suggest that the country's population is going to sensibly decrease in numbers. Population forecasts for 2050 account for slightly less than ** million citizens, around * million fewer compared to 2020.

The figures show a gradual increase in the average age of mothers at childbirth in Italy between 2002 and 2024. As of 2023, the average age of mothers at childbirth in Italy was estimated to be **** years, an increase of two years compared to 2002. Sicily was the Italian region with the lowest average age, with mothers aged **** years on average when giving birth. Fertility rate Most developed countries today are characterized by a decline in the number of births. Italy hit a new low in 2022, with less than ******* births. In 2024, it was among the countries with the lowest fertility rate in the world, with every woman having **** babies on average. Assisted reproductive treatment (ART) In 2023, roughly four percent of pregnancies in Italy were obtained through assisted reproductive treatments (ART) and women above ** had the highest rate of pregnancies resulting from ART, with **** percent. The number of ART undertaken in Italy increased constantly in the past two decades, except for a slight decline in 2020 when a general decrease in the number of births was experienced with the outbreak of COVID-19.

In 2025, Italy’s resident population is estimated to be almost 59 million inhabitants. About one-sixth of them lived in Lombardy, the most populous region in the country. Lazio and Campania followed, with roughly 5.7 million and 5.6 million inhabitants, respectively. These figures are mainly driven by Rome and Naples, the administrative capitals of these regions, and two of the largest metropolitan areas in the country. Which region has the oldest population? The population in Italy has become older and older over the last years. The average age in the country is equal to 46.8 years, but in some regions this figure is even higher. Liguria records an average age of 49.6 years and has one of the lowest birth rates in the country. Demographic trends for the future Liguria’s case, however, is not an outlier. Italy is already the country with the highest share of old people in Europe. At the same time, the very low number of new births means that, despite an always-increasing life expectancy, the Italian population is declining. Indeed, projections estimate that the country will have five million fewer inhabitants by 2050.

In 2024, Monaco was the European country estimated to have the highest fertility rate. The country had a fertility rate of 2.1 children per woman. Other small countries such as Gibraltar or Montenegro also came towards the top of the list for 2024, while the large country with the highest fertility rate was France, with 1.64 children per woman. On the other hand, Ukraine had the lowest fertility rate, averaging around one child per woman.

The United States had the largest population of the G7 countries between 2000 and 2023, increasing from 282 million to 335 million. It is also the country with the third highest number of inhabitants in the world. Interestingly, Japan's population has been in decline since 2010, falling from 128 million to 124.5 million. Also Italy's population has been decreasing in recent years. Aging population Both Italy, Germany, and Japan are characterized by an increasingly aging population. In 2023, Japan had the third highest median age worldwide, while Italy and Germany had the fourth and eighth highest, respectively. Despite Germany's high median age and aging population, the number of inhabitants continue to increase because of migration. Falling fertility rates Another reason for the declining populations in Japan and Italy are falling fertility rates. Both countries were among the 20 with the lowest fertility rates in the world in 2024, meaning that women in child-bearing age have fewer children.