Italy

Italian RepublicRepubblica Italiana

republicIndependence 17 March 1861 (Kingdom of Italy proclaimed)

Italy as the 1993 edition of the CIA World Factbook published it: 79 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

LocationSouthern Europe, a peninsula in the central Mediterranean Sea

Populationas each edition published it

58.02 million July 1993 est. · 57.66m in 1990

Population growth% a year

0.2% 1993 est. · -0.05% in 2025

Median ageyears

Not in this edition 41 yrs in 2003

Life expectancyyears at birth

77.43 years 1993 est. · 83 yrs in 2025

Fertility ratechildren per woman

1.37 children per woman 1993 est. · 1.4 in 1990

Infant mortalitydeaths per 1,000 live births

7.8 deaths per 1,000 live births 1993 est. · 6 in 1990

GDP per capitaeach edition's own dollars

$17,500 1992 · $53,100 in 2025

GDP real growth% a year

0.9% 1992 · 0.7% in 2025

Geography

Southern Europe, a peninsula in the central Mediterranean Sea

14 fields

Land useshare of 301,230 km2

arable land 32%permanent crops 10%meadows and pastures 17%forest and woodland 22%other 19%irrigated 31,000 km2 (1989 est.)

Area

301,230km2

land area: 294,020 km2comparative area: slightly larger than Arizonanote: includes Sardinia and Sicily

Coastline

4,996km

continental shelf: 200 m depth or to depth of exploitationterritorial sea: 12 nm

Land boundaries

1,899.2km

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

Location

Southern Europe, a peninsula in the central Mediterranean Sea

Map references

Africa, Europe, Standard Time Zones of the World

International disputes

small vocal minority in northern Italy seeks the return of parts of southwestern Slovenia

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

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

58,018,540

(July 1993 est.)growth rate: 0.2% (1993 est.)

Per 1,000 population(1993 est.)

Birth

10.65Death

9.66Net migration

1.03

Male · female(1993 est.)

TotalMale · femaleLife expectancy years77.43

74.22 · 80.85

TotalMale · femaleLiteracy97%

98% · 96%

MaleFemaleLiteracy age 15 and over can read and write (1990)

Labor force

23.988million

by occupation: services 58%, industry 32.2%, agriculture 9.8% (1988)

Infant mortality rate

7.8 deaths/1,000 live births (1993 est.)

Nationality

noun:: Italian(s)
adjective:: Italian

Ethnic divisions

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

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)

Government

Republic

21 fields

Presidential electionpercent of vote

27.3%

DC 27.3%PDS 17.0%PSI 13.6%Northern Leagues 8.2%other 33.9%

Names

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

Digraph

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)

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)

Political parties and leaders

Christian Democratic Party (DC), Fermo Mino MARTINAZZOLI, general secretary;
Rosa Russo JERVOLINO, president;
Socialist Party (PSI), Giorgio BENVENUTO, party secretary;
Social Democratic Party (PSDI), Enrico FERRI, party secretary;
Liberal Party (PLI);
Democratic Party of the Left (PDS - was Communist Party, or PCI, until January 1991), Achille OCCHETTO, secretary general;
Italian Social Movement (MSI), Gianfranco FINI, national secretary;
Republican Party (PRI), Giorgio BOGI, political secretary;
Lega Nord (Northern League), Umberto BOSSI, president;
Communist Renewal (RC), Sergio GARAVINI

Other political or pressure groups

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

Suffrage

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

Elections

Senate:: last held 5-6 April 1992 (next to be held by April 1997);
results - DC 27.3%, PDS 17.0%, PSI 13.6%, Northern Leagues 8.2%, other 33.9%;
seats - (326 total; 315 elected, 11 appointed senators-for-life) DC 107, PDS 64, PSI 49, Leagues 25, other 70
Chamber of Deputies:: last held 5-6 April 1992 (next to be held by April 1997);
results - DC 29.7%, PDS 16.1%, PSI 13.6%, Northern Leagues 8.7%, RC 5.6%, MSI 5.4%, PRI 4.4%, PLI 2.8%, PSDI 2.7%, other 11%;
seats - (630 total) DC 206, PDS 107, PSI 92, Northern Leagues 55, RC 35, MSI 34, PRI 27, PLI 17, PSDI 16, other 41

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)

Leaders

Chief of State:: President Oscar Luigi SCALFARO (since 28 May 1992)
Head of Government:: Prime Minister Carlo Azeglio CIAMPI (29 April 1993)

Member of

AfDB, AG (observer), Australia Group, AsDB, BIS, CCC, CDB (non-regional), CE, CEI, CERN, COCOM, CSCE, EBRD, EC, ECE, ECLAC, 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, LAIA (observer), LORCS, MINURSO, MTCR, NACC, NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIFIL, UNIKOM, UNMOGIP, UNOMOZ, UNTSO, UPU, WCL, WEU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO, ZC

