Italy became a
nation-state in 1861 when the city-states of the peninsula,
along with Sardinia and Sicily, were united under King Victor
EMMANUEL II. An era of parliamentary government came to a close
in the early 1920s when Benito MUSSOLINI established a Fascist
dictatorship. His disastrous alliance with Nazi Germany led to
Italy's defeat in World War II. A democratic republic replaced
the monarchy in 1946 and economic revival followed. Italy was a
charter member of NATO and the European Economic Community
(EEC). It has been at the forefront of European economic and
political unification, joining the Economic and Monetary Union
in 1999. Persistent problems include illegal immigration,
organized crime, corruption, high unemployment, sluggish
economic growth, and the low incomes and technical standards of
southern Italy compared with the prosperous north.
Geography
Location:
Southern Europe, a
peninsula extending into the central Mediterranean Sea,
northeast of Tunisia
Geographic
coordinates:
42 50 N, 12 50 E
Map references:
Europe
Area:
total:
301,230 sq km land: 294,020 sq km water: 7,210 sq km note: includes Sardinia and Sicily
Area -
comparative:
slightly larger
than Arizona
Land boundaries:
total:
1,932.2 km border countries: Austria 430 km, France 488 km, Holy See
(Vatican City) 3.2 km, San Marino 39 km, Slovenia 232 km,
Switzerland 740 km
Coastline:
7,600 km
Maritime claims:
territorial sea:
12 nm continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of
exploitation
Climate:
predominantly
Mediterranean; Alpine in far north; hot, dry in south
Terrain:
mostly rugged and
mountainous; some plains, coastal lowlands
Elevation
extremes:
lowest point:
Mediterranean Sea 0 m highest point: Mont Blanc (Monte Bianco) de Courmayeur
4,748 m (a secondary peak of Mont Blanc)
Natural
resources:
coal, mercury,
zinc, potash, marble, barite, asbestos, pumice, fluorospar,
feldspar, pyrite (sulfur), natural gas and crude oil reserves,
fish, arable land
regional risks
include landslides, mudflows, avalanches, earthquakes, volcanic
eruptions, flooding; land subsidence in Venice
Environment -
current issues:
air pollution from
industrial emissions such as sulfur dioxide; coastal and inland
rivers polluted from industrial and agricultural effluents; acid
rain damaging lakes; inadequate industrial waste treatment and
disposal facilities
Environment -
international agreements:
party to:
Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air
Pollution-Sulfur 85, Air Pollution-Sulfur 94, Air
Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Antarctic-Environmental
Protocol, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Seals,
Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate
Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species,
Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea,
Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical
Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling signed, but not ratified: Air Pollution-Persistent
Organic Pollutants
Geography -
note:
strategic location
dominating central Mediterranean as well as southern sea and air
approaches to Western Europe
total: 41.77
years male: 40.24 years female: 43.35 years (2005 est.)
Population
growth rate:
0.07% (2005 est.)
Birth rate:
8.89 births/1,000
population (2005 est.)
Death rate:
10.3 deaths/1,000
population (2005 est.)
Net migration
rate:
2.07 migrant(s)/1,000
population (2005 est.)
Sex ratio:
at birth:
1.07 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.06 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.02 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.71 male(s)/female total population: 0.96 male(s)/female (2005 est.)
Infant mortality
rate:
total: 5.94
deaths/1,000 live births male: 6.55 deaths/1,000 live births female: 5.29 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.)
Life expectancy
at birth:
total
population: 79.68 years male: 76.75 years female: 82.81 years (2005 est.)
Total fertility
rate:
1.28 children
born/woman (2005 est.)
HIV/AIDS - adult
prevalence rate:
0.5% (2001 est.)
HIV/AIDS -
people living with HIV/AIDS:
140,000 (2001 est.)
HIV/AIDS -
deaths:
less than 1,000
(2003 est.)
