In 2025 births in Italy will fall by 3.9%. Balance between births and deaths worsens

The Centre is confirmed as the area where children are born later: 33.1 years, while in the North and the South the average age at childbirth is 32.8 and 32.4 years respectively (Figure 2).

The region with the lowest fecundity continues to be Sardinia which, for the sixth year in a row, has a fecundity below unity, at 0.85 and decreasing on 2024 (0.91).

Molise and Lazio follow, with an average number of children per woman of 1.02 and 1.05, respectively.

Trentino-Alto Adige once again holds the record as the region with the highest fertility rate, with an average number of children per woman of 1.40. They are followed, on lower levels, by Sicily (1.23) and Campania

Immigration from abroad is 440 thousand, emigration for abroad 144 thousand. International mobility is decreasing but the migration balance remains largely positive: in 2025 it is +296 thousand.

As of 1 January 2026, the resident population of foreign citizenship amounted to 5 million 560 thousand, an increase of 188 thousand individuals; that of Italian citizenship was 53 million 383 thousand, a decrease of 189 thousand individuals.

Couples with children make up 28.4% of families, those without children 20.2%.

On 1 January 2026, the resident population amounted to 58 million 943 thousand individuals (provisional data), which is stable compared to the same date in the previous year (-636). The near-zero growth rate is an improvement over those recorded in the two previous years (-0.5 per thousand in 2024 and -0.4 per thousand in 2023), but the demographic dynamics are in close continuity with what has been observed in recent years: Italia remains a country in which a very positive migratory dynamic manages to counteract a largely negative natural turnover and in which the population continues to age.

At the territorial level, differences can be observed: in the North, the population increases by 2.2 per thousand, in the Centre it remains constant (0.0 per thousand), while the South continues to record losses (-3.1 per thousand).

The population is increasing, especially in Trentino-Alto Adige (+4.2 per thousand), in Emilia-Romagna (+3.4 per thousand) and in Lombardy (+3.2 per thousand).

The regions with the largest population decline are Basilicata (-9.0 per thousand), Molise (-6.5 per thousand) and Sardinia (-5.1 per thousand).

In 2025, births are 355 thousand, a decrease of 3.9% over 2024. Deaths are 652 thousand, down 0.2%. The natural balance (i.e. the difference between births and deaths) is largely negative (about -296 thousand), worse than in 2024 when it was -283 thousand.

Immigration from abroad, 440,000, although decreasing by 12,000 compared to 2024 (-2.6%), remains solid, confirming the country's remarkable level of attractiveness.

 Significantly fewer emigrations abroad, 144,000, 45,000 less than the previous year (-23.7%).

Within this framework, the migration balance with foreign countries remains not only very positive (+296,000) and such as to almost fully compensate the deficit due to natural dynamics, but it also grows by 33,000 over 2024.

Finally, transfers of residence between municipalities increased by 5.1%, involving a total of 1.455 million citizens.

As of 1 January 2026, the resident population of foreign citizenship amounted to 5,560,000, an increase of 188,000 individuals (+3.5%) compared to the previous year, accounting for 9.4% of the total population.

The growth of the foreign population is mainly driven by a strong foreign migration balance (+348 thousand), which is accompanied by a smaller but positive natural balance (+36 thousand).

The only item showing a loss for resident foreigners (but purely from a definitional point of view, since it refers to individuals who continue to reside in the country) is that of acquisitions of Italian citizenship, which stood at 196,000.

The population of Italian citizenship amounts to 53 million 383 thousand, down by 189 thousand individuals compared to 1 January 2025 (-3.5 per thousand).

The negative balance of Italian residents is mainly due to a largely negative natural balance (-333,000), which is also associated with a foreign migration balance that, between repatriations and expatriations, stands at -53,000. The decrease of Italian residents, common to all divisions, reaches its maximum in the South with 118 thousand fewer compatriots (-6.3 per thousand).