Italy will no longer be able to sustain its welfare system unless it halts its demographic decline, Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni warned today as she closed the Festival of the Regions in Turin.

Last week, the Italian statistics agency ISTAT predicted that more than a third of Italy’s population will be over 65 by 2050compared to a quarter last year.

The birth rate has been falling steadily since 2009 and last year hit a record low of under 400,000. ISTAT predicts that the negative trend will continue in the coming years.

“The welfare system cannot stand if we have an aging population … and if we have fewer and fewer people working to support it,” the Italian prime minister said.

As part of next year’s budget, the Italian government is working to increase support for families who want to have children, Giorgia Meloni said. “It is simple. It is a welfare system that we cannot sustain, no matter what we do, unless we invest in raising the birth rate».

Giorgia Meloni has stated that immigration cannot be the solution to the demographic crisis affecting both Italy and the rest of Europe.