Italy

Italy 

Geography                 Economy                 Defense Forces
 

People                    Transportation          Government



Communications            History      	          Travel

GEOGRAPHY

Location

Southern Europe, a peninsula extending into the central Mediterranean Sea, northeast of Tunisia

Area

Note: Includes Sardinia and Sicily

Land Boundaries

Total 1,899.2 km, Austria 430 km, France 488 km, Holy See (Vatican City) 3.2 km, San Marino 39 km, Slovenia 199 km, Switzerland 740 km

Coastline

4,996 km

Maritime Claims

International Disputes

None

Climate

Predominantly Mediterranean; Alpine in far north; hot, dry in south

Terrain

Mostly rugged and mountainous; some plains, coastal lowlands
lowest point: Mediterranean Sea 0 m
highest point: Mont Blanc 4,807 m

Natural Resources

Land Use

Irrigated Land

31,000 sq km (1989 est.)

Environment

Note: Strategic location dominating central Mediterranean as well as southern sea and air approaches to Western Europe

PEOPLE

Population

57,460,274 (July 1996 est.)
58,261,971 (July 1995 est.)

Age Structure

0-14 Years

15% (male 4,419,636; female 4,167,860) (July 1996 est.)
15% (male 4,603,083; female 4,352,325) (July 1995 est.)

15-64 Years

68% (male 19,656,546; female 19,629,291) (July 1996 est.)
68% (male 19,874,528; female 19,969,086) (July 1995 est.)

65 Years and Over

17% (male 3,902,426; female 5,684,515) (July 1996 est.)
17% (female 5,630,747; male 3,832,202) (July 1995 est.)

Population Growth Rate

0.13% (1996 est.)
0.21% (1995 est.)

Birth Rate

9.87 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)
10.89 births/1,000 population (1995 est.)

Death Rate

9.82 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)
9.78 deaths/1,000 population (1995 est.)

Net Migration Rate

1.25 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)
1.03 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1995 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: 0.69 male(s)/female
all ages: 0.95 male(s)/female (1996 est.)

Infant Mortality Rate

6.9 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)
7.4 deaths/1,000 live births (1995 est.)

Life Expectancy at Birth

Total Fertility Rate

1.27 children born/woman (1996 est.)
1.41 children born/woman (1995 est.)

Nationality

Ethnic Divisions

Religions

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

Age 15 and over that can read and write (1990 est.)

Labor Force

23.988 million

By occupation:

GOVERNMENT

Names

Digraph

IT

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

Legislative Branch

Bicameral Parliament (Parlamento)

Senate (Senato Della Repubblica)

Elections last held 22 April 1996 (next to be held by NA); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats - (326 total, 315 elected, 11 appointed senators-for-life) 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 (Camera Dei Deputati)

Elections last held 22 April 1996 (next to be held NA); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats - (630 total) 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 (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

Other Political or Pressure Groups

The Roman Catholic Church; three major trade union confederations (Confederazione Generale Italiana del Lavoro or CGIL which is PDS-dominated, Confederazione Italiana dei Sindacati Lavoratori or CISL which is centerist, and Unione Italiana del Lavoro or UIL which is center-left); Italian manufacturers and merchants associations (Confindustria, Confcommercio); organized farm groups (Confcoltivatori, Confagricoltura)

Member of

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

National Anthem

Flag

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. The country is still divided into a developed industrial north, dominated by private companies, and an undeveloped agricultural south, dominated by large public enterprises. 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. Monetary officials were forced to withdraw the lira from the European monetary system in September 1992, when it came under extreme pressure in currency markets. For the 1990s, Italy faces the problems of pushing ahead with fiscal reform, refurbishing a tottering communications system, curbing pollution in major industrial centers, and adjusting to the new competitive forces accompanying the ongoing expansion and economic integration of the EU.

National Product

GDP - purchasing power parity - $1.0886 trillion (1995 est.), $998.9 billion (1994 est.)

National Product Real Growth Rate

3.2% (1995 est.)
2.2% (1994 est.)

National Product Per Capita

$18,700 (1995 est.)
$17,180 (1994 est.)

Inflation Rate (consumer Prices)

5.4% (1995)
3.9% (1994)

Unemployment Rate

12.2% (January 1995)

Budget

Exports

$190.8 billion (f.o.b., 1994)

Commodities:

Partners:

Imports

$168.7 billion (c.i.f., 1994)

Commodities:

Partners:

External Debt

$67 billion (1993 est.)

Industrial Production

Growth rate 5.5% (1995 est.), 4.3% (1994 est.); accounts for 35% of GDP

Electricity

Industries

Agriculture

Accounts for about 4% of GDP; self-sufficient in foods other than meat, dairy products, and cereals; principal crops - fruits, vegetables, grapes, potatoes, sugar beets, soybeans, grain, olives; fish catch of 525,000 metric tons in 1990

Illicit Drugs

Important gateway country for Latin American cocaine and Southwest Asian heroin entering the European market

Economic Aid

Currency

1 Italian lira (Lit) = 100 centesimi

Exchange Rates

Italian lire (Lit) per US$1 - 1,583.8 (January 1996), 1,629.6 (1995), 1,612.4 (1994), 1,573.7 (1993), 1,232.4 (1992), 1,240.6 (1991), 1,198.1 (1990)

Fiscal Year

Calendar year

TRANSPORTATION

Railroads

Highways

Inland 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

Ancona, Augusta, Bari, Cagliari (Sardinia), Catania, Gaeta, Genoa, La Spezia, Livorno, Naples, Oristano (Sardinia), Palermo (Sicily), Piombino, Porto Torres (Sardinia), Ravenna, Savona, Trieste, Venice

Merchant Marine

Airports

Heliports

2 (1995 est.)

COMMUNICATIONS

Telephone System

25.6 million telephones (1987 est.); modern, well-developed, fast; fully automated telephone, telex, and data services

Radio

Television

DEFENSE FORCES

Branches

Army, Navy, Air Force, Carabinieri

Manpower Availability

Males age 15-49 14,739,097; males fit for military service 12,769,628; males reach military age (18) annually 358,884 (1996 est.)

Defense Expenditures

Exchange rate conversion - $20.4 billion, 1.9% of GDP (1995), $21.5 billion, 2% of GDP (1994)

History
World Atlas