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BirthClim_IT: A Harmonized Municipality-Level Dataset on Fertility, Environment, and Territorial Contexts in Italy, 2003–2022

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  • Baldan, Chiara
  • Giraldo, Anna

Abstract

BACKGROUND Environmental conditions and climate change, alongside spatial heterogeneity in fertility, have received increasing attention in fertility research. However, research combining these perspectives remains limited, partly due to the lack of data linking fine spatial resolution with detailed demographic, environmental, and socioeconomic information. This is particularly relevant in Italy, where substantial spatial variation in fertility coexists with heterogeneous environmental conditions. OBJECTIVE This paper introduces BirthClim_IT, a harmonized longitudinal dataset designed to support research on fertility and its environmental and territorial contexts across Italian municipalities. The dataset description is accompanied by two empirical applications illustrating its use. METHODS The BirthClim_IT dataset combines monthly demographic information with environmental, climatic, geographic, and socioeconomic indicators for 7,896 Italian municipalities from January 2003 to December 2022. The dataset contains 126 variables, harmonized to the administrative boundaries in force on January 1, 2024. To address sparsity in monthly birth counts, we also provide a spatially aggregated version comprising 4,936 spatial units and a customizable aggregation procedure. RESULTS The dataset provides both municipality-level and aggregated data, allowing fertility patterns to be examined jointly across space and time. The two descriptive applications illustrate its use in identifying distinct environmental profiles across Italian municipalities and in examining seasonal variation in fertility and environmental conditions. CONTRIBUTION Given the growing interest in environmental dimensions of fertility and increasing attention to the spatial dimension of demographic processes, BirthClim_IT provides a new and flexible resource combining fine spatial and temporal resolution with information spanning multiple dimensions of the demographic, environmental, and socioeconomic context.

Suggested Citation

  • Baldan, Chiara & Giraldo, Anna, 2026. "BirthClim_IT: A Harmonized Municipality-Level Dataset on Fertility, Environment, and Territorial Contexts in Italy, 2003–2022," SocArXiv 4u2zn_v1, Center for Open Science.
    • Handle: RePEc:osf:socarx:4u2zn_v1
    DOI: 10.31235/osf.io/4u2zn_v1
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