Home>Europe>Italy

Background: Italy failed to secure political unification until the 1860s, thus lacking the military and imperial power of Spain, Britain, and France. The fascist dictatorship of MUSSOLINI after World War I, led to the disastrous alliance with HITLER's Germany and defeat in World War II. Italy was a founding member of the European Economic Community (EEC) and joined in the growing political and economic unification of Western Europe, including the introduction of the euro in January 1999. On-going problems include illegal immigration, the ravages of organized crime, high unemployment, and the low incomes and technical standards of Southern Italy compared with the North.

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:
continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation
territorial sea: 12 nm

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) 4,807 m

Natural resources: mercury, potash, marble, sulfur, dwindling natural gas and crude oil reserves, fish, coal

Land use:
arable land: 31%
permanent crops: 10%
permanent pastures: 15%
forests and woodland: 23%
other: 21% (1993 est.)

Irrigated land: 27,100 sq km (1993 est.)

Natural hazards: 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-Sulphur 85, Air Pollution-Sulphur 94, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol

Geography—note: strategic location dominating central Mediterranean as well as southern sea and air approaches to Western Europe

Population: 56,735,130 (July 1999 est.)

Age structure:
0-14 years: 14% (male 4,161,841; female 3,925,413)
15-64 years: 68% (male 19,205,293; female 19,285,848)
65 years and over: 18% (male 4,169,098; female 5,987,637) (1999 est.)

Population growth rate: -0.08% (1999 est.)

Birth rate: 9.27 births/1,000 population (1999 est.)

Death rate: 10.28 deaths/1,000 population (1999 est.)

Net migration rate: 0.17 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1999 est.)

Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.06 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.7 male(s)/female
total population: 0.94 male(s)/female (1999 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 6.3 deaths/1,000 live births (1999 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 78.51 years
male: 75.4 years
female: 81.82 years (1999 est.)

Total fertility rate: 1.22 children born/woman (1999 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: Roman Catholic 98%, other 2%

Languages: Italian, 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: 97%
male: 98%
female: 96% (1990 est.)

Country name:
conventional long form: Italian Republic
conventional short form: Italy
local long form: Repubblica Italiana
local short form: Italia
former: Kingdom of Italy

Data code: IT

Government type: republic

Capital: Rome

Administrative divisions: 20 regions (regioni, singular—regione); Abruzzi, 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)

National holiday: Anniversary of the Republic, 2 June (1946)

Constitution: 1 January 1948

Legal system: based on civil law system, with ecclesiastical law influence; appeals treated as trials de novo; 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 Oscar Luigi SCALFARO (since 28 May 1992)
head of government: Prime Minister (referred to in Italy as the president of the Council of Ministers) Massimo D'ALEMA (since 27 October 1998)
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 25 May 1992 (next to be held NA June 1999); prime minister appointed by the president and confirmed by parliament
election results: Oscar Luigi SCALFARO elected president; percent of electoral college vote—NA

Legislative branch: bicameral Parliament or Parlamento consists of the Senate or Senato della Repubblica (326 seats—315 elected by popular vote of which 232 are directly elected and 83 are elected by regional proportional representation, 11 are appointed senators-for-life; 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 21 April 1996 (next to be held by NA April 2001); Chamber of Deputies—last held 21 April 1996 (next to be held by NA April 2001)
election results: Senate—percent of vote by party—NA; seats by party—Olive Tree 157, Freedom Alliance 116, Northern League 27, Refounded Communists 10, regional lists 3, Social Movement-Tricolor Flames 1, Panella Reformers 1; Chamber of Deputies—percent of vote by party—NA; seats by party—Olive Tree 284, Freedom Alliance 246, Northern League 59, Refounded Communists 35, Southern Tyrol List 3, Autonomous List 2, other 1

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:
Olive Tree (Ulivo): Democrats of the Left or DS [Walter VELTRONI]; Greens (Verdi) [Luigi MANCONI]; Italian Popular Party or PPI [Franco MARINI]
Freedom Pole: Forza Italia or FI [Silvio BERLUSCONI]; National Alliance or AN [Gianfranco FINI]; Christian Democratic Center or CCD [Pierferdinando CASINI]; Democratic Union for the Republic or UDR [Clemente MASTELLA]
other: Northern League or NL [Umberto BOSSI]; Communist Refoundation or RC [Fausto BERTINOTTI]; Italian Social Movement-Tricolor Flame or MSI-Fiamma Tricolore [Pino RAUTI]; Italian Socialists or SI [Enrico BOSSELLI]; Italian Communist Party or PDCI [Armando COSSUTTA]; Autonomous List (a group of minor parties) [leader NA]; Southern Tyrols People's Party or SVP (German speakers) [leader NA]; Italy of Values [Antonio DIPIETRO]

