Italy's birth rate has dropped to its lowest in more than 150 years amid a sluggish economy.

Fewer babies were born in Italy in 2014 than in any other year since the modern Italian state was formed in 1861, new figures have revealed.

2013 European birth rate: The number of live births last year was 509,000 - 5,000 fewer than in 2013 - rounding off half a century of decline

National statistics office ISTAT said the number of live births last year was 509,000 - 5,000 fewer than in 2013 - rounding off half a century of decline.

The number of births per 1,000 people is now at 8.4, down from 38.3 150 years ago, according to The Daily Telegraph.

Babies born to both natives and foreigners living in Italy dropped as immigration, which used to support the overall birth rate, tumbled to its lowest level for five years.

The figures have been released after the Pope branded couples who choose not have children 'selfish' and are part of a 'greedy generation', earlier this week.

The pontiff said it was a 'depressed society' that considered offspring to be a weight or a risk.

Pope Francis made the remarks in front of a large crowd during his weekly general audience in St Peter's Square, Rome.

Addressing the crowd, he said life 'rejuvenates' when children arrive and they 'enrich it'.

EUROPEAN BIRTH RATES IN 2013 COUNTRY BIRTH RATE Azerbaijan 18.3 Turkey 16.8

Ireland 15.0 Armenia 13.8 France 12.3 Albania 12.3 UK 12.2 Montenegro 12 Sweden 11.8 Norway 11.6 Luxembourg 11.3 Belgium 11.2 Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia 11.2 Ukraine 11.1 Cyprus 10.8 Finland 10.7 Moldova 10.6 Estonia 10.3 Czech Republic 10.2 Latvia 10.2 Based on the number of births during the year to the average population in that year. The value is expressed per 1,000 inhabitants. *Eurostat RANKED FROM HIGHEST TO LOWEST COUNTRY BIRTH RATE Netherlands 10.2 Latvia 10.2 Netherlands 10.2 Slovenia 10.2 Switzerland 10.2 Lithuania 10.1 Slovakia 10.1 Denmark 10.0 Poland 9.6 Malta 9.5 Croatia 9.4 Austria 9.4 Bulgaria 9.2 Hungary 9.2 Liechtenstein 9.2 Serbia 9.2 Spain 9.1 Romania 8.8 Estonia 8.5 Greece 8.5 Italy 8.5 Portugal 7.0

'A society with a greedy generation, that doesn't want to surround itself with children, that considers them above all worrisome, a weight, a risk, is a depressed society,' he said, the Guardian reported.

'The choice to not have children is selfish. Life rejuvenates and acquires energy when it multiplies: It is enriched, not impoverished.'

The Pope previously apologised for offending large Catholic families when he said there was no need to breed 'like rabbits'.

He caused dismay among larger families last month when he cautioned 'responsible parenthood' advising that three children was 'about right'.

Speaking during a press conference on a flight back from the Philippines, he said: 'Some think that in order to be good Catholics we have to be like rabbits. No. Responsible parenthood.'

Vatican Archbishop Giovanni Becciu apologised on Pope Francis' behalf by saying 'the Pope is truly sorry' that his remarks about large families 'caused such disorientation'.

Archbishop Becciu told the Italian bishop's newspaper Avvenire that the pope 'absolutely did not want to disregard the beauty and the value of large families.'



ITALY'S DECLINING BIRTH RATES OVER 10 YEARS FROM 2002 TO 2013 YEAR 2013 2012 2011 2010 2009 2008 2007 2006 2005 2004 BIRTH RATE 8.5 9.0 9.2 9.5 9.6 9.8 9.7 9.6 9.6 9.8 Based on the number of births during the year to the average population in that year. The value is expressed per 1,000 inhabitants. *Eurostat

According to European statistics website Eurostat's most recent figures, Azerbaijan had the highest birth rate in the EU at a whopping 18.3 per 1,000 inhabitants.

Turkey comes in next at 16.8 per 1,000 and Ireland follows closely behind at 15. The UK is close to the top of the list with 12.2 per 1,000.

While at the bottom with just 7 per 1,000 people is Portugal after Estonia, Greece, and Italy at 8.5.

The mortality rate also declined in Italy last year, stretching life expectancy for Italian men to 80.2 years, and to 84.9 years for women.

Developed countries the world over are counting the cost of an ageing population, such as rising pension payouts and healthcare costs, but Italy, now in its third recession in six years, is particularly vulnerable.

The government of Prime Minister Matteo Renzi is scrambling to give the economy a boost by reforming the sclerotic labour market and persuading the country's youth not to migrate and work abroad.

The demographic picture varies wildly between Italy's regions, with the autonomous northern area of Trentino-Alto Adige enjoying a total fertility rate of 1.65.

The population is shrinking in most of the poorer south, where per-capita gross domestic product is about half that in the centre and north.