Demographics
| Historical population | ||
|---|---|---|
| Year | Pop. | ±% |
| 1861 | 858,000 | — |
| 1871 | 906,000 | +5.6% |
| 1881 | 946,000 | +4.4% |
| 1901 | 1,070,000 | +13.1% |
| 1911 | 1,116,000 | +4.3% |
| 1921 | 1,131,000 | +1.3% |
| 1931 | 1,168,000 | +3.3% |
| 1936 | 1,202,000 | +2.9% |
| 1951 | 1,277,000 | +6.2% |
| 1961 | 1,206,000 | −5.6% |
| 1971 | 1,167,000 | −3.2% |
| 1981 | 1,218,000 | +4.4% |
| 1991 | 1,249,000 | +2.5% |
| 2001 | 1,262,000 | +1.0% |
| 2011 | 1,343,000 | +6.4% |
| Source: ISTAT 2001 | ||
The population density, although it has increased over the last decades, is well below the national average. In 2008, there were in fact 123.4 inhabitants per km2 in Abruzzo, compared to a national average of 198.8. At the province level, the situation is quite varied: Pescara is the most densely populated province (260.1 inhabitants per km2 in 2008), whereas, at the other extreme, L'Aquila is the least densely populated one (61.3 inhabitants per km2 in 2008), although it has the largest area. After decades of emigration from the region, the main feature of the 1980s is the immigration from third world countries. The population increase is due to the positive net migration, as since 1991 more deaths than births were registered in Abruzzo (except for 1999, when their number was equal). In 2008, the Italian national institute of statistics ISTAT estimated that 59,749 foreign-born immigrants live in Abruzzo, equal to 4.5% of the total regional population.
The most serious demographic imbalance is between the mountainous areas of the interior and the coastal strip. The largest province, L'Aquila, is situated entirely in the interior and has the lowest population density. The movement of the population of Abruzzo from the mountains to the sea has led to the almost complete urbanisation of the entire coastal strip. The effects on the interior have been impoverishment and a demographic ageing, reflected by an activity rate in the province of L'Aquila which is the lowest of the provinces in Abruzzo – accompanied by geological degradation as a result of the absence of conservation measures. In the coastal strip, on the other hand, there is such a jumble of accommodation and activities that the environment has been changed with negative effects. The policy of providing incentives for development has resulted in the setting-up of industrial zones, some of which (Vasto, Avezzano, Carsoli, Gissi, Val Vibrata, Val Sangro) have made genuine progress, while others (Val Pescara, L'Aquila) have run into trouble after initial success. The zones of Sulmona and Guardiagrele have turned out to be more or less failures. Outside these zones, the main activities are agriculture and tourism.
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