Pope Francis Bemoans Falling Birth Rates In Italy: It's A Tragedy

Pope Francis kisses the statue of the baby Jesus while celebrating the Holy Christmas Eve Mass in St. Peter's Basilica, Vatican (Guglielmo Mangiapane/Reuters/Antara)

VATICAN CITY - Pope Francis on Sunday lamented the plummeting birth rate in Italy and warned that the decline was a threat to the country's future.

Italy's birth rate last year hit its lowest level since the nation's unification in 1861, the national statistics office said last month. The number of births there has been declining for 12 consecutive years.

"This demographic winter is really worrying, at least here in Italy," the Pope said in his weekly sermon in front of St Peter's Basilica.

"It seems that many people have lost interest in having children. Many couples prefer to remain childless or have only one child. This is a tragedy that goes against our families, our country and our future."

According to statistics office ISTAT, last year Italy recorded 404,892 births, down 15,192 from 2019. Meanwhile the death toll in the same year reached 746,146 and reduced the country's population to 59.3 million people.

ISTAT said the decline in the birth rate continued this year. They added that the COVID-19 pandemic was likely a contributing factor to the decline.