Rome, Dec 20 (IANS): Last year saw the lowest modern birthrate on record in Italy, with early signs that 2022 will likely follow suit.

Italy's National Statistics Institute (ISTAT) reported on Monday that the country had recorded 400,249 births last year, a decrease of 4,643 from a year earlier, reports Xinhua news agency.

Italy's birth rate has been declining for years: 2015 was the first year with fewer than 500,000 live births, and now the indicator is on pace to dip below 400,000.

According to ISTAT, provisional data for the first nine months of this year recorded around 6,000 fewer live births than over the same period in 2021.

In 2008, the earliest year for which ISTAT has provided data, Italy recorded 576,659 live births.

That number has dropped every year since then.

However, the average number of children per female resident rose very slightly in 2021 to 1.25, compared to 1.24 the previous year.

It was the first time in the last 15 years that this key indicator has risen, although it is still low by historical standards.

Over the period between 2008 and 2010, the same figure averaged 1.44 births per woman.