Here are five bullet points that have alarmed the Italian government (meanwhile, declines continue throughout Europe and the US).

• In 2020, births hit their lowest level since the unification of Italy in 1861.
• There were 404,892 births last year, down 15,192 when compared to 2019.
• The birth rate has fallen 12 years in a row, and data shows the slump has continued through 2021.
• Women in the industrialized north have an average of 1.71 children, but that figure slides down the farther south you go, with women in Sardinia having an average of only 0.97 children.
• The average age at which Italian women had their first child rose to a record high 32.7 last year, while 35.8% of births took place outside of marriage. In 2008, the number was just 19.6%, suggesting a sharp decline in the influence of the Catholic Church.

Figures and data provided by Reuters and ISTAT.