The average age of Catania residents is 41 compared to the Italian average of 42. In the five years between 2002 and 2007, the population of Catania declined by 3.35 percent, while Italy as a whole grew by 3.85 percent. The reason for this population decline in the "comune" di Catania is mainly due to a large segment of the population leaving the city centre to go to live in the uptown residential areas of the "comuni" of the Metropolitan area. As a result of this, while the population in the "comune" di Catania declines, the population of the hinterland "comuni" increases making the overall population of the Metropolitan area increase.