Mattarella Warns of Record-Low Births, Urges Better Pay and Services at Natality Forum

Overview

• Italy’s fertility rate fell to an estimated 1.13 children per woman in January–July 2025, with roughly 13,000 fewer births than a year earlier (-6.3%), after 369,944 births and a 1.18 rate in 2024.
• Sergio Mattarella said the demographic slide threatens public finances and intergenerational cohesion, citing constitutional duties to support families.
• He linked the decline to precarious work, low incomes, housing hurdles and limited childcare, urging higher wages and stronger public services to help parents.
• The president stressed that boosting births does not conflict with migrant integration, noting migrants’ contributions, often in care roles, to community wellbeing.
• The Fondazione per la Natalità announced an Agency for Natality and pressed for long-term measures—stable jobs, housing access and fair taxation—over one-off bonuses, as INAPP flags a looming labor shortfall.