Diplomatic representation in US

chief of mission:: Ambassador Boris BIANCHERI CHIAPPORI
chancery:: 1601 Fuller Street NW, Washington DC 20009
telephone:: (202) 328-5500
consulates general:: Boston, Chicago, Houston, Miami, New York, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, San Francisco
consulates:: Detroit, New Orleans, and Newark (New Jersey)

US diplomatic representation

chief of mission:: (vacant)
embassy:: Via Veneto 119/A, 00187, Rome
mailing address:: PSC 59, Box 100, APO AE 09624
telephone:: [39] (6) 46741
FAX:: [39] (6) 488-2672
consulates general:: Florence, Genoa, Milan, Naples, 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 Cote d'Ivoire, which has the colors reversed - orange (hoist side), white, and green

Economy

19 fields

GDP per capita, PPP

$17,500

(1992)

Real growth rate

0.9%

(1992)industrial production growth: growth rate -0.5% (1992 est.); accounts for almost 35% of GDP

Inflation, consumer prices

5.4%

(1992)

Unemployment rate

11%

(1992 est.)

Budget

Revenues

$447 billionExpenditures

$581 billion

expenditures, including capital expenditures of $46 billion (1992 est.)

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 private companies, and an undeveloped agricultural south, dominated by large public enterprises.

Services account for 48% of GDP, industry 35%, agriculture 4%, and public administration 13%. Most raw materials needed by industry and over 75% of energy requirements must be imported. After growing at an annual average rate of 3% in 1983-90, growth slowed to about 1% in 1991 and 1992.

In the second half of 1992, Rome became unsettled by the prospect of not qualifying to participate in EC plans for economic and monetary union later in the decade; thus it finally began to address its huge fiscal imbalances. Thanks to the determination of Prime Minister AMATO, the government adopted a fairly stringent budget for 1993, abandoned its highly inflationary wage indexation system, and started to scale back its extremely generous social welfare programs, including pension and health care benefits.

Monetary officials, who were forced to withdraw the lira from the European monetary system in September 1992 when it came under extreme pressure in currency markets, remain committed to bringing the currency back into the grid as soon as conditions warrant. 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.

National product

GDP - purchasing power equivalent - $1.012 trillion (1992)

Exports

$168.8 million (f.o.b., 1991)

commodities:: textiles, wearing apparel, metals, production machinery, motor vehicles, transportation equipment, chemicals, other
partners:: EC 58.3%, US 6.8%, OPEC 5.1% (1992)

Imports

$169.7 million (f.o.b., 1991)

commodities:: petroleum, industrial machinery, chemicals, metals, food, agricultural products
partners:: EC 58.8%, OPEC 6.1%, US 5.5% (1992)

External debt

$42 billion (September 1992)

Electricity

58,000,000 kW capacity; 235,000 million kWh produced, 4,060 kWh per capita (1992)

Industries

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

Agriculture

accounts for about 4% of GDP and about 10% of the work force;
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

increasingly important gateway country for Latin American cocaine entering the European market

Economic aid

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

Currency

1 Italian lira (Lit) = 100 centesimi

Exchange rates

Italian lire (Lit) per US$1 - 1,482.5 (January 1993), 1,232.4 (1992), 1,240.6 (1991), 1,198.1 (1990), 1,372.1 (1989), 1,301.6 (1988)

Fiscal year

calendar year

Communications

8 fields

Merchant marine, 536 ships by type

passenger 15short-sea passenger 36cargo 87refrigerated cargo 4container 21roll-on/roll-off cargo 69vehicle carrier 8multifunction large-load carrier 1oil tanker 138chemical tanker 34liquefied gas 45specialized tanker 10combination ore/oil 9bulk 57combination bulk 2536 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 6,788,938 GRT/10,128,468 DWT

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

298,000 km total;
autostrada (expressway) 6,000 km, state highways 46,000 km, provincial highways 103,000 km, communal highways 143,000 km;
270,000 km paved, 23,000 km gravel and crushed stone, 5,000 km earth

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

Cagliari (Sardinia), Genoa, La Spezia, Livorno, Naples, Palermo (Sicily), Taranto, Trieste, Venice

Airports

total:: 137
usable:: 133
with permanent-surface runways:: 92
with runways over 3,659 m:: 2
with runways 2,440-3,659 m:: 36
with runways 1,220-2,439 m:: 39

Telecommunications

modern, well-developed, fast;
25,600,000 telephones;
fully automated telephone, telex, and data services;
high-capacity cable and microwave radio relay trunks;
broadcast stations - 135 AM, 28 (1,840 repeaters) FM, 83 (1,000 repeaters) TV;
international service by 21 submarine cables, 3 satellite earth stations operating in INTELSAT with 3 Atlantic Ocean antennas and 2 Indian Ocean antennas;
also participates in INMARSAT and EUTELSAT systems