EMILIA-ROMAGNA - Population
Ageing of the population and immigration
The population density, which was equal to 182 inhabitants per km2 in 2001, is just below the national average. The most densely populated province is Rimini, with 515 inhabitants per km2 (2000 data).
The regional birth rate halved between 1951 and 1990. Since then it has grown slightly, from 7.2 to 8.5 per thousand in 2001, but it remains however below the national average. The infant mortality rate in 1999 was slightly above the national average with 5.4 deaths per 1000 births.
The death rate, which has remained stable during the 1990s, is above the national average (11.2 per thousand in 2001, compared to the national figure of 9.5 per thousand).
The above figures reflect the age structure of the population in Emilia-Romagna, which is ?older? than the average.
The slight increase which occurred in the birth rate in 1988 and which prompted hopes that the trend might be turning upwards was simply a consequence of the baby boom of the 1960s, when the regional birth rate had peaked in 1964 at 15%. The population growth rate is now zero, and children under the age of 15, who made up 22.5% of the resident population in 1951, now account for only 12%. If current fertility and immigration rates are maintained, ISTAT forecasts indicate that by 2027 the percentage of those over 65 will rise to 24%.
What is more, the drop in the mortality rate with people living longer and the resumption of immigration ? registered foreigners now account for 3.2% of the region's population ? are other two factors which are altering the demographic picture.
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