The resident population in Calabria, defined on the basis of the Census as of 31 December 2022, amounts to 1,846,610 residents, down compared to 2021 (-8,844 individuals; -0.5%); over 60% of the population lives in the provinces of Cosenza and Reggio Calabria.
The decrease compared to 2021 is the result of the negative values of the natural and internal migration balance, which are insufficiently counterbalanced by the positive values of the foreign migration balance and the statistical adjustment. In Calabria the birth rate is slightly recovering. There were 13,451 births (+232 compared to 2021).
The mortality rate grew from 12.2 per thousand in 2021 to 12.4 per thousand in 2022, with the highest value of 12.6 per thousand recorded in the province of Reggio Calabria.
Women make up 51% of the resident population, exceeding men by 38 thousand units, mainly due to the greater longevity of women.
The average age increased compared to 2021 from 45.5 to 45.7 years. Crotone is the youngest province (44.3 years); Cosenza is the oldest (46.2 years), followed by Catanzaro (46.1 years). Foreigners registered are 97,062 (+3,805 compared to 2021), 5.3% of the regional population. They come from 158 countries, mainly from Romania (27.4%), Morocco (15.5%) and Ukraine (6.5%).
More than a quarter of the population (28.5%) lives in municipalities with a population between 1,001 and 5,000 inhabitants and a similar share (28.2%) in the six municipalities with over 50,000 inhabitants (Reggio Calabria, Catanzaro, CoriglianoRossano, Lamezia Terme, Cosenza and Crotone).
The municipalities of the internal mountains suffer the greatest population decline and have an older age structure.
Population distribution and demographic dynamics
The results of the 2022 Permanent Population and Housing Census allow us to determine the resident population as of 31 December 2022. In Calabria there are 1,846,610 units, 3.1% of the Italian population. Compared to 2021, the census data show a decrease of 8,844 units in the region, higher in percentage (-0.5%) than the national average (-0.1%). In particular, the province of Reggio Calabria loses 3,428 residents, followed by the provinces of Cosenza (-2,111) and Catanzaro (-1,652). In relative terms, the greatest decreases were recorded in the provinces of Reggio Calabria (-0.7%) and Vibo Valentia (-0.6%) (Table 1). Over 60% of the population resides in the two provinces of Cosenza (36.4%) and Reggio Calabria (28.1%), the only ones to exceed half a million inhabitants. Followed by the province of Catanzaro, which with approximately 350 thousand inhabitants accounts for 18.5% of the region’s residents. The other two provinces, Crotone and Vibo Valentia, host 17% of the residents. The significant decrease in the resident population in Calabria in 2022 is the result of the sum of two negative balances, the natural one (-9,488 units) and the internal migratory one (–9,765), not compensated by the positive values of the migratory balance with foreign countries (+9,216 ) and statistical adjustment (+1.193). All the provinces follow the regional trend, in particular, Cosenza is the province with the lowest natural balance (-3,737) and the highest foreign migration balance (4,180), while the province of Reggio Calabria has the lowest internal migration balance (-3,417).
Focus_CENSION-2022_Calabria
The natural balance in the region confirms the ongoing unfavorable dynamic, characterized by an excess of deaths (22,939) over births (13,451). In Calabria, however, there is a slight increase in births, although they have decreased by almost a third compared to the over 19 thousand born at the beginning of the millennium. The birth rate rises, going from 7.1 per thousand in 2021 to 7.3 in 2022, remaining higher than the national average (6.7 per thousand inhabitants). At the provincial level, the greatest increase is found in Crotone (from 7.8 to 8.3 per thousand in 2022), followed by the province of Reggio Calabria (from 7.3 to 7.6 per thousand); only Catanzaro is bucking the trend, with a birth rate that drops from 7.1 to 7.0 per thousand. Compared to the previous year, the number of deaths increased by 307 units, in line with the progressive aging of the population. The 1.4% increase is however lower than the national figure (+2.0%). The highest number of deaths was recorded during the coldest months, from December to March. In these four months, 8,646 deaths were recorded, 38% of the total, mainly due to adverse climatic conditions which penalized elderly and/or fragile individuals from the point of view of health conditions1. Despite the presence of an average younger population, mortality in Calabria is higher than the national average (12.1 deaths per thousand inhabitants) and stands at 12.4 per thousand in 2022 (from 12.2 the previous year): the provincial values vary from 11.9 per thousand in Crotone to 12.6 per thousand in Reggio Calabria; in Catanzaro the most significant increase was recorded (from 11.6 to 12.1 per thousand).
The loss of population to the rest of the country does not stop. In fact, the internal migration balance (with the other Italian municipalities) recorded a negative balance of almost 10 thousand people, over a third of which related to the province of Reggio Calabria. The internal migration rate goes from -4.3 in 2021 to -5.3 per thousand in 2022; at provincial level, the highest negative variation is observed in the province of Reggio Calabria (from -5.2 to -6.6 per thousand) and Catanzaro (from -3.3 to -4.6 per thousand); on the other hand, in Crotone the value of the internal migration rate, although remaining negative, improves (from -6.6 to -6.1 per thousand). Positive signs can also be seen, also in 2022, for international migratory movements. The difference between entries and exits abroad gives a positive net migration balance in all the provinces, equal to just over 9 thousand units at a regional level. Cosenza, with a positive balance of 4 thousand units, confirms its vocation as the most attractive area in the region. The migration rate with foreign countries (5 per thousand) is higher than the national average (4.4): growing in all provinces compared to 2021, it oscillates between 3.6 per thousand in Catanzaro and 6.2 per thousand of Cosenza.
