Italy birth rate drops in 2015

(ANSA) - Rome, November 28 - The Italian birth rate fell last year, mostly due to the fact that couples in which both parents are Italian are having fewer children, Istat national statistics bureau said Monday. However, births were also down among mixed Italian and foreign-born couples, and couples in which both parents were born abroad. Overall births were down by 17,000 in 2015 compared to the previous year, and by 91,000 compared to 2008. Of the 485,780 newborns registered last year, 385,014 were born to all-Italian couples - down by 95,000 births in the past seven years, Istat said. Mixed couples had 101,000 babies in 2015, equal to 20.7% of the national total and making up 29% in the North and 8% in the South. Children born to foreign parents (14.8% of the total) dropped by 3,000 to 72,096 births in 2015.