Italy's population is aging faster than other countries in the European Union. According to a recent report by British Reuters, according to the latest data released by the Italian National Statistics Agency, as of January 1, 2022, the permanent population of Italy has dropped to 58.983 million.

The demographic structure has become a concern for Italy's current economic development. Issues such as population shrinkage and aging will cause the country's productivity to decline, innovation to be insufficient, and welfare expenditures to increase.

Demographer Branghiardo pointed out that since 2014, the population of Italy has continued to shrink, with a cumulative decrease of 1.36 million residents.

The Italian population has experienced a significant increase in life expectancy and a marked decline in the birth rate, resulting in a much faster-aging population than in the rest of the European Union.

According to this trend, by 2050, Italy's population will be reduced to 54.2 million, and by 2070, only 47.7 million people will remain.

In order to reverse this trend, the new Italian government's 2023 budget has already prepared to cut the consumption tax on baby care products and increase child welfare benefits to promote the growth of the birth rate.

In recent years, the Italian government has taken a series of measures to reform the retirement and pension system.

In addition to setting a "peak" for pensions, lowering the pension standard that can be accessed, and implementing graded increases according to the level of pensions, Italy has also launched a "quota 100" plan, which is the sum of the age of the applicant and the number of years of tax payment. Need to reach 100 to be able to receive pensions.

The "Quota 100" plan was launched in 2018. The plan allows workers to start receiving pensions from the age of 62. Only when the worker has paid taxes for at least 38 years, that is, the sum of the age of the applicant and the number of years of tax payment must reach 100, can receive it

Workers who have not paid tax years will have to delay retirement, otherwise, they can choose to retire early, but the retirement age is capped at 67 years old. The Quota 100 program is currently over budget and will expire at the end of this year.

Although the Italian statutory retirement age is 67, the actual retirement age is higher. In Italy, it is common to see elderly people who are over the age of 60 still working in service industries such as restaurants, and many people choose to "re-employ" after retirement. However, this has to a certain extent made it difficult for young people to find stable jobs and has a lower economic income than previous generations.

Professor Pizzuti of the University of Rome believes that with the increase in average life expectancy, there has been a saying that the retirement age of workers has been raised. However, the epidemic has slightly reduced the average life expectancy of the Italian population. "No one is going to accept lowering the level of benefits, there are difficulties raising the retirement age above 67 and there is no clear solution to this problem."

The economic downturn, longer life expectancy, high youth unemployment rate, and other issues will affect the balance between economic growth and social welfare in Italy for a long time to come. These developmental challenges will continue the challenges of population aging.