Falling birth rates, how EU countries tackle it with new migration policies: the comparison

Giorgia Meloni introduced the third working session of the G7, entitled 'Secure Communities' and focused on the issue of migration, reiterating that the causes of the migration phenomenon must be tackled, with a cooperation approach with African countries like that of the Mattei Plan. While Italy's strategic plans for diplomacy, development cooperation and investment to strengthen and renew ties with the continent are laudable, they clash with Italy's reality and the limits of the public budget - accentuated by the rejection of the referendum proposing to speed up the time for foreigners to apply for citizenship. Opening up to immigration could open a window of opportunity to the problem of demographic decline, which cannot be addressed by increasing birth rates alone.

But Italy is no exception in the rest of Europe, which is facing an unprecedented demographic decline. In Germany, the number of older workers has quadrupled since 2004: according to the Federal Statistical Office, more than 1.1 million people aged 67 and over were still employed last year, 51,000 more than in 2023. The ageing population is causing severe staff shortages in companies. The best way to fill the void, besides keeping those who should retire a little longer at work, is to turn to immigrants. Last year, the number of people granted German citizenship jumped by almost 50 per cent. The previous government, led by Social Democrat Olaf Scholz, had reduced the deadline for obtaining citizenship from eight to five, with the aim of attracting more skilled workers to Germany. A study by the economist Martin Werding estimates that if Germany were to increase the number of new immigrants to two hundred thousand per year, the German state in the long run 'could count on substantial additional revenue, because immigrants are on average younger and, when they find work, provide revenue for the health and pension system, as well as boosting consumption'.

There is no shortage of cases of countries sustaining their economies by trying to manage immigration as best they can. According to the national institute of statistics (INE), the number of inhabitants in Spain "exceeded 49 million in 2024, with a net increase of 450 thousand residents, mainly arriving from Colombia, Venezuela and Morocco. In 2022 the migration balance was 727 thousand people, in 2023 642 thousand. In three years, the population has increased by 1.6 million'. The population increase contributes to the strong growth of the Iberian territory, which 'in 2024 was 3.2 per cent against 1.1 per cent in France and 0.2 per cent in Germany. In December 2024, Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez commented that '40% of the current growth could be attributed to immigration, which supports consumption in particular. Last year only sixty thousand of the 470,000 jobs created were filled by people born in Spain, and 88% went to foreign residents or foreign-born people with dual citizenship. In the last four years, immigration has covered 70% of the jobs created,' concluded the Spanish Prime Minister.

The number of births, compared to the number of Italians who left the country, decreased by 2.6%. In particular, 370 thousand children were born in 2024, ten thousand fewer than the previous year and half a million fewer than 10 years ago, marking the sixteenth consecutive year of decline. Instead, 191 thousand Italians moved abroad, 20.5% more than in 2023. According to ISTAT data for 2025, between 2021 and 2025 the incidence of workers over the age of 55 doubled compared to those aged 35.