Nationality:
noun:
Italian(s) adjective: Italian
Ethnic groups:
Italian (includes
small clusters of German-, French-, and Slovene-Italians in the
north and Albanian-Italians and Greek-Italians in the south)
Religions:
predominately Roman
Catholic with mature Protestant and Jewish communities and a
growing Muslim immigrant community
Languages:
Italian (official),
German (parts of Trentino-Alto Adige region are predominantly
German speaking), French (small French-speaking minority in
Valle d'Aosta region), Slovene (Slovene-speaking minority in the
Trieste-Gorizia area)
Literacy:
definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 98.6% male: 99% female: 98.3% (2003 est.)
Government
Country name:
conventional
long form: Italian Republic conventional short form: Italy local long form: Repubblica Italiana local short form: Italia former: Kingdom of Italy
Government type:
republic
Capital:
Rome
Administrative
divisions:
16 regions (regioni,
singular - regione) and 4 autonomous regions* (regioni autonome,
singular - regione autonoma); Abruzzo, Basilicata, Calabria,
Campania, Emilia-Romagna, Friuli-Venezia Giulia*, Lazio,
Liguria, Lombardia, Marche, Molise, Piemonte, Puglia, Sardegna*,
Sicilia, Toscana, Trentino-Alto Adige*, Umbria, Valle d'Aosta*,
Veneto
Independence:
17 March 1861
(Kingdom of Italy proclaimed; Italy was not finally unified
until 1870)
National
holiday:
Republic Day, 2
June (1946)
Constitution:
passed 11 December
1947; effective 1 January 1948; amended many times
Legal system:
based on civil law
system; appeals treated as new trials; judicial review under
certain conditions in Constitutional Court; has not accepted
compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Suffrage:
18 years of age;
universal (except in senatorial elections, where minimum age is
25)
Executive
branch:
chief of state:
President Carlo Azeglio CIAMPI (since 13 May 1999) head of government: Prime Minister (referred to in Italy
as the president of the Council of Ministers) Silvio BERLUSCONI
(since 10 June 2001) cabinet: Council of Ministers nominated by the prime
minister and approved by the president elections: president elected by an electoral college
consisting of both houses of parliament and 58 regional
representatives for a seven-year term; election last held 13 May
1999 (next to be held May 2006); prime minister appointed by the
president and confirmed by parliament election results: Carlo Azeglio CIAMPI elected president;
percent of electoral college vote - 70% note: a four-party government coalition includes Forza
Italia, National Alliance, Northern League, and Union of
Christian Democrats and Center Democrats
Legislative
branch:
bicameral
Parliament or Parlamento consists of the Senate or Senato della
Repubblica (315 seats elected by popular vote of which 232 are
directly elected and 83 are elected by regional proportional
representation; in addition, there are a small number of
senators-for-life including former presidents of the republic;
members serve five-year terms) and the Chamber of Deputies or
Camera dei Deputati (630 seats; 475 are directly elected, 155 by
regional proportional representation; members serve five-year
terms) elections: Senate - last held 13 May 2001 (next to be
held 2006); Chamber of Deputies - last held 13 May 2001 (next to
be held May 2006) election results: Senate - percent of vote by party -
NA%; seats by party - House of Liberties 172 (Forza Italia 77,
National Alliance 47, UDC 31, Lega Padana 17), Olive Tree 108
(Democrats of the Left 63, Daisy Alliance 35, Greens 10), Per le
Autonomie 10, other 25; Chamber of Deputies - percent of vote by
party - NA%; seats by party - House of Liberties 337 (Forza
Italia 176, National Alliance 97, UDC 36, Northern League 28),
Olive Tree 214 (Democrats of the Left 135, Daisy Alliance 79),
Rifondazione Communista (Italian Communist Party) 11, other 68
Judicial branch:
Constitutional
Court or Corte Costituzionale (composed of 15 judges: one-third
appointed by the president, one-third elected by parliament,
one-third elected by the ordinary and administrative Supreme
Courts)
Political
parties and leaders:
Center-Left Olive
Tree Coalition [Francesco RUTELLI] - Democrats of the Left,
