Pope Francis complains of an “anti-family culture” that he blames for the sharp drop in birth rates in the West. “Depopulation is a problem. There are no more children in Italy and that is a serious problem. The average age of Italians is 46 years. It seems that families prefer dogs or cats to children: that is the culture of veterinarians,” the Pope said during an audience on Friday.
More than 393,000 children were born in 2022, a decrease of 1.7 percent compared to the previous year. The trend appears to continue in 2023: according to preliminary data, there was a decline of 1.9 percent in the first half of 2023, which equates to 3,500 fewer births. This is evident from information from the statistics agency ISTAT.
The decline in the number of births in Italy has continued uninterrupted for fifteen years: after a peak in 2008 with 576,659 births, the number of newborns gradually decreased until it reached its minimum this year. Compared to 2008, there are now more than 183,000 fewer births (minus 31.8 percent).
Source: Krone
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