The Pope says Italy’s plunging fertility rate is a “tragedy”
Pope Francis lamented Italy’s plunging fertility rate on Sunday, warning that the decline represents a threat to the country’s future.
Italy’s births last year reached their lowest levels since the unification in 1861, the National Bureau of Statistics announced this month, declining for the 12th consecutive year.
“At least here in Italy, the winter of vitality is really worrisome,” the Pope said in a weekly speech in front of St. Peter’s Basilica.
“Many people seem to have lost their desire to have children. Many couples prefer to leave them alone or have only one child …. that’s a tragedy … I Our family, our country, and our future. “
According to the ISTAT Statistics Bureau, the number of births in Italy last year was 404,892, a decrease of 15,192 from 2019. By 2020, 746,146 people died as the population fell to 59.3 million.
ISTAT said the decline in births continued this year, adding that the COVID-19 pandemic appears to be a factor in the decline.
http://www.gulf-times.com/story/706957/Pope-says-Italy-s-plunging-birthrate-is-a-tragedy The Pope says Italy’s plunging fertility rate is a “tragedy”
