Italy called on to arrest alarming birthrate drop

Country's average age second highest in world behind Japan

ROME - Italy's birthrate - already among the lowest in the world - continues to drop, sparking calls for the government to do more to reverse the trend.

The average Italian couple now has 1.34 children, according to latest statistics, far below the 1.95-children-per couple rate for foreign couples living in Italy. Both figures are below the 2.1-child-per-couple rate needed to maintain a population over the long term.