Almost 8,000 fewer inhabitants than in 2022. The resident population in Sardinia is decreasing: based on the Istat census, as of December 31, 2023, residents on the island are 1,570,453, 2.7% of the Italian population. That is, a decrease of 7,693, 0.5% less than in 2022. More than half of the population lives in the provinces of Cagliari and Sassari (56.8%). In Sardinia, as in the rest of the country, a new record low birth rate has been reached. There are 7,242 births (-461 compared to 2022). In 2023, mortality has decreased (-1,787 deaths compared to the previous year). The mortality rate has decreased from 13 to 11.9 per thousand. The largest decrease is recorded in the province of Nuoro, followed by Oristano and Sassari.

Women are 50.9% of the resident population, exceeding men by almost 28,000 units, mainly due to greater female longevity . The average age increases compared to 2022 from 48.4 to 48.8 years. Sassari and Cagliari are the youngest provinces (48.1 and 48.4 years respectively), Oristano and South Sardinia are the oldest (50.2 and 49.9 years). The foreigners registered are 52,041 (+1,830 compared to 2022), 3.3% of the regional population. They come from 156 countries, mainly from Romania (21.4%), Senegal (8.1%) and Morocco (7.4%). Only 17.1% of the island's population lives in the two municipalities with over 100,000 inhabitants (Cagliari and Sassari) and just over a quarter in those with a population between 1,001 and 5,000 inhabitants (26.6%).

Over half of the population lives in the two provinces of Sassari (30.2%) and Cagliari (26.7%), the only ones to exceed 400,000 units . The province of South Sardinia follows, which with almost 332,000 residents gathers 21.1% of the region's residents. Nuoro and Oristano together reach just 22% of Sardinian residents. In absolute terms, the most significant loss is that of the province of South Sardinia (-2,381 residents), followed by Nuoro (-1,430) and Cagliari (-1,402); in relative terms, the greatest decreases are recorded in the provinces of Oristano (-0.8%), Nuoro and South Sardinia (-0.7% each).

The significant decrease in the resident population in Sardinia in 2023 is the result of the sum of two negative balances, the natural one (-11,524 units) and the internal migratory one (-672) , not compensated by the positive values of the migratory balance with foreign countries (+3,541) and the statistical adjustment (+962). All the provinces contribute, albeit to different degrees, to determine this regional trend: in particular, Southern Sardinia is the province with the lowest natural balance (-3,061), while Sassari is the province with the highest foreign migratory balance (+1,399).

(Online Union)

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