Italy, the oldest country in Europe. What is behind aging?

Falling birth rates and higher life expectancy for the elderly have significantly aged Italy's population, to the point where economists are worried about the country's future.

Italy's aging problem is beginning to affect quality of life. The country's growing number of retirees has not kept pace with the number of new-borns, and government efforts to boost births have so far failed to turn the tide on Italy's demographic decline.

According to the latest data from Eurostat, Italy is the oldest country in the European Union, with half of the population currently having an average median age of over 48 years. Along with Portugal, Italy has the highest proportion of residents over 65, equal to 24% – or roughly one in four. This increase reflects a European-wide trend, where the bloc is experiencing an overall increase in the average age – 44.5 years. The number of elderly people now represents more than a fifth of the bloc's population.

But, according to experts, grandparents are not the problem of this situation. Having people live longer should be a goal on the political agenda of every country's government. The problem is that the birth rates in Italy are low.

The reason for Italy's aging population is simple: the number of deaths, due to its aging population, far exceeds the number of births. For the last 40 years, the average number of children per family in Italy has been below 1.5. A rate of 2 births per woman is needed to maintain a stable population.

Also, analysts point out that the country has not invested as much in the new generations as it has invested in the previous generations. Italy needs to do more to help young families financially, but it has a massive GDP debt that is under international scrutiny, so it cannot afford to fall into more debt. According to them, the aging of the Italian population and the decline in the birth rate are expected to continue in the future. Meloni's government has made increasing the birth rate one of the priorities of its government, but so far it has not received concrete results.