Italy

Internet country code

.it

Internet hosts

1,731,165 (2006)

Internet users

28.87 million (2005)

Radio broadcast stations

AM about 100, FM about 4,600, shortwave 9 (1998)

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

Telephones - main lines in use

25.049 million (2005)

Telephones - mobile cellular

72.2 million (2005)

Television broadcast stations

358 (plus 4,728 repeaters) (1995)

Agriculture - products

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

Budget

revenues: $785.7 billion expenditures: $861.5 billion; including capital expenditures of $NA (2005 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

Current account balance

$-26.38 billion (2005 est.)

Debt - external

$922.5 billion (2005 est.)

Distribution of family income - Gini index

36 (2000)

Economic aid - donor

ODA, $1 billion (2002 est.)

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 deficit has breached the 3% EU ceiling. The economy experienced almost no growth in 2005, and unemployment remained at a high level.

Electricity - consumption

302.2 billion kWh (2003)

Electricity - exports

500 million kWh (2003)

Electricity - imports

51.5 billion kWh (2003)

Electricity - production

270.1 billion kWh (2003)

Exchange rates

euros per US dollar - 0.8041 (2005), 0.8054 (2004), 0.886 (2003), 1.0626 (2002), 1.1175 (2001)

Exports

$371.9 billion f.o.b. (2005 est.)

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 13.1%, France 12.3%, US 8.1%, Spain 7.4%, UK 6.4% (2005)

Fiscal year

calendar year

GDP (official exchange rate)

$1.71 trillion (2005 est.)

GDP (purchasing power parity)

$1.667 trillion (2005 est.)

GDP - composition by sector

agriculture: 2.1% industry: 29.1% services: 68.8% (2005 est.)

GDP - per capita (PPP)

$28,700 (2005 est.)

GDP - real growth rate

0.1% (2005 est.)

Household income or consumption by percentage share

lowest 10%: 2.1% highest 10%: 26.6% (2000)

Imports

$369.2 billion f.o.b. (2005 est.)

Imports - commodities

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

Imports - partners

Germany 17.2%, France 9.9%, Netherlands 5.7%, China 4.6%, Belgium 4.5%, Spain 4.2% (2005)

Industrial production growth rate

-1% (2005 est.)

Industries

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

Inflation rate (consumer prices)

2% (2005 est.)

Investment (gross fixed)

20.6% of GDP (2005 est.)

Labor force

24.49 million (2005 est.)

Labor force - by occupation

agriculture: 5% industry: 32% services: 63% (2001)

Natural gas - consumption

76.88 billion cu m (2003 est.)

Natural gas - exports

61 million cu m (2001 est.)

Natural gas - imports

54.78 billion cu m (2001 est.)

Natural gas - production

13.55 billion cu m (2003 est.)

Natural gas - proved reserves

226.5 billion cu m (1 January 2002)

Oil - consumption

1.874 million bbl/day (2003 est.)

Oil - exports

456,600 bbl/day (2001)

Oil - imports

2.158 million bbl/day (2001)

Oil - production

136,200 bbl/day (2003 est.)

Oil - proved reserves

586.6 million bbl (1 January 2002)

Population below poverty line

NA%

Public debt

108.8% of GDP (2005 est.)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold

$65.95 billion (2005 est.)

Unemployment rate

7.7% (2005 est.)

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

Climate

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

Coastline

7,600 km

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)

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

Geographic coordinates

42 50 N, 12 50 E

Geography - note

strategic location dominating central Mediterranean as well as southern sea and air approaches to Western Europe

Irrigated land

27,500 sq km (2003)

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

Land use

arable land: 26.41% permanent crops: 9.09% other: 64.5% (2005)

Location

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

Map references

Europe

Maritime claims

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

Natural hazards

regional risks include landslides, mudflows, avalanches, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, flooding; land subsidence in Venice

Natural resources

coal, mercury, zinc, potash, marble, barite, asbestos, pumice, fluorospar, feldspar, pyrite (sulfur), natural gas and crude oil reserves, fish, arable land

Terrain

mostly rugged and mountainous; some plains, coastal lowlands

Administrative divisions

15 regions (regioni, singular - regione) and 5 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

Capital

name: Rome geographic coordinates: 41 54 N, 12 29 E time difference: UTC+1 (6 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) daylight saving time: +1hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last Sunday in October

