ROME, March 26 (Xinhua) -- Italian birth rate rose at its highest level in years of 2006 but still remains well below the European Union average, national statistics bureau Istat said on Monday.

    The Istat said the average number of births per Italian female rose to a 16-year high of 1.35 in 2006.

    However, the figure was lower than the EU average of 1.52 and well below the replacement level of 2.2 for a stable population.

    Istat also said that births outstripped deaths in 2006, a rare phenomenon for Italy where it has only happened once since 1992.

    The bureau said there were 557,000 births -- 3,000 more than in2005 -- against 552,000 deaths.

    The Istat report fueled concerns over Italy's aging population by showing that the country's grey army has swelled to 20 percent of the population.

    Istat said Italy's overall population now stood at almost 59 million, 20 percent of whom were aged 65 or over.

    It stressed that this was an increase of 3 percent over 1996, when 17 percent of residents in Italy were over 64.

    According to Istat, minors now accounted for only 17 percent of the population, compared to 18 percent a decade previously, while the average age of the population has risen to 43 from 41 in 1996.

    Life expectancy for Italian men exceeded 78 for the first time ever while Italian women can expect to live to 84, Istat added.