In a time when there is much discussion about birth rates and falling births, Il Sole 24 Ore has published some ISTAT data on the provinces with fertility rates higher than the national average, which is currently 1.25 children per woman and expected to fall further. Based on data dating back to 2021, there are 37: 14 of them, among other things, have shown an increase compared to before the pandemic. According to the data, Bolzano had the highest fertility rate in Italy in 2021, with an average of 1.72 children per woman; Bolzano was also the only province with a growth rate compared to 2010, when its average was 1.62 children per woman. Ragusa, in Sicily, comes in second place after Bolzano, with 1.45 children per woman, the same as the fertility rate in 2010 and higher than the rate in 2019 (1.37). Trento comes in third place, with 1.42 children per woman. Among the other cities with fertility rates above the national average there are several in Emilia-Romagna (Modena, Reggio Emilia, Parma, Ravenna and Forlì), Lombardy (Sondrio, Mantua, Lodi, Monza-Brianza, Cremona, Bergamo, Varese and Brescia) Veneto (Vicenza, Treviso, Verona, Venice and Padua), Sicily (Palermo, Catania, Syracuse, Trapani and Agrigento), as well as Cuneo and Novara in Piedmont, Pordenone and Gorizia in Friuli Venezia Giulia, Naples and Caserta in Campania, and then Arezzo, Crotone, Barletta, Pescara and Latina. The ISTAT data are significant because they show a countertrend to the overall decline in birth rates over the last decade.
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