Amid pandemic, Italy's birth rate hits 160-year low

The Italian statistics agency ISTAT has revealed that Italy's birth rate is drastically declining as it has hit a new low for the first time in 160 years. January 2021 saw the lowest birth rate ever with a 13.6 per cent decline when compared to January 2020. The birth rate is being considered the lowest since records began in 1861.

The deadly coronavirus has had a major impact all across the globe, one of them being the decreasing birth rate in Italy. 

In a little over a decade, birth rates have dropped by one third with 404,892 babies born in 2020 from 576,659 in 2008.  

The highest number of births have been recorded in Bolzano, while the lowest have been recorded on the island of Sardinia.

Also read | Amid pandemic, Germany's birth rate climbs to record high

Also, 2020 saw an average increase in the age at which Italian women had their first child rose. It was three years older than in 1995 at 31.4.

While Italy's birth rate has hit a new low, Germany's birth rate soared amid the pandemic. The country recorded 65,903 births in March which was 5,900 more compared to 2020. The birth rate in Germany was lower in 2020 compared to the previous year.

European nations including Spain and France had also reported a fall in birth rates from December 2020 to January 2021. However, Germany showed 182,000 more children born in the same period which was a total of ten months after the lockdown was first imposed in the country due to the virus.

(With inputs from agencies)