It is the region with the lowest total fertility rate (1.087 births per woman) and the second-lowest birth rate of Italy (which is already one of the lowest in the world). Combined with the aging of population going rather fast (in 2009, people older than 65 were 18,7%), rural depopulation is quite a big issue: between 1991 and 2001, 71,4% of Sardinian villages have lost population (32 more than 20% and 115 between 10% and 20%), with over 30 of them being at risk to become ghost towns. It is predicted that, at this rate, Sardinia is going to be the European island with the lowest population density immediately after Iceland in 2080.