Many towns in Italy are selling houses for €1 because they want to increase their population.

Molise, an area facing a severe population decline, is offering newcomers €700 (approximately VND 18 million) per month for three years to live in one of its villages. However, there are a few conditions attached: the village must have fewer than 2,000 residents, and the mover must commit to opening a business there.

“We want people to invest here. They can open any kind of business: a bakery, a stationery shop, a restaurant, anything. It’s a way to add life to our towns and increase the population,” said Donato Toma, head of Molise.

Mr. Toma also announced that each town with fewer than 2,000 residents would receive €10,000 (approximately VND 255 million) to build infrastructure and promote cultural activities.

"This isn't just about population growth. People also need good infrastructure and a reason to stay, otherwise we'll soon be back to square one in a few years," he said.

According to the Italian National Institute of Statistics (Istat), Molise, with a population of 305,000, is one of the regions that has lost more residents in recent years – over 9,000 people have left since 2014.

In 2018, more than 2,800 residents died or moved to other areas – an increase of nearly 1,000 compared to the previous year. Not a single birth was registered in the area's nine towns.

Italy's population decline

According to Istat, for the first time in 90 years, the number of Italian citizens living in Italy has fallen to around 55 million.

Between 2014 and 2018, the number of Italian citizens residing in the country decreased by 677,000. According to experts, the two main factors behind this decline are: 1) a birth rate at its lowest level ever since Italian reunification, and 2) an increase in the migration of young people to other European countries in search of work opportunities. Nearly 157,000 Italians left the country in 2018, according to Istat.

Italy is the only major economy in Europe whose population is projected to decline further over the next five years, according to the United Nations.

In an effort to revitalize these towns, some mayors, such as the mayor of Sutera, in the province of Caltanissetta in Sicily, have opened their vacant homes to refugees from Libya.

Other places, such as Sambuca, are adopting a strategy that has become fashionable in the South: selling (or essentially giving away) vacant houses to anyone willing to move in. The “symbolic” price of a house is just €1 (approximately 25,000 VND).

Kyle