Daisy Alliance (including Italian Popular Party, Italian
Renewal, Union of Democrats for Europe, The Democrats),
Sunflower Alliance (including Green Federation, Italian
Democratic Socialists), Italian Communist Party; Center-Right
Freedom House Coalition [Silvio BERLUSCONI] (formerly House of
Liberties and Freedom Alliance) - Forza Italia, National
Alliance, The Whiteflower Alliance (includes Christian
Democratic Center, United Christian Democrats), Northern League;
Democrats of the Left or DS [Piero FASSINO]; Forza Italia or FI
[Silvio BERLUSCONI]; Green Federation [Alfonso Pecoraro SCANIO];
Italian Communist Party or PdCI [Armando COSSUTTA]; Italian
Renewal or RI [Lamberto DINI]; merged with PPI and I Democratici
to form La Margherita (or The Daisy Alliance); Italian Social
Democrats or SDI [Enrico BOSELLI]; Lega Padana [Roberto
BERNARDELLI]; National Alliance or AN [Gianfranco FINI];
Northern League or NL [Umberto BOSSI]; Per le Autonomie [leader
NA]; Socialist Movement-Tricolor Flame or MS-Fiamma [Luca
ROMAGNOLI]; South Tyrol People's Party or SVP (German speakers)
[Elmar Pichler ROLLE]; Sunflower Alliance (includes Green
Federation, Italian Social Democrats); The Daisy Alliance
(includes Italian Popular Party, Italian Renewal, Union of
Democrats for Europe, The Democrats) [Francesco RUTELLI]; The
Democrats [Arturo PARISI]; The Radicals (formerly Pannella
Reformers and Autonomous List) [Marco PANNELLA]; Union of
Democrats for Europe or UDEUR [Clemente MASTELLA]; Union of
Christian and Center Democrats or UDC [Marco FOLLINI]
Political
pressure groups and leaders:
Italian
manufacturers and merchants associations (Confindustria,
Confcommercio); organized farm groups (Confcoltivatori,
Confagricoltura); Roman Catholic Church; three major trade union
confederations (Confederazione Generale Italiana del Lavoro or
CGIL [Guglielmo EPIFANI] which is left wing, Confederazione
Italiana dei Sindacati Lavoratori or CISL [Savino PEZZOTTA],
which is Roman Catholic centrist, and Unione Italiana del Lavoro
or UIL [Luigi ANGELETTI] which is lay centrist)
three equal
vertical bands of green (hoist side), white, and red; similar to
the flag of Ireland, which is longer and is green (hoist side),
white, and orange; also similar to the flag of the Cote
d'Ivoire, which has the colors reversed - orange (hoist side),
white, and green note: inspired by the French flag brought to Italy by
Napoleon in 1797
Economy
Economy -
overview:
Italy has a
diversified industrial economy with roughly the same total and
per capita output as France and the UK. This capitalistic
economy remains divided into a developed industrial north,
dominated by private companies, and a less developed,
welfare-dependent agricultural south, with 20% unemployment.
Most raw materials needed by industry and more than 75% of
energy requirements are imported. Over the past decade, Italy
has pursued a tight fiscal policy in order to meet the
requirements of the Economic and Monetary Unions and has
benefited from lower interest and inflation rates. The current
government has enacted numerous short-term reforms aimed at
improving competitiveness and long-term growth. Italy has moved
slowly, however, on implementing needed structural reforms, such
as lightening the high tax burden and overhauling Italy's rigid
labor market and over-generous pension system, because of the
current economic slowdown and opposition from labor unions. But
the leadership faces a severe economic constraint: the budget
has breached the 3% EU deficit ceiling.
GDP:
purchasing power
parity - $1.609 trillion (2004 est.)
engineering
products, textiles and clothing, production machinery, motor
vehicles, transport equipment, chemicals; food, beverages and
tobacco; minerals and nonferrous metals
Exports -
partners:
Germany 13.7%,
France 12.1%, US 8%, Spain 7.3%, UK 6.9%, Switzerland 4.1%
(2004)
Imports:
$329.3 billion
f.o.b. (2004 est.)
Imports -
commodities:
engineering
products, chemicals, transport equipment, energy products,
minerals and nonferrous metals, textiles and clothing; food,
beverages and tobacco
Imports -
partners:
Germany 18.1%,
France 10.7%, Netherlands 5.8%, Spain 4.7%, Belgium 4.4%, UK
4.3%, China 4.1% (2004)
Reserves of
foreign exchange and gold:
$61.5 billion (2004
est.)
