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Depopulation and the Aging Population: The Relationship in Italian Municipalities

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  • Cecilia Reynaud

    (Department of Political Sciences, Roma Tre University, 00146 Rome, Italy)

  • Sara Miccoli

    (Department of Political Sciences, Roma Tre University, 00146 Rome, Italy)

Abstract

In European countries, many territories have experienced and are still experiencing a depopulation, caused by a deficit of births relative to deaths, a negative net migration, or both. At the same time, many of these territories are also facing the population aging process, caused by a decrease in births and prolonged rise in longevity. Depopulation and the population aging processes are strongly connected. The aim of this work is to study the relationship between depopulation and the aging population and the sustainability of the two phenomena. We studied these phenomena in the Italian territories in the period of 1951–2011. The study was conducted by using the census data of the Italian municipalities. The correlation coefficient between depopulation and aging population indicators was calculated in order to investigate the relationship between the two phenomena. A regression model was applied in order to understand if population aging is linked to population variation. Finally, the municipalities, which experienced continuing depopulation, are examined in depth. Our results show that a strong depopulation trend contributed to subsequent levels of population aging, but recent population aging has also contributed to ongoing depopulation, creating a vicious circle. Long-term depopulation and continuing population aging does not seem to be sustainable in the near future.

Suggested Citation

  • Cecilia Reynaud & Sara Miccoli, 2018. "Depopulation and the Aging Population: The Relationship in Italian Municipalities," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(4), pages 1-12, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:10:y:2018:i:4:p:1004-:d:138530
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    3. Sara Miccoli & Alessia Naccarato & Cecilia Reynaud, 2021. "Territory and population: demographic trend of the metropolitan city of Rome," RIEDS - Rivista Italiana di Economia, Demografia e Statistica - The Italian Journal of Economic, Demographic and Statistical Studies, SIEDS Societa' Italiana di Economia Demografia e Statistica, vol. 75(3), pages 137-148, July-Sept.
    4. Niall Newsham & Francisco Rowe, 2025. "The Demographic Causes of European Sub-National Population Declines," European Journal of Population, Springer;European Association for Population Studies, vol. 41(1), pages 1-38, December.
    5. Vedran Živanović & Marko Joksimović & Rajko Golić & Vladimir Malinić & Filip Krstić & Marko Sedlak & Aleksandar Kovjanić, 2022. "Depopulated and Abandoned Areas in Serbia in the 21st Century—From a Local to a National Problem," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(17), pages 1-20, August.
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    7. Roberto Basile & Sara Basso & Sara Miccoli & Cecilia Reynaud, 2022. "Ageing population in Italy: a space-time analysis," RIEDS - Rivista Italiana di Economia, Demografia e Statistica - The Italian Journal of Economic, Demographic and Statistical Studies, SIEDS Societa' Italiana di Economia Demografia e Statistica, vol. 76(2), pages 4-12, April-Jun.
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    9. Gennaro Di Fraia & Valeria Quondamstefano & Mariangela Verrascina, 2023. "Measuring the ageing of Italian population with composite indicators using municipal data from the decennial population censuses," RIEDS - Rivista Italiana di Economia, Demografia e Statistica - The Italian Journal of Economic, Demographic and Statistical Studies, SIEDS Societa' Italiana di Economia Demografia e Statistica, vol. 77(3), pages 13-21, July-Sept.
    10. Nieves García-Casarejos & Luis Antonio Sáez-Pérez, 2020. "Internships for Higher Education Students to Promote the Local Sustainability of Rural Places," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(12), pages 1-25, June.
    11. Iñigo Calvo-Sotomayor & Jon Paul Laka & Ricardo Aguado, 2019. "Workforce Ageing and Labour Productivity in Europe," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(20), pages 1-16, October.
    12. Shihong Zeng & Xinwei Zhang & Xiaowei Wang & Guowang Zeng, 2019. "Population Aging, Household Savings and Asset Prices: A Study Based on Urban Commercial Housing Prices," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(11), pages 1-21, June.
    13. Márton, Lőrinc, 2022. "Modeling and migration-based control of depopulation," Theoretical Population Biology, Elsevier, vol. 148(C), pages 86-94.
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    15. Hsiao-Hsien Lin & Tzu-Yun Lin & Chun-Wei Hsu & Che-Hsiu Chen & Qi-Yuan Li & Po-Hsuan Wu, 2022. "Moderating Effects of Religious Tourism Activities on Environmental Risk, Leisure Satisfaction, Physical and Mental Health and Well-Being among the Elderly in the Context of COVID-19," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(21), pages 1-17, November.
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