Rome: Italy is on track to record another historic low in births this year, with national statistics agency Istat reporting a 5.4 percent drop in births from January to August 2025 compared to the same period in 2024. Speaking at the States General of Natality conference in Rome on Thursday, Istat president Francesco Maria Chelli warned that 'unless something extraordinary happens, we will once again have a negative record for births.'

According to Philippines News Agency, Italy registered 369,944 births in 2024, down 2.6 percent from the previous year, continuing a decline that began in 2008 when 576,000 babies were born. The country's diminishing birth rate has become a significant concern for policymakers and the public alike, as it poses challenges to economic sustainability and social welfare systems.

Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has called reversing the country's demographic decline an 'absolute priority,' and her government has introduced new family support measures and means-tested tax breaks for working mothers. The initiatives aim to alleviate the financial burdens of raising children and encourage higher birth rates, but the impact of these measures remains to be seen.