of the year. Demographics In 2007, there were 112,637 people residing in Trento, of whom 48% were male and 52% were female. Minors (children ages 18 and younger) totalled 18.01 percent of the population compared to pensioners who number 19.37 percent. This compares with the Italian average of 18.06 percent (minors) and 19.94 percent (pensioners). The average age of Trento residents is 41 compared to the Italian average of 42. In the five years between 2002 and 2007, the population of Trento grew by 5.72 percent, while Italy as a whole grew by 3.56 percent. The current birth rate of Trento is 9.61 births per 1,000 inhabitants compared to the Italian average of 9.45 births. , 92.68% of the population was Italian. The largest immigrant group came from other European countries (mostly Albania, Romania): 4.13%, North Africa: 1.08%, and the Americas: 0.85%. Trento Informa (a magazine distributed by the "comune") reports that in 2011 there were 117,190 people residing in Trento, of whom 48.5% aged between 45 and 65. The average age was 43.1 years. Economy The city owes much of its unique economy to its position along the main communication route between Italy and Northern Europe and to the Adige river which, prior to its diversion in the mid-19th century, ran through the center of the city. The Adige river was formerly a navigable river and one of the main commercial routes in the Alps. The original course of the river is now covered by the Via Torre Vanga, Via Torre Verde and the Via Alessandro Manzoni. As late as World War II, Trento depended on wine-making and silk. The manufacturing industry installed in the post-war period has been mostly dismantled. Today, Trento thrives on commerce, services, tourism, high-quality agriculture and food industry (including wine, fruit), as a research and conference center thanks to a small but renowned university and internationally renowned research centers such as Fondazione Bruno Kessler, active in both fundamental and applied research, the Italian-German Historical Institute, the Centre for Computational and Systems Biology and ECT*, active in theoretical nuclear studies and part of FBK, and as logistics and transportation thoroughfare. Valued pink and white porphyry are still excavated from some surrounding areas (Pila). This stone can be seen in many of Trento's buildings, both new and old. The city has two long-running annual sporting events: the Giro al Sas (a professional road running competition) was