Current Affairs - International - Discussion

Italy is experiencing a severe demographic crisis, with the number of births hitting a new low this year. According to preliminary data from the national statistics bureau ISTAT, there were 3,500 fewer births between January and June of this year compared to the same period in 2022. In 2022, the total number of births fell by 1.7% to 393,000, marking the 14th consecutive annual drop and reaching the lowest level since Italy's unification in 1861. The decline in births is attributed partly to the challenges faced by Italian women in balancing work and motherhood. The Italian government has allocated approximately 1 billion euros ($1.05 billion) to tackle this crisis, which it considers a national emergency for the country, the third largest economy in the Eurozone.