Fewer and fewer, older and older. The island that does not have children (it is the region with the lowest birth rate) and that pushes young people to emigrate to study or chase the dream of a job finds itself without young people. The age group between 18 and 34 is narrowing and reaching historic lows: in the last twenty years it has shrunk by 39.8% (in absolute numbers: 166 thousand less), as if an entire city the size of Cagliari had disappeared into thin air.

The scenery

Between the 1980s and the early 2000s, the 18-34 age group always represented 25% of the inhabitants, a quarter of the island's population. Now, however, it reaches just 15.8%, not even a sixth of residents. «The Regions characterized by high unemployment and a weak production system present a marked demographic impoverishment of 18-34 year olds», says Istat in the latest report on “Young people and the South”, highlighting that Sardinia, in this respect, is in bottom of the ranking.

Michele Ruffi

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