Italian welfare systems are already struggling to cope with the ageing of the population, and there is no consensus on what to do about it.
Italy has long had one of the lowest birth rates in the EU, and the country is ageing at a much faster rate than other member states, and it appears to be getting worse.
According to government statistics, the average number of children per Italian woman has dropped from 1.24 in 2022 to 1.2 in 2023. Experts say that if the country’s population crisis continues, Italy’s population of 59 million could fall by almost 1 million by 2030.
And the effects of the crisis are already being felt, with the ageing of the population causing problems for Italy’s healthcare and pension systems.
This is pretty much what is happening in most developed economies, unfortunately. Because real estate became a very profitable investment, and as a result we are now running out of affordable accommodation.
It is going to be interesting, when the baby boomer generation starts dying because of old age. There is only so much that buying up for investment purposes can maintain a market without people wanting to life in the houses.
The housing ages as well. Old houses will be torn down and new builds will be regulated to maintain the supply low.
Demographic will definitely also have impact, but so much money is tied in REITs that some sort of bailout is inevitable in case the prices crash.
Although this sounds reasonable, the countries with the highest birth rates in the world are Niger, Chad, Congo and Somalia. If not being able to afford a high quality of life was the cause of decreasing birth rates as you say, we would expect these countries to be doing even worse than Italy because being able to afford your basic needs is even worse there.
That’s two different causes. Countries with a high birth rate also have a relatively high infant mortality rate and lower life expectancy. The goal there is survival.
Paradoxically high GDP countries also have lower birthrates due to higher cost of living, delays due to economic priorities such as career advancement or travels, accessibile contraception, different family structures and also unfavourable social welfare policies.
When viewed from an environmental perspective, these falling birth rates are GREAT news. More so in first world countries.
Exactly. Countries are crying over this birth rate drop because of bullshit “BUT THE ECONOMY AND THE OLD PEOPLE AND RICH PEOPLE” excuses. Global population needs to drop, now. People will say “but we’re not overcrowded, we’re fine”, yet we’re seeing so many problems with the climate, distribution of goods and services, and so on that is directly caused by our current population levels.
Stop having kids, or at least only have one. Fix this world.
And yet they refuse to receive more refugees from Africa and the Middle East.
“Have you tried robots?” – Japan, who is going to learn a very harsh lesson in a decade or so.
Japan is accepting more immigrates than ever before.
And the percentage of non-Japanese living in Japan is the highest in its history.
I only say that because I assume you mean that Japan is reluctant to accept immigrants. You’re right, many Japanese would rather the country die than open it up to the world. But in practice, immigration has been rising sharply for years.
It is a country without future, and there is no hope for the situation to improve any time soon. Extremely low wages, no affordable housing, healthcare unavailable and poor access to education/services in general but high taxation. It would be crazy to expect anyone to plan to have a family!
With a fascist government that will worsen the problem and then blame it on immigrants.
This is an issue all over the Western world, including the US.
