Italy

republicIndependence 17 March 1861, Kingdom of Italy proclaimed

Italy as the 1991 edition of the CIA World Factbook published it: 69 fields, one of 36 editions from 1990 to 2025.

field in that editiontext changed from the edition beforenot in that editionthe open editionEach field below ends in its editions, 1990 to 2025. Point at a year above to follow it down.

CapitalRome

Area301,230 km2

Populationas each edition published it

57.77 million July 1991 · 57.66m in 1990

Population growth% a year

Not in this edition 0.2% in 1993

Median ageyears

Not in this edition 41 yrs in 2003

Life expectancyyears at birth

Not in this edition 77.43 yrs in 1993

Fertility ratechildren per woman

1.4 children per woman 1991 · 1.4 in 1990

Infant mortalitydeaths per 1,000 live births

6 deaths per 1,000 live births 1991 · 6 in 1990

GDP per capitaeach edition's own dollars

Not in this edition $17,500 in 1993

GDP real growth% a year

Not in this edition 0.9% in 1993

Geography

10 fields

Total area

301,230km2

land area: 294,020 km2; includes Sardinia and SicilyComparative area: slightly larger than Arizona

Land boundaries

1,902.2km total

Austria 430 km, France 488 km, San Marino 39 km, Switzerland 740 km, Vatican City 3.2 km, Yugoslavia 202 km

Coastline

4,996 km Continental shelf: 200 m (depth) or to 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

Natural resources

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

Land use

arable land 32%;
permanent crops 10%;
meadows and pastures 17%;
forest and woodland 22%;
other 19%;
includes irrigated 10%

Environment

regional risks include landslides, mudflows, snowslides, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, flooding, pollution; land sinkage in Venice

Note

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

People

14 fields

Population

57,772,375

(July 1991), growth rate 0.2% (1991)

Per 1,000 population(1991)

Birth

11Death

10Net migration

Literacy

97%

(male 98%, female 96%) age 15 and over can read and write (1990 est.)

Ethnic divisions

primarily Italian but population includes small clusters of German-, French-, and Slovene-Italians in the north and Albanian-Italians and Greek-Italians in the south;
Sicilians;
Sardinians

Language

Italian;
parts of Trentino-Alto Adige region are predominantly German speaking;
significant French-speaking minority in Valle d'Aosta region;
Slovene-speaking minority in the Trieste-Gorizia area

Labor force

23,988,000; services 58%, industry 32.2%, agriculture 9.8% (1988)

Government

Republic

17 fields

Senate, 315 seats, elected 14-15 June 1987seats by party

(320 total, 315 elected) DC 125PCI 100PSI 36other 54

Percent of vote

DC 33.9%PCI 28.3%PSI 10.7%other 27.1%

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

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

National holiday

Anniversary of the Republic, 2 June (1946)

Executive branch

president, prime minister (president of the Council of Ministers)

Legislative branch

bicameral Parliament (Parlamento) consists of an upper chamber or Senate of the Republic (Senato della Repubblica) and a lower chamber or Chamber of Deputies (Camera dei Deputati)

Judicial branch

Constitutional Court (Corte Costituzionale) Chief of State--President Francesco COSSIGA (since 3 July 1985);
Head of Government--Prime Minister Giulio ANDREOTTI (since 22 July 1989, heads the government for the seventh time);
Deputy Prime Minister Claudio MARTELLI (since 23 July 1989) Christian Democratic Party (DC), Arnaldo FORLANI (general secretary), Ciriaco De MITA (president);
Socialist Party (PSI), Bettino CRAXI (party secretary);
Social Democratic Party (PSDI), Antonio CARIGLIA (party secretary);
Liberal Party (PLI), Renato ALTISSIMO (secretary general);
Democratic Party of the Left (PDS--was Communist Party, or PCI, until January 1991), Achille OCCHETTO (secretary general);
Italian Social Movement (MSI), Giuseppe (Pino) RAUTI (national secretary);
Republican Party (PRI), Giorgio La MALFA (political secretary);
Lega Nord, Umberto BOSSI, president;
Italy's 50th postwar government was formed on 13 April 1991, with Prime Minister ANDREOTTI, a Christian Democrat, presiding over a four-party coalition consisting of the Christian Democrats, Socialists, Social Democrats, and Liberals

Suffrage

universal at age 18 (except in senatorial elections, where minimum age is 25) Senate--last held 14-15 June 1987 (next to be held by June 1992);
results--DC 33.9%, PCI 28.3%, PSI 10.7%, other 27.1%;
seats--(320 total, 315 elected) DC 125, PCI 100, PSI 36, other 54;
Chamber of Deputies--last held 14-15 June 1987 (next to be held by June 1992);
results--DC 34.3%, PCI 26.6%, PSI 14.3%, MSI 5.9%, PRI 3.7%, PSDI 3.0%, Radicals 2.6%, Greens 2.5%, PLI 2.1%, Proletarian Democrats 1.7%, other 3.3%;
seats--(630 total) DC 234, PCI 177, PSI 94, MSI 35, PRI 21, PSDI 17, Radicals 13, Greens 13, PLI 11, Proletarian Democrats 8, other 7

Communists

1.3 million (1990)

