Istat, what the data from the 2022 census tell us: Italy is getting older, graduates are increasing

Fall in births and Italy getting older. The latest Istat report is merciless. The new minimum record of births (400,000) and the high number of deaths (701,000) aggravate the negative natural dynamics that has characterized our country in the last decade. The natural balance, equal to -301 thousand units in 2021; added to the -335 thousand already recorded in 2020, it results in a deficit of “natural replacement” of 637 thousand people in two years of the pandemic.
This is what emerges from the results, released by Istat, of the third edition of the permanent population and housing census, carried out in autumn 2021. The natural balance is negative in all regions, with the exception of the Autonomous Province of Bolzano (+ 193 units) which is characterized by a higher than average birth rate. There were just 400,249 births in 2021, a decrease of 1.1% compared to 2020 and almost 31% compared to 2008, the most recent relative maximum year of births. The geography of births shows a generalized decline in almost all areas, with the highest values ​​in the South (-2.7%) and a single exception in the North-East where a slight increase was recorded (+0.1% over 2020). The trend in births during 2021 allows us to have a more detailed picture of the consequences of the epidemic from a demographic point of view, given that the drop observed in 2020 (-3.6% compared to 2019) was only partly due to such effects. The first effects on births attributable to conceptions in March and April 2020 (first lockdown), observable starting from the last two months of the year, especially in December 2020 (-10.7%), were also found in the first two months of the 2021. The deficit of those born in January 2021 (-13.2%), among the largest ever recorded, leaves little doubt about the role played by the epidemic. The collapse in births between December 2020 and February 2021, to be referred to the failure to conceive during the first pandemic wave, is a symptom of the postponement of parenthood plans which lasted more markedly in the first seven months, to then slow down towards the end of the ‘year.
The population decreases: 2021 marks 59,030,133 (-0.3%) residents, the decline in foreigners also weighs
The census population in Italy as at 31 December 2021 amounts to 59,030,133 residents, down by 0.3% compared to 2020 (-206,080 individuals). The decrease in population mainly affects central Italy (-0.5%) and northern Italy (-0.4% for both the north-west and north-east), it is more contained in southern Italy (-0. 2%) and is minimal in the Islands (just 3 thousand units less). The impact of the number of deaths from Covid-19 on demographic dynamics in 2021 is still high: the total number of deaths (701,346), although decreasing compared to the previous year (almost 39,000 fewer deaths), remains significantly higher than the 2015 average -2019 (+8.6%). The decline in population is not only due to the negative natural balance but is partly due to the decrease in the foreign population. The foreigners surveyed are 5,030,716 (-141,178 compared to 2020), with an incidence on the total population of 8.5 foreigners for every 100 surveyed. Rome is the largest Municipality with 2,749,031 residents, Morterone (in the province of Lecco) the smallest (with just 31 inhabitants).
Out of 7,904 municipalities, only 2,850 recorded an increase in population over the previous year, where around 17 million 600 thousand people reside, 29.9% of the population in 2021. Compared to 2020, the percentage of municipalities losing population decreases (61, 8% of the total against 73.6% in 2020) and small municipalities ‘hold’. This is what emerges from the results, released by Istat, of the third edition of the permanent population and housing census, carried out in autumn 2021. In fact, the decrease in population does not affect all municipal classes of demographic size to the same extent. The lowest percentages of municipalities with a declining population are recorded in the class of 5-20 thousand inhabitants (57.3%) and in the class of up to 5 thousand inhabitants (62.7%), which together represent as much as 70% of Italian municipalities. On the contrary, among the 44 municipalities with over 100 thousand inhabitants, only 5 gain population (there were 11 between 2019 and 2020) while for the remaining 39 the balance is negative compared to the 2020 Census, for a total of -115,813 residents.
Where do foreigners come from?
Almost half of the foreigners surveyed in 2021 come from Europe (47.7%), 22.6% from Africa, a slightly lower percentage from Asia and 7.3% from America. The European Union is the most represented area (27.6%), followed by Central-Eastern Europe (19.3%), North Africa (13.6%) and Central-Southern Asia (11, 6%). This is what emerges from the results, released by Istat, of the third edition of the permanent population and housing census, carried out in autumn 2021. There are 195 countries represented by the foreign contingent surveyed and the first ten total 63.7% of the presence foreigner in Italy. In the 2021 ranking, compared to the previous year, Morocco rises to second place to the disadvantage of Albania while Bangladesh exchanges its position with that of the Philippines. Romania gains relative weight against China and Ukraine. Overall, the foreign population surveyed decreased by 2.7% compared to the previous year. The decline affects all communities but is more pronounced for the Chinese one which loses 9.2% of its contingent (about -30 thousand units which go to counterbalance the 41 thousand Chinese units undercover in 2020). The only exceptions are those of Romania, Egypt and Bangladesh which instead gain units. Against a substantially balanced ratio of masculinity, a preponderant female presence is confirmed for Ukraine (77.8% of women) and to a lesser extent for the Romanian and Filipino communities (60% of women). The communities of Pakistan (72% of men), Bangladesh (71.3% of men), Egypt (66%) and India (almost 60%) are strongly masculine.