The Sunday Independent

Italy

AT JUST over 400 000 last year, Italy’s births have been outnumbered by deaths, leading the population to drop by 384 000, or the equivalent of the city of Florence being wiped off the map, the BBC reported this week.

The birth rate is down by 16 000 from 2019, which was the lowest birth rate recorded since Italian unification in 1861.

The BBC quoted the Italian National Institute of Statistics as saying that Italy’s birth rate is the lowest out of all European states and that the divorce rate has risen during lockdown. New couples are said to be sceptical about having children because of the uncertainty brought by Covid-19.

WORLD

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2021-06-13T07:00:00.0000000Z

2021-06-13T07:00:00.0000000Z

https://thesundayindependent.pressreader.com/article/282136409356170

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