Many live with parents

Italians are becoming more and more marriage-minded

The "typical" Italian is increasingly becoming a marriage grouch. This is according to a report published on Wednesday by the national statistics institute (ISTAT). According to the report, Italians are getting married five years later than 20 years ago. The average age of marriage for men is 36.5 years (2002: 31.7 years) and for women 33.6 years (2002: 28.9 years).

"Today's young people have longer and longer transitions to adulthood," says the report by the national statistics authority. In 2022, 67.4 percent of 18 to 34-year-olds lived with their parents, almost eight percentage points more than in 2002 (59.7 percent). The age at which Italian women have their first child has also risen, to 31.6 years, compared to 29.7 years in 2002.

Birth rate fell for the 15th time in a row
The government of Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has made increasing the birth rate one of its priorities, but so far has had little success in reversing the demographic decline. Italy has had one of the lowest birth rates in Europe for decades. According to ISTAT, this was 1.24 children per woman in 2022. In Austria, it was 1.41 children per woman. The number of births in the country fell for the 15th time in a row in 2023, with only 379,000 children being born in Italy. This is the lowest number since the unification of Italy in 1861.