FAMAGUSTA GAZETTE – Italy rolled out a new “baby bonus” program on Monday in an effort to reverse its declining birthrate, offering families a tax-free allowance of 1,000 euros (1,135 U.S. dollars) for each child born or adopted in 2025.
The Italian National Institute for Social Security unveiled the formal process for accessing the funds, which will be available to Italian citizens, European Union (EU) nationals, and non-EU residents with legal long-term status.
The government has allocated 330 million euros for the initiative in 2025, with plans to expand funding to 360 million euros in 2026.
Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has made increasing the birthrate a key priority. Italy’s National Statistics Institute reported in March that the fertility rate fell to a record low of 1.18 children per woman in 2024, down from 1.19 in 1995. Both figures are well below the replacement rate of 2.1 needed to sustain population levels.