(Bloomberg) -- Italy’s population fell for a fifth year in 2019 and deaths exceeded births by almost 212,000, according to Istat data published Tuesday. That means the so-called natural balance had its worst reading since 1918. The migratory balance also declined, falling 18% from a year earlier, with immigrants exceeding emigrants by only 144,000.

To contact the reporter on this story: Giovanni Salzano in Rome at gsalzano@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Alessandro Speciale at aspeciale@bloomberg.net, Zoe Schneeweiss, Brendan Murray

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