Debt - external:
$913.9 billion
(2004 est.)
Economic aid -
donor:
ODA, $1 billion
(2002 est.)
Currency (code):
euro (EUR) note: on 1 January 1999, the European Monetary Union
introduced the euro as a common currency to be used by financial
institutions of member countries; on 1 January 2002, the euro
became the sole currency for everyday transactions within the
member countries
Currency code:
EUR
Exchange rates:
euros per US dollar
- 0.8054 (2004), 0.886 (2003), 1.0626 (2002), 1.1175 (2001),
1.0854 (2000)
Fiscal year:
calendar year
Communications
Telephones -
main lines in use:
26.596 million
(2003)
Telephones -
mobile cellular:
55.918 million
(2003)
Telephone
system:
general
assessment: modern, well developed, fast; fully automated
telephone, telex, and data services domestic: high-capacity cable and microwave radio relay
trunks international: country code - 39; satellite earth
stations - 3 Intelsat (with a total of 5 antennas - 3 for
Atlantic Ocean and 2 for Indian Ocean), 1 Inmarsat (Atlantic
Ocean region), and NA Eutelsat; 21 submarine cables
Radio broadcast
stations:
AM about 100, FM
about 4,600, shortwave 9 (1998)
Radios:
50.5 million (1997)
Television
broadcast stations:
358 (plus 4,728
repeaters) (1995)
Televisions:
30.3 million (1997)
Internet country
code:
.it
Internet hosts:
1,437,511 (2004)
Internet Service
Providers (ISPs):
93 (Italy and Holy
See) (2000)
Internet users:
18.5 million (2003)
Transportation
Railways:
total:
19,319 km (11,613 km electrified) standard gauge: 18,001 km 1.435-m gauge (11,333 km
electrified) narrow gauge: 123 km 1.000-m gauge (122 km electrified);
1,195 km 0.950-m gauge (158 km electrified) (2004)
Highways:
total:
479,688 km paved: 479,688 km (including 6,621 km of expressways) unpaved: 0 km (1999)
Waterways:
2,400 km note: used for commercial traffic; of limited overall
value compared to road and rail (2004)
total: 565
ships (1,000 GRT or over) 8,970,017 GRT/10,354,685 DWT by type: bulk carrier 38, cargo 43, chemical tanker 128,
combination ore/oil 1, container 19, liquefied gas 38, livestock
carrier 2, passenger 16, passenger/cargo 152, petroleum tanker
53, refrigerated cargo 4, roll on/roll off 34, specialized
tanker 11, vehicle carrier 26 foreign-owned: 47 (France 3, Greece 7, Monaco 2,
Switzerland 5, Taiwan 8, Turkey 2, United Kingdom 5, United
States 15) registered in other countries: 125 (2005)
Airports:
134 (2004 est.)
Airports - with
paved runways:
total: 96
over 3,047 m: 6 2,438 to 3,047 m: 32 1,524 to 2,437 m: 16 914 to 1,523 m: 30 under 914 m: 12 (2004 est.)
Airports - with
unpaved runways:
total: 38
1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 18 under 914 m: 18 (2004 est.)
Heliports:
4 (2004 est.)
Military
Military
branches:
Army (Esercito
Italiano, EI), Navy (Marina Militare Italiana, MMI), Air Force (Aeronautica
Militare Italiana, AMI), Carabinieri Corps (Corpo dei
Carabinieri, CC) (2005)
Military
manpower - military age and obligation:
18 years of age
(2004)
Military
manpower - availability:
males age 18-49:
13,491,260 (2005 est.)
Military
manpower - fit for military service:
males age 18-49:
10,963,513 (2005 est.)
Military
manpower - reaching military age annually:
males:
286,344 (2005 est.)
Military
expenditures - dollar figure:
$28,182.8 million
(2003)
Military
expenditures - percent of GDP:
1.8% (2004)
Transnational Issues
Disputes -
international:
Italy's long
coastline and developed economy entices tens of thousands of
illegal immigrants from southeastern Europe and northern Africa
Illicit drugs:
important gateway
for and consumer of Latin American cocaine and Southwest Asian
heroin entering the European market; money laundering by
organized crime and from smuggling
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