Brian of Pizzaspotz
Written by Brian of PizzaSpotz
Low Birth Rate in Italy
No, Rome isn’t burning but Italy is shrinking.
Creative Commons 3.0 PhotoThe birth rate in Italy is 9.06 births per 1000 people. Of 221 ranked countries, Italy is #207. The only countries that come in lower in birth rank rate than Italy are Macau, San Marino, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Taiwan, Slovenia, Austria, the Czech Republic, South Korea, Japan, Germany, Saint Pierre and Miquelon, Singapore, Hong Kong and Monaco. As you can see, many of these are city states and not really countries at all.
Less Italian Pizza Makers
So what does this mean for Italy, the country famous for pizza? First of all, there will be less ethnic Italians in the future. If you look far enough in the future, with a death rate that outnumbers the birth rate, there’ll be no Italians at all, only immigrants. In the short term, it means there will be less Italian pizza makers. Seriously, the next time you travel to Rome or Milan, see how easy it is to find a pizzeria run by an Italian family. It will take you a while.
The trend in pizzerias in Italy are that they are now run by Egyptians, Arabs or Filipinos. In fact, a news report from the The Telegraph from the UK, states that over 80% of Egyptians who emigrate to Italy become pizza makers. It seems, the Telegraph reports, that Italians are not very eager to work the long hard days that is the life of a “pizzaiolo.” Despite there being high unemployment, over 30% youth unemployment, in Italy, young people are opting to stay on government assistance until a high paying office job comes knocking on their door. Meanwhile, immigrants are filling the roles normally undertaken by Italians at many of the 25,000 pizzerias in Italy.
The Future?
Who knows what the future holds for Italy and the fate of their pizza makers. With a current need for 6000 pizzaiolli to fill vacant jobs in the Italian pizza industry, this could be a great time if you’re currently unhappy in your own job as a pizza maker. If you work in an American pizzeria, you can always tell your boss, “Give me a raise or give me more respect or I’m moving to Italy where they need someone like me.” You could always say that and become part of a new wave of immigrants going to Italy to be a pizziolo. But be careful, you may just get fired with that attitude and then not have the money for a ticket to Rome and a new career.
I, for one, hope Italians will start having more babies and hope they’ll one day decide to go into the pizza business. I’m just a person who loves tradition and I always thought pizzerias in Italy would always be run by happy Italian families. I guess I thought wrong.
What are your thoughts?
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