Giorgetti: dramatic depopulation, policy shelves issue

"Denatality, population ageing, and territorial depopulation are structural problems that our country, like so many others, has to face, with long-term consequences for financial stability and economic development. Countering demographic decline is a political objective that the government has set itself since it took office, in the face of a trend that has been going on for decades. Italy has long been affected by a decline in birth and fertility rates, as well as an increase in life expectancy. However, it is not just an Italian problem, the decline in the birth rate occurs in most high-income countries'. This was said by the Minister of Economy and Finance Giancarlo Giorgetti, during the hearing before the parliamentary commission of enquiry into the economic and social effects of the demographic transition underway.

The minister recalled that demographic factors influence public finance balances and public debt. Declining birth rates and an ageing population 'pose risks to the sustainability of public debt. On the demographic transition, the 'ageing' factor is important on assessments of public debt sustainability. The ageing of the population is considered negative as it entails impacts on public spending, for example on pensions and healthcare,' said the Minister of Economy and Finance. According to EU data, 'due to demographic challenges the contribution to growth from the labour force will be negative from 2030'.

Faced with the problem of the birth rate, 'we have chosen not to turn away but to face reality and face it with courage and determination,' stressed the economy minister, emphasising that 'working together we can try to reverse the trend'. The birth rate 'is not just a statistical and accounting challenge, but a human challenge', he said, emphasising that the government is tackling 'this issue with courage responsibility and vision'.

Territorial depopulation in the country's inland areas is a dramatic situation,' stressed Giancarlo Giorgetti. 'When the population of childbearing age ends, when only the elderly remain, no one is born anymore and entire communities are destined to die,' Giorgetti added. "This is an issue that the entire political class has in mind, but which they deliberately tend to set aside," the economy minister added, emphasising that "since it is not the first issue for anyone, it is evidently then not dealt with".