Political pressure groups and leaders: the Roman Catholic Church; three major trade union confederations (Confederazione Generale Italiana del Lavoro or CGIL [Sergio COFFERATI] which is left wing, Confederazione Italiana dei Sindacati Lavoratori or CISL [Sergio D'ANTONI] which is Catholic centrist, and Unione Italiana del Lavoro or UIL [Pietro LARIZZA] which is lay centrist); Italian manufacturers and merchants associations (Confindustria, Confcommercio); organized farm groups (Confcoltivatori, Confagricoltura)

International organization participation: AfDB, AsDB, Australia Group, BIS, BSEC (observer), CCC, CDB (non-regional), CE, CEI, CERN, EAPC, EBRD, ECE, ECLAC, EIB, EMU, ESA, EU, FAO, G- 7, G-10, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, LAIA (observer), MINURSO, MTCR, NAM (guest), NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIFIL, UNIKOM, UNITAR, UNMIBH, UNMOGIP, UNTSO, UPU, WCL, WEU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO, ZC

Diplomatic representation in the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Ferdinando SALLEO
chancery: 1601 Fuller Street NW, Washington, DC 20009 and 2700 16th Street NW, Washington, DC 20009
telephone: [1] (202) 328-5500
FAX: [1] (202) 483-2187
consulate(s) general: Boston, Chicago, Houston, Miami, New York, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, and San Francisco
consulate(s): Detroit

Diplomatic representation from the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Thomas M. FOGLIETTA
embassy: Via Veneto 119/A, 00187-Rome
mailing address: PSC 59, Box 100, APO AE 09624
telephone: [39] (06) 46741
FAX: [39] (06) 488-2672
consulate(s) general: Florence, Milan, Naples

Flag description: 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

Economy—overview: Since World War II, the Italian economy has changed from one based on agriculture into a ranking industrial economy, with approximately the same total and per capita output as France and the UK. This basically capitalistic economy is still divided into a developed industrial north, dominated by private companies, and a less developed agricultural south, with large public enterprises and more than 20% unemployment. Most raw materials needed by industry and over 75% of energy requirements must be imported. In the second half of 1992, Rome became unsettled by the prospect of not qualifying to participate in EU plans for economic and monetary union later in the decade; thus, it finally began to address its huge fiscal imbalances. Subsequently, the government has adopted fairly stringent budgets, abandoned its inflationary wage indexation system, and started to scale back its generous social welfare programs, including pension and health care benefits. In December 1998, Italy adopted a budget compliant with the requirements of the European Monetary Union (EMU); representatives of government, labor, and employers agreed to an update of the 1993 "social pact," which has been widely credited with having brought Italy's inflation into conformity with EMU requirements. In 1999, Italy must adjust to the loss of an independent monetary policy, which it has used quite liberally in the past to help cope with external shocks. Italy also must work to stimulate employment, promote wage flexibility, and tackle the informal economy.

GDP: purchasing power parity—$1.181 trillion (1998 est.)

GDP—real growth rate: 1.5% (1998 est.)

GDP—per capita: purchasing power parity—$20,800 (1998 est.)

GDP—composition by sector:
agriculture: 3.3%
industry: 33%
services: 63.7% (1994)

Population below poverty line: NA%

Household income or consumption by percentage share:
lowest 10%: 2.9%
highest 10%: 23.7% (1991)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 1.8% (1998 est.)

Labor force: 23.193 million

Labor force—by occupation: services 61%, industry 32%, agriculture 7% (1996)

Unemployment rate: 12.5% (1998 est.)

Budget:
revenues: $559 billion
expenditures: $589 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (1998 est.)

Industries: tourism, machinery, iron and steel, chemicals, food processing, textiles, motor vehicles, clothing, footwear, ceramics

Industrial production growth rate: 0.5% (1996 est.)