Other political or pressure groups

the Roman Catholic Church;
three major trade union confederations (CGIL--Communist dominated, CISL--Christian Democratic, and UIL--Social Democratic, Socialist, and Republican);
Italian manufacturers association (Confindustria);
organized farm groups (Confcoltivatori, Confagricoltura)

Member of

AfDB, AG (observer), AsDB, BIS, CCC, CE, CERN, COCOM, CSCE, EBRD, EC, ECE, EIB, ESA, FAO, G-7, G-10, GATT, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, IDA, IFAD, IEA, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INMARSAT, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, LORCS, NATO, NEA, OAS (observer), OECD, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIFIL, UNIIMOG, UNMOGIP, UNTSO, UPU, WCL, WEU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO

Diplomatic representation

Ambassador Rinaldo PETRIGNANI;
Chancery at 1601 Fuller Street NW, Washington DC 20009;
telephone (202) 328-5500;
there are Italian Consulates General in Boston, Chicago, Houston, New Orleans, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, San Francisco, and Consulates in Detroit and Newark (New Jersey);
US--Ambassador Peter F. SECCHIA;
Embassy at Via Veneto 119/A, 00187-Rome (mailing address is APO New York 09794);
telephone [39] (6) 46741;
there are US Consulates General in Florence, Genoa, Milan, Naples, and Palermo (Sicily)

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 Ivory Coast which has the colors reversed--orange (hoist side), white, and green

Economy

16 fields

GDP, purchasing power parity

$844.7billion

per capita $14,600; real growth rate 2.0% (1990)

Inflation, consumer prices

(1990)

Unemployment rate

11.0%

(1990 est.)

Budget

Revenues

$355 billionExpenditures

$448 billion

expenditures, including capital expenditures of $NA (1989)

Overview

Since World War II the 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 small private companies, and an undeveloped agricultural south, dominated by large public enterprises.

Services account for 48% of GDP, industry 34%, agriculture 4%, and public administration 13%. Most raw materials needed by industry and over 75% of energy requirements must be imported. The economic recovery that began in mid-1983 has continued through 1990, with the economy growing at an annual average rate of 3%. For the 1990s, Italy faces the problems of refurbishing a tottering communications system, curbing pollution in major industrial centers, and adjusting to the new competitive forces accompanying the ongoing economic integration of the European Community.

Exports

$170.4 billion (f.o.b., 1990);
commodities--textiles, wearing apparel, metals, transportation equipment, chemicals;
partners--EC 57%, US 8%, OPEC 4%

Imports

$182.0 billion (c.i.f., 1990);
commodities--petroleum, industrial machinery, chemicals, metals, food, agricultural products;
partners--EC 58%, OPEC 6%, US 5%

External debt

Industrial production

growth rate - 0.1% (1990); accounts for almost 35% of GDP

Electricity

56,800,000 kW capacity; 225,000 million kWh produced, 3,900 kWh per capita (1990)

Industries

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

Agriculture

accounts for about 4% of GDP and 10% of the work force;
self-sufficient in foods other than meat and dairy products;
principal crops--fruits, vegetables, grapes, potatoes, sugar beets, soybeans, grain, olives;
fish catch of 388,200 metric tons in 1988

Economic aid

donor--ODA and OOF commitments (1970-89), $25.9 billion

Currency

Italian lira (plural--lire); 1 Italian lira (Lit) = 100 centesimi

Exchange rates

Italian lire (Lit) per US$1--1,134.4 (January 1991), 1,198.1 (1990), 1,372.1 (1989), 1,301.6 (1988), 1,296.1 (1987), 1,490.8 (1986), 1,909.4 (1985)

Fiscal year

calendar year

Communications

9 fields

Merchant marine, 575 ships by type

passenger 11short-sea passenger 44cargo 103refrigerated cargo 5container 23roll-on/roll-off cargo 67vehicle carrier 7multifunction large-load carrier 1livestock carrier 2petroleum, oils, and lubricants (POL) tanker 151chemical tanker 37liquefied gas 38specialized tanker 10combination ore/oil 14bulk 60combination bulk 2575 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 7,462,744 GRT/11,593,730 DWT

Airports, 138 total, 135 usable

permanent-surface runways

90runways over 3,659 m

2runways 2,440-3,659 m

36runways 1,220-2,439 m

Railroads

20,011 km total;
16,066 km 1.435-meter government-owned standard gauge (8,999 km electrified);
3,945 km privately owned--2,100 km 1.435-meter standard gauge (1,155 km electrified) and 1,845 km 0.950-meter narrow gauge (380 km electrified)

Highways

294,410 km total;
autostrada 5,900 km, state highways 45,170 km, provincial highways 101,680 km, communal highways 141,660 km;
260,500 km concrete, bituminous, or stone block, 26,900 km gravel and crushed stone,7,010 km earth

Inland waterways

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

Pipelines

crude oil, 1,703 km;
refined products, 2,148 km;
natural gas, 19,400 km

well engineered, constructed, and operated;
28,000,000 telephones;
stations--144 AM, 54 (over 1,800 repeaters) FM, 450 (over 1,300 repeaters) TV;
22 submarine cables;
communication satellite earth stations operating in INTELSAT 3 Atlantic Ocean and 2 Indian Ocean, INMARSAT, and EUTELSAT systems