Istat, the national statistics agency of Italy, stated that Italy is aging faster than other nations within the European Union (EU) and that the population has dropped to under 59 million, China Daily reported. The country’s shrinking (萎缩的) and aging population raised concerns for the Italian government’s ability to handle the situation since the government has already been struggling with falling productivity and higher welfare costs. Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said, “We need a plan to rediscover the beauty of parenthood.” Across the EU, 10 member states saw their populations decrease in 2021, according to figures released by Eurostat in the summer. The dropping population in EU is partly due to the COVID-19 pandemic (疫情) since 2020 and population aging. If this is the case, the EU’s future population decline or growth will probably depend largely on contributions made by immigration (移民), according to Eurostat experts.