Constitution

passed 11 December 1947, effective 1 January 1948; amended many times

Country name

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

Diplomatic representation from the US

chief of mission: Ambassador Ronald P. SPOGLI embassy: Via Vittorio Veneto 121, 00187-Rome mailing address: PSC 59, Box 100, APO AE 09624 telephone: [39] (06) 46741 FAX: [39] (06) 488-2672, 4674-2356 consulate(s) general: Florence, Milan, Naples

Diplomatic representation in the US

chief of mission: Ambassador Giovanni CASTELLANETA chancery: 3000 Whitehaven Street NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 612-4400 FAX: [1] (202) 518-2151 consulate(s) general: Boston, Chicago, Houston, Miami, New York, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, San Francisco consulate(s): Detroit

Executive branch

chief of state: President Giorgio NAPOLITANO (since 15 May 2006) head of government: Prime Minister (referred to in Italy as the president of the Council of Ministers) Romano PRODI (since 17 May 2006) 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 (no term limits); election last held 10 May 2006 (next to be held May 2013); prime minister appointed by the president and confirmed by parliament election results: Giorgio NAPOLITANO elected president on the fourth round of voting; electoral college vote - 543

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 note: inspired by the French flag brought to Italy by Napoleon in 1797

Government type

republic

Independence

17 March 1861 (Kingdom of Italy proclaimed; Italy was not finally unified until 1870)

International organization participation

AfDB, AsDB, Australia Group, BIS, BSEC (observer), CBSS (observer), CDB, CE, CEI, CERN, EAPC, EBRD, EIB, EMU, ESA, EU, FAO, G- 7, G- 8, G-10, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITU, LAIA (observer), MIGA, MINURSO, NAM (guest), NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OPCW, OSCE, Paris Club, PCA, SECI (observer), UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIFIL, UNMOGIP, UNRWA, UNTSO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WEU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO, ZC

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)

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

Legislative branch

bicameral Parliament or Parlamento consists of the Senate or Senato della Repubblica (315 seats; elected by proportional vote with the winning coalition in each region receiving 55% of seats from that region; members serve five-year terms) and the Chamber of Deputies or Camera dei Deputati (630 seats; elected by popular vote with the winning national coalition receiving 54% of chamber seats; members serve five-year terms); note - electoral vote reform passed in December 2005 elections: Senate - last held 10 April 2006 (next to be held in 2011); Chamber of Deputies - last held 10 April 2006 (next to be held May 2011) election results: Senate - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - The Union 158 (DS 62, DL 39, RC 27, Together with the Union 11, other 19), House of Freedoms 154 (FI 79, AN 41, UDC 21, LEGA 13), other 3; Chamber of Deputies - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - The Union 348 (DS 220, RC 41, Rose in the Fist 18, Italy of Values 17, PdCI 16, Greens Federation 15, UDEUR 10, other 11), House of Freedoms 276 (FI 140, AN 71, Union of Christian and Center Democrats 39, LEGA 26), other 6

National holiday

Republic Day, 2 June (1946)

Political parties and leaders

Center-Left Union Coalition [Romano PRODI]: Ulivo Alliance (including Democrats of the Left or DS [Piero FASSINO]; Daisy-Democracy is Freedom or DL [Francesco RUTELLI]); Rose in the Fist (including Italian Social Democrats or SDI [Enrico BOSELLI]; Italian Radical Party [Emma BONINO]); Italian Communist Party or PdCI [Oliviero DILIBERTO]; Green Federation [Alfonso PECORARO SCANIO]; Communist Renewal or RC [Fausto BERTINOTTI]; Italy of Values or IdV [Antonio DI PIETRO]; Union of Democrats for Europe or UDEUR [Clemente MASTELLA]; Republican European Movement or MRE [Luciana SBARBATI] Center-Right Freedom House Coalition [Silvio BERLUSCONI]: Forza Italia or FI [Silvio BERLUSCONI]; National Alliance or AN [Gianfranco FINI]; Union of Christian Democrats of the Center or UDC [Pier Ferdinando CASINI]; Northern League or LEGA [Umberto BOSSI]; Christian Democracy (Per la Autonomie) [Publio FIORI] other non-allied parties: New Italian Socialist Party or New PSI [Gianni DE MICHELIS]; Italian Republican Party or PRI [Giorgio LA MALFA]; Social Alternative [Alessandra MUSSOLINI]; Social Movement-Tricolor Flame or MSI-Fiamma [Luca ROMAGNOLI]; Social Idea Movement with Rauti or MIS [Pino RAUTI]; South Tyrol People's Party or SVP (German speakers) [Elmar Pichler ROLLE]; Union of Valley Aosta Region or UV [Guido CESAL]

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)

Suffrage

18 years of age; universal (except in senatorial elections, where minimum age is 25)

Background

Italy became a nation-state in 1861 when the regional 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.

