Fewer children are born on the island than elsewhere and women have children later and later. This is what the report of the CNA, the National Confederation of Handicraft and Small and Medium-sized Enterprises reveals from the study center on childcare services in Sardinia.
The average value of just 0.95 children per woman places Sardinia in the last place in terms of fertility, while with an average age at birth of 32.9 years it ranks second in terms of seniority of the mother, preceded only by Basilicata ( 33.1 years).
Data that can be explained both by the general tendency of women to delay entry into reproductive life, and by the insufficient presence of public services for children: just 11.2 places available for 100 potential users. The national average, on the other hand, is 12.5.
Conversely, the costs to be borne by users are very high: 1,139 euros each against the 595 euros of the regions of Southern Italy. This is also because early childhood services are covered by the public for only 40%. Furthermore, only 24.1% of Sardinian municipalities are covered by the service: a very low level, equal to half the national average, and also much lower than the average of the southern regions (52.6%) and the islands (32 , 9%), confirming a strong concentration of childcare facilities in the metropolitan area of Cagliari and in a few other main urban areas.
Pierpaolo Piras and Francesco Porcu, respectively president and regional secretary of Cna Sardinia, propose a precise strategy: "Encouraging the birth rate to reverse the ongoing socio-demographic decline process in the medium-long term represents a priority objective for Sardinia: a of public investment for the enhancement of childcare services, especially in minor municipalities, is now an obligatory path. The lack of educational services for children ends up negatively affecting the supply of female labor by reducing the participation rate of women in the labor market ”.
