In Sicily in 2022 there was a “new record of birth rate“, with 36,810 new births, 425 fewer than in 2021. At the same time “the mortality rate has grown”, from 12.2 per thousand in 2021 to 12.3 per thousand in 2022, with 59,466 deaths in just one year. The result is that the island is experiencing depopulation, with over 19 thousand inhabitants lost, the result of the “ongoing unfavorable dynamic, characterized by a excess of deaths over births“. The total population dropped to 4 million and 814 thousand units: it was above 5 million just five years earlier, in 2017. These are the latest data Permanent population census carried out by Istat.
Catania drops below 300 thousand inhabitants
The three metropolitan cities in particular are falling behind. To lose more absolute terms is Palermo (minus 2,940 inhabitants), followed by Messina (minus 1,869) e Catania (minus 1,374). For the Etna capital, it means falling below the threshold of 300 thousand inhabitants. In percentage terms modest losses can have a major impact, especially in small towns. As Send us, in the province of Messina, with 27 fewer inhabitants loses more than 5% of the population. Vice versa Basic, again in the province of Messina, with 65 more inhabitants it gains over 12%.
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Istat, Sicily is losing inhabitants
Overall, the technicians writeNational Institute of Statistics, Sicily exceeds the 4.8 million inhabitants by a few thousand units (still in 2017 it exceeded five million). The balance from births and deaths it is not the only parameter that is taken into consideration to calculate the population of a territory. Net migration also affects depopulation, i.e difference between registered and canceled from the registry “For transfer of residence internally, with foreign countries or for other reasons“. On this front, Istat reports a constant loss of Sicilian citizens to the advantage of other areas of Italy. “The internal migration balance (with the other Italian municipalities) recorded a negative balance of almost 17 thousand people, about a quarter of which related to the province of Palermo“. In statistical terms “the internal migration rate goes from -2.5 in 2021 to -3.5 per thousand in 2022; there flexion observed is more marked in the province of Enna (from -4.2 to -6.0 per thousand), more contained a Syracuse (from -1.8 to -2.1 per thousand)”. In short, the Sicilians they “escape” from the Island.
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The impact of migratory movements
For the technicians there are also “positive signs”. THE international migratory movements, that is, arrivals in Sicily from abroad are growing. Although not enough to cover thehemorrhage of the local population. “The difference between income and expenditure with foreign countries returns a positive net migration balance in all provinces, equal to just over 14 thousand units at a regional level”. The report provides details of the most “interesting” provinces for the foreign population. “Ragusa and Messina, with a positive balance of almost three thousand units each, confirm their vocation as most attractive areas in the region“. As for the migration rate with foreign countries, that is, Sicilians who leave the island not for another Italian region but for another country, is 2.9 per thousand. The report highlights that the rate “remains below the national average (4.4)”, but at the same time it is “growing in all provinces compared to 2021”. The differences between different territories are significant. The rate in fact “fluctuates between 1.2 per thousand in Palermo and 9.3 per thousand in Ragusa“.
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More women, increasing average age
The Permanent population census Istat provides other demographic details. Even in 2022, for example, the prevalence of the “fairer sex”. “The women
surpass them men of over 123 thousand units and represent 51.3% of the resident population”. What matters, the technicians observe, is the greater resistance to old age. “The weight of the female component is particularly evident in older ages following the greater female longevity“. Speaking of age, the Sicilian average is 45.2 years, “slightly growing in 2021 (44.9), compared to the national average of 46.4 years”. At the same time they increase “theold age index, which goes from 167.6 in 2021 to 172.0 in 2022″, and in a lighter way “theelderly dependency index, which stands at 35.8 against 35.2 in 2021″. In short, in addition to shrinking, the population is aging. This is also confirmed by theindex of structure of the active population, that is, “the percentage ratio of the population in age 40-64 years and that in age 15-39 years“. In Sicily it goes from 129.3 in 2021 to 130.1 in 2022.