Manpower available for military service

males age 18-49: 13,491,260 females age 18-49: 12,886,033 (2005 est.)

Manpower fit for military service

males age 18-49: 10,963,513 females age 18-49: 10,452,189 (2005 est.)

Manpower reaching military service age annually

males age 18-49: 286,344 females age 18-49: 270,099 (2005 est.)

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 expenditures - percent of GDP

1.8% (2004)

Military service age and obligation

voluntary military service; conscription abolished January 2005 (2006)

Age structure

0-14 years: 13.8% (male 4,147,149/female 3,899,980) 15-64 years: 66.5% (male 19,530,512/female 19,105,841) 65 years and over: 19.7% (male 4,771,858/female 6,678,169) (2006 est.)

Birth rate

8.72 births/1,000 population (2006 est.)

Death rate

10.4 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.)

Ethnic groups

Italian (includes small clusters of German-, French-, and Slovene-Italians in the north and Albanian-Italians and Greek-Italians in the south)

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate

0.5% (2001 est.)

HIV/AIDS - deaths

less than 1,000 (2003 est.)

HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS

140,000 (2001 est.)

Infant mortality rate

total: 5.83 deaths/1,000 live births male: 6.42 deaths/1,000 live births female: 5.19 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.)

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)

Life expectancy at birth

total population: 79.81 years male: 76.88 years female: 82.94 years (2006 est.)

Literacy

definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 98.6% male: 99% female: 98.3% (2003 est.)

Median age

total: 42.2 years male: 40.7 years female: 43.7 years (2006 est.)

Nationality

noun: Italian(s) adjective: Italian

Net migration rate

2.06 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.)

Population

58,133,509 (July 2006 est.)

Population growth rate

0.04% (2006 est.)

Religions

approximately 90% Roman Catholic (about one-third regularly attend services); mature Protestant and Jewish communities and a growing Muslim immigrant community

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: 0.72 male(s)/female total population: 0.96 male(s)/female (2006 est.)

Total fertility rate

1.28 children born/woman (2006 est.)

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

Airports

133 (2006)

Airports - with paved runways

total: 98 over 3,047 m: 7 2,438 to 3,047 m: 30 1,524 to 2,437 m: 16 914 to 1,523 m: 31 under 914 m: 14 (2006)

Airports - with unpaved runways

total: 35 1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 14 under 914 m: 19 (2006)

Heliports

5 (2006)

Merchant marine

total: 591 ships (1000 GRT or over) 11,737,175 GRT/12,573,225 DWT by type: bulk carrier 52, cargo 45, chemical tanker 136, container 25, liquefied gas 37, livestock carrier 3, passenger 16, passenger/cargo 150, petroleum tanker 49, refrigerated cargo 4, roll on/roll off 33, specialized tanker 13, vehicle carrier 28 foreign-owned: 36 (France 1, Greece 6, Spain 1, Taiwan 10, UK 3, US 15) registered in other countries: 152 (Bahamas 5, Belize 4, Cayman Islands 12, Cyprus 2, France 2, Germany 1, Gibraltar 6, Isle of Man 5, Jamaica 1, Liberia 16, Malta 29, Marshall Islands 1, Norway 4, Panama 15, Portugal 12, Romania 1, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 18, Singapore 2, Spain 2, Sweden 7, Turkey 3, UK 4) (2006)

Pipelines

gas 17,589 km; oil 1,136 km (2006)

Ports and terminals

Augusta, Genoa, Livorno, Melilli Oil Terminal, Ravenna, Taranto, Trieste, Venice

Railways

total: 19,459 km standard gauge: 18,037 km 1.435-m gauge (11,354 km electrified) narrow gauge: 123 km 1.000-m gauge (122 km electrified); 1,299 km 0.950-m gauge (161 km electrified) (2005)

Roadways

total: 479,688 km paved: 479,688 km (including 6,478 km of expressways) (2004)

Waterways

2,400 km note: used for commercial traffic; of limited overall value compared to road and rail (2004)