Resident population in Italy 2012-2021

In 2021, Italy had a population of 59.2 million people. Over the past years, Italy's population experienced a decrease. An aging population and a very low birth rate are the main causes of such a contraction. Population forecasts predict that the number of residents in the country will be as low as 54 million by 2050.

Birth rates and foreign population

As already mentioned, the birth rate in Italy declined continuously from 2002, when 9.4 babies per 1,000 inhabitants were born, to 2019, when this number dropped to seven. However, there was one increasing demographic trend in the country over the last years. The foreign-born population, in fact, increased from 2009 to 2018, surpassing six million.

Regional and gender distribution

In Italy, female citizens were slightly more numerous than their male counterparts. The most populated region in 2019 was by far Lombardy, accounting for a sixth of the whole Italian population. Lazio and Campania followed, both approaching six million inhabitants. On the other hand, the smallest Italian region in terms of population was Aosta Valley, with only around 125 thousand people.