<p> Italy's population is declining and becoming steadily older, according to new figures Tuesday from the national statistics agency.</p>.<p>At the end of 2019, Italy had 59,641,488 residents -- some 175,000 fewer than the previous year, or a reduction of 0.3 percent, Istat said.</p>.<p>This represents just 207,000 more than in 2011, the year of the last census -- and is the result only of immigration, it said.</p>.<p>"The very slight increase in the population since 2011 can be exclusively attributed to the foreign component," the report said.</p>.<p>Between 2011 and 2019, the number of Italian nationals fell by almost 800,000, or 1.5 per cent, despite more than one million foreigners taking Italian citizenship.</p>.<p>Meanwhile, the number of foreign nationals living in the country rose by one million -- up 25 percent to just over five million in 2019.</p>.<p>The figures also confirm the trend in Italy towards an ageing population -- the average age has gone up by two years, to 45, since 2011.</p>.<p>The southern regions, including the islands of Sicily and Sardinia, are the youngest but have also seen their populations shrink the most.</p>.<p>Again migrants buck the national trend -- the average age of foreign nationals resident in Italy last year was 34.7 years, compared with 46.2 for Italian nationals.</p>
<p> Italy's population is declining and becoming steadily older, according to new figures Tuesday from the national statistics agency.</p>.<p>At the end of 2019, Italy had 59,641,488 residents -- some 175,000 fewer than the previous year, or a reduction of 0.3 percent, Istat said.</p>.<p>This represents just 207,000 more than in 2011, the year of the last census -- and is the result only of immigration, it said.</p>.<p>"The very slight increase in the population since 2011 can be exclusively attributed to the foreign component," the report said.</p>.<p>Between 2011 and 2019, the number of Italian nationals fell by almost 800,000, or 1.5 per cent, despite more than one million foreigners taking Italian citizenship.</p>.<p>Meanwhile, the number of foreign nationals living in the country rose by one million -- up 25 percent to just over five million in 2019.</p>.<p>The figures also confirm the trend in Italy towards an ageing population -- the average age has gone up by two years, to 45, since 2011.</p>.<p>The southern regions, including the islands of Sicily and Sardinia, are the youngest but have also seen their populations shrink the most.</p>.<p>Again migrants buck the national trend -- the average age of foreign nationals resident in Italy last year was 34.7 years, compared with 46.2 for Italian nationals.</p>