Sixty-six births and 149 deaths in just six months. The CDLS is once again sounding the alarm over San Marino’s demographic crisis and, while welcoming new measures to support families, warns that incentives for parenthood alone cannot solve the problem.
According to data from the National Statistics Office (Ufficio Nazionale di Statistica), 16 fewer children were born in the first half of 2026 compared with the same period in 2025. The natural balance has thus fallen to -83, compared with -60 a year earlier. This is no longer an occasional fluctuation: since 2017, deaths in San Marino have consistently outnumbered births.
Population ageing is also weighing on the trend. The average age rose from 42.90 years in 2016 to 46.42 in 2025 — an increase of more than three and a half years in a decade.
The CDLS therefore views the new family legislation favourably and is calling for it to be approved by the Grand and General Council (Consiglio Grande e Generale) as early as its September session. Among the proposed measures are 20 days of paternity leave paid at 100%, greater support during parental leave, new protections for unemployed women, benefits for single-parent families, and a €1,000 bonus for every newborn or adopted child. The plan also includes changes to family allowances and stronger protections for caregivers.
For the union, however, more needs to be done. The real issue, it argues, is also understanding how many young people choose to stay in San Marino and how many instead leave to build their future elsewhere.
«It’s not enough to ask how to help those who decide to have children» is essentially the CDLS’s argument: conditions must be created so that new generations can build careers, independence and a life project in San Marino.
On this front, the union has announced a series of in-depth studies to be presented in the coming weeks, focusing in particular on the country’s ability to retain its younger population.
