By 2050, registered couples with children in Italy could fall to 5.7 million (-24%) from 7.8 million today, accounting for little more than two in ten households (21.4%). Only one in five, compared to about 29% today. This is one of the most disturbing findings in the Demographic Forecasts for 2050. Growing marital instability may also result in a modest increase of single parents, who will account for 10.9% to 12.1% of all families (2.9 to 3.2 million). The majority of them will remain single mothers, as they are today, but the proportion of single fathers in the total is predicted to increase from 21 to 25 percent. The annual update to the demographic prediction shows the definite extinction of large families in the South: fertility is dropping everywhere, including Campania and Sicily.