Birth rates in many countries are falling to alarmingly low levels. Politicians in Japan and South Korea are pondering questions about the future economic viability of their countries. A recent conference in Italy has addressed the country's looming demographic crisis. Italy has one of the lowest birth rates in the world. The government is warning of considerable strains on pensions and the welfare system as Italy's population rapidly ages. The head of the Catholic Church, Pope Francis, has warned that having children is becoming more unaffordable for many couples. He lamented that starting a family in Italy is now a "titanic effort" that only the rich and wealthy can afford.

许多国家的出生率正在下降到令人震惊的低水平。日本和韩国的政界人士正在思考各自国家未来经济生存能力的问题。最近在意大利召开的一次会议讨论了该国迫在眉睫的人口危机。意大利是世界上出生率最低的国家之一。政府警告说，随着意大利人口迅速老龄化，养老金和福利体系将面临相当大的压力。天主教教皇方济各警告说，对于许多夫妇来说，生孩子变得越来越负担不起了。他哀叹说，现在在意大利组建家庭是一项“巨大的努力”，只有富豪们才能负担得起。

Pope Francis encouraged Italians to have more children, even amid rising prices. He cautioned young couples for making "selfish, egotistical" choices that are resulting in record low birth rates. He said this is threatening Italy's economic future. He called the situation a "demographic winter". Italy saw a record low number of births last year of 392,000, which combined with an elevated number of deaths – 713,000. The Pope urged couples to have babies instead of pets. He rebuked a woman who asked him to bless her "baby," which was actually a dog. The BBC wrote that Italy is often dubbed "the country of empty cribs". It quoted Elon Musk as tweeting that: "Italy is disappearing."

教皇方济各鼓励意大利人在物价飞涨的情况下多生孩子。他告诫年轻夫妇不要做出“自私、自我”的选择，这将导致出生率创新低。他说，这威胁到意大利的经济未来。他称这种情况为“人口寒冬”。意大利去年的出生人数为39.2万人，创历史新低，而死亡人数则上升至71.3万人。教皇敦促夫妻生孩子而不是养宠物。他斥责了一位要求他为她的 "婴儿"(实际上是一只狗)祝福的妇女。BBC曾称意大利为“空婴儿床之国”，并援引埃隆·马斯克(Elon Musk)的推文称:“意大利正在消失。”