FRIULI-VENEZIA GIULIA - Population
An upside-down age pyramid
At the 2001 Census the population, Friuli-Venezia Giulia amounted to 1 183 764 people, with a fall of 1.2% since the 1991 Census, due the dynamics of the birth and death rates.
The birth rate is lower in Friuli-Venezia Giulia than at national level (8 per thousand in 2001 compared to 9.2 per thousand). It was equal to 8 per thousand in 1980, then decreased in the following years, to reach 6.9 per thousand in 1994, and rose again to reach the same initial level in 2001. The infant mortality rate in 1999 was the lowest in Italy with 2 deaths per 1 000 births.
As to the death rate, it is higher than the national average (11.7 per thousand in 2001, compared to 9.5 per thousand). It has gradually fallen since 1980, when it was equal to 12.6 per thousand.
The combination of these forces has thus lead to a negative natural balance of the population. In 2002, for example, 9 572 births were registered in the region, whereas the registered deaths were 14 262.
The ageing of the population, due to the decline in the younger age groups, gives a peculiar shape to the age pyramid, the base being narrower than the apex, which comprises the older age groups. The share of the population of less than 25 years of age is low compared to the rest of Italy, equalling 20.5% in 2001 (the second lowest in Italy after Liguria and with the same value as Emilia-Romagna). Conversely, the share of population above 65 years of age is higher than the national figure, equalling 21.2% in 2001 (compared to a national figure of 18.2%).
The negative natural balance in the region is partly made up by the positive net migration. To some extent the migratory surplus has in fact offset the downward trend in the population since 1975. In 2001, the resident population with foreign nationality registered in the region accounted to 32 300 persons (2.7% of the total population).
Population density is lower than the national average; in 2001 it was in fact equal to 151 inhabitants per km2 (compared to 192 for Italy as a whole). However, density varies from a minimum of 106 inhabitants per km2 in the province of Udine to a maximum of 1 144 inhabitants per km2 in the province of Trieste.
As to the inhabitants with foreign nationality, the vast majority of them come from European countries (almost 70% of the total immigrants) whereas among the non-Europeans those from Africa prevail (16%).
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