Electricity—production: 226.707 billion kWh (1996)

Electricity—production by source:
fossil fuel: 80.02%
hydro: 18.25%
nuclear: 0%
other: 1.73%

Electricity—consumption: 264.007 billion kWh (1996)

Electricity—exports: 800 million kWh (1996)

Electricity—imports: 38.1 billion kWh (1996)

Agriculture—products: fruits, vegetables, grapes, potatoes, sugar beets, soybeans, grain, olives; beef, dairy products; fish

Exports: $243 billion (f.o.b., 1998)

Exports—commodities: engineering products, textiles and clothing, production machinery, motor vehicles, transport equipment, chemicals; food, beverages and tobacco; minerals and nonferrous metals

Exports—partners: Germany 16.4%, France 12.2%, US 7.9%, UK 7.1%, Spain 5.2%, Netherlands 2.8% (1997)

Imports: $202 billion (f.o.b., 1998)

Imports—commodities: engineering products, chemicals, transport equipment, energy products, minerals and nonferrous metals, textiles and clothing; food, beverages and tobacco

Imports—partners: Germany 18.0%, France 13.2%, UK 6.7%, Netherlands 6.2%, US 5.0%, Belgium-Luxembourg 4.7% (1997)

Debt—external: $45 billion (1996 est.)

Economic aid—donor: ODA, $1.6 billion (1995)

Currency: 1 Italian lira (Lit) = 100 centesimi

Exchange rates: Italian lire (Lit) per US$1—1,688.7 (January 1999), 1,736.2 (1998), 1,703.1 (1997), 1,542.9 (1996), 1,628.9 (1995), 1,612.4 (1994)
note: on 1 January 1999, the European Union introduced a common currency that is now being used by financial institutions in some member countries at the rate of 0.8597 euros per US$ and a fixed rate of 1,936.27 lire per euro; the euro will replace the local currency in consenting countries for all transactions in 2002

Fiscal year: calendar year

Telephones: 25.6 million (1996 est.)

Telephone system: modern, well-developed, fast; fully automated telephone, telex, and data services
domestic: high-capacity cable and microwave radio relay trunks
international: 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 135, FM 28 (repeaters 1,840), shortwave 0

Radios: 45.7 million (1996 est.)

Television broadcast stations: 6,317 (consisting of 117 public stations with two kW of power or more, about 5,300 low-power public stations, and about 900 low-power private stations, mostly in local service) (1997)

Televisions: 17 million (1996 est.)

Railways:
total: 19,272 km
standard gauge: 17,983 km 1.435-m gauge; Italian Railways (FS) operates 15,942 km of the total standard gauge routes (10,889 km electrified)
narrow gauge: 112 km 1.000-m gauge (112 km electrified); 1,177 km 0.950-m gauge (19 km electrified) (1996)

Highways:
total: 317,000 km
paved: 317,000 km (including 9,500 km of expressways)
unpaved: 0 km (1996 est.)

Waterways: 2,400 km for various types of commercial traffic, although of limited overall value

Pipelines: crude oil 1,703 km; petroleum products 2,148 km; natural gas 19,400 km

Ports and harbors: Augusta (Sicily), Bagnoli, Bari, Brindisi, Gela, Genoa, La Spezia, Livorno, Milazzo, Naples, Porto Foxi, Porto Torres (Sardinia), Salerno, Savona, Taranto, Trieste, Venice

Merchant marine:
total: 393 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 5,982,870 GRT/8,413,850 DWT
ships by type: bulk 38, cargo 46, chemical tanker 60, combination ore/oil 2, container 16, liquefied gas tanker 35, livestock carrier 1, multifunction large-load carrier 1, oil tanker 84, passenger 6, roll-on/roll-off cargo 53, short-sea passenger 28, specialized tanker 12, vehicle carrier 11 (1998 est.)

Airports: 136 (1998 est.)

Airports—with paved runways:
total: 97
over 3,047 m: 5
2,438 to 3,047 m: 33
1,524 to 2,437 m: 17
914 to 1,523 m: 30
under 914 m: 12 (1998 est.)

Airports—with unpaved runways:
total: 39
1,524 to 2,437 m: 2
914 to 1,523 m: 19
under 914 m: 18 (1998 est.)

Heliports: 2 (1998 est.)

Military branches: Army, Navy, Air Force, Carabinieri

Military manpower—military age: 18 years of age

Military manpower—availability:
males age 15-49: 14,142,889 (1999 est.)

Military manpower—fit for military service:
males age 15-49: 12,200,780 (1999 est.)

Military manpower—reaching military age annually:
males: 315,952 (1999 est.)

Military expenditures—dollar figure: $21.095 billion (FY97)

Military expenditures—percent of GDP: 1.9% (1995)

Disputes—international: Italy and Slovenia made progress in resolving bilateral issues; Croatia and Italy made progress toward resolving a bilateral issue dating from World War II over property and ethnic minority rights

Illicit drugs: important gateway for and consumer of Latin American cocaine and Southwest Asian heroin entering the European market

Source: 1999 CIA World Factbook