In European countries, many territories have experienced and are still experiencing a depopulation, caused by a deficit of births relative to deaths, a negative net migration, or both. At the same time, many of these territories are also facing the population aging process, caused by a decrease in births and prolonged rise in longevity. Depopulation and the population aging processes are strongly connected. The aim of this work is to study the relationship between depopulation and the aging population and the sustainability of the two phenomena. We studied these phenomena in the Italian territories in the period of 1951–2011. The study was conducted by using the census data of the Italian municipalities. The correlation coefficient between depopulation and aging population indicators was calculated in order to investigate the relationship between the two phenomena. A regression model was applied in order to understand if population aging is linked to population variation. Finally, the municipalities, which experienced continuing depopulation, are examined in depth. Our results show that a strong depopulation trend contributed to subsequent levels of population aging, but recent population aging has also contributed to ongoing depopulation, creating a vicious circle. Long-term depopulation and continuing population aging does not seem to be sustainable in the near future.

Internal migration has a strong impact on population redistribution, and plays a significant role in social cohesion. In Italy, the foreign population is a mosaic made up of minorities with different demographic characteristics. The aim of this study is to unveil, by means of a gravity model and using data from the Italian population register from 2014 to 2017, significant differences between national and foreign citizens’ inter‐provincial migration patterns. Some migrants, such as the Ukrainian citizens, follow a process of spatial assimilation while others, as in the case of Chinese citizens, respond to the call of migration networks. The role played by the distance of the inter‐provincial migration in making these moves is also different, and varies from citizenship to citizenship: Indians and Albanians are more willing to travel longer distances; conversely, Romanians and Ukrainians frequently opt for shorter moves.

Since the Second World War, Italy has experienced major demographic changes, including increasing survival, decreasing fertility and higher rates of immigration. These changes have silently and slowly led to important shifts in the structure and the territorial distribution of the population. Thus, like in many other European countries, population ageing and depopulation have become the most relevant demographic phenomena in Italy. In this paper, we studied the relationship between depopulation and ageing in Italian territories in the 1971–2019 period using the census data of the Italian municipalities and applying spatial techniques. We found that high levels of depopulation later result in high levels of population ageing, and that recent population ageing processes are also connected to ongoing depopulation processes, thereby creating a vicious circle.

Internal migration in Italy increased in the 2000s due to foreigners residing in the country. Foreigners have changed the characteristics of Italy’s internal migration. Extended gravity models were run to highlight the differences between the migratory behaviours of Italians and foreigners. The model was implemented to detect the different effects of the Italian and foreign populations, and the distances between the provinces of origin and destinations of the inter-provincial migration of Italians and foreigners. Estimations obtained for the years 1995, 2000, 2005, 2010, and 2015 highlight the different evolutions of the phenomenon.

España e Italia son dos países con fuertes desequilibrios territoriales en el crecimiento demográfico y sus componentes. El objetivo de este artículo es identificar los factores demográficos que han intervenido a escala local en el crecimiento reciente de la población de ambos países y analizar los patrones geográficos de estos componentes utilizando técnicas de econometría espacial. Los datos empleados proceden del Padrón Continuo (España) y del Anagrafe della popolazione residente (Italia) de los años 2011 y 2021, las estadísticas vitales y los movimientos migratorios (internos e internacionales) del periodo 2011-2020. Se han calculado tasas locales de crecimiento real, natural y migración neta con las que se ha elaborado una tipología de crecimiento demográfico que recoge todos los patrones de crecimiento posibles en función de las combinaciones de los componentes. Los resultados muestran que: (i) ambos países comparten tendencias demográficas similares: el crecimiento natural es el factor más influyente en las pérdidas de población; mientras que el crecimiento positivo depende íntegramente de la migración neta; (ii) que la situación demográfica de España es más crítica y heterogénea que la italiana; (iii) y que las tasas de crecimiento real, natural y migración neta presentan una clara dependencia espacial en ambos países.