Depopulation in Italian municipalities: a persistent phenomenon

Abstract

The contribution analyses "Depopulation in Italian municipalities: a phenomenon still relevant", with attention to the context, the reading tools and the implications for policies. In Italy, due to the continuous decline of births and the parallel decrease in mortality, the natural balance (difference between births and deaths) has been negative for several years. In the marginal territories of the country, in fact, the phenomenon of emigration, begun in the years of industrialization, has never ended. To date, the Italian population is one of the most aged in the world, but does not experience a uniform aging process in the Italian territory (Golini et al, 2003; Miccoli, Reynaud, 2016). In the following decades, depopulation seems to slow down, so much so that the intensity and variability of the phenomenon decrease, even if not to a significant extent. If the decrement rate recorded in the last decade was constant, -71,4 per 1,000 inhabitants, this population, corresponding to 2 million people, would be halved in less than 10 years. High levels of these two phenomena define real areas of demographic malaise where, in the absence of external action, a recovery seems very difficult.

Keywords

depopulation; Local authorities; Italy; migration; Half-day; environment

JEL codes

R58; R23; J11