Italy

Italian RepublicRepubblica Italiana

republicIndependence 17 March 1861 (Kingdom of Italy proclaimed)

Italy as the 1995 edition of the CIA World Factbook published it: 83 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 sq km

LocationSouthern Europe, a peninsula extending into the central

Populationas each edition published it

58.26 million July 1995 est. · 57.66m in 1990

Population growth% a year

0.21% 1995 est. · 0.2% in 1993

Median ageyears

Not in this edition 41 yrs in 2003

Life expectancyyears at birth

77.85 years 1995 est. · 77.43 yrs in 1993

Fertility ratechildren per woman

1.41 children per woman 1995 est. · 1.4 in 1990

Infant mortalitydeaths per 1,000 live births

7.4 deaths per 1,000 live births 1995 est. · 6 in 1990

GDP per capitaeach edition's own dollars

$17,180 1994 est. · $17,500 in 1993

GDP real growth% a year

2.2% 1994 est. · 0.9% in 1993

Geography

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

14 fields

Land useshare of 301,230 sq km

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

Area

301,230sq km

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

Coastline

4,996km

continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the 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 extending into the central Mediterranean Sea, northeast of Tunisia

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

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
natural hazards:: regional risks include landslides, mudflows, avalanches, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, flooding; land subsidence in Venice
international agreements:: party to - Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Sulphur 85, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Wetlands;
signed, but not ratified - Air Pollution-Sulphur 94, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Desertification

Note

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

People

15 fields

Population

58,261,971

(July 1995 est.)growth rate: 0.21% (1995 est.)

Per 1,000 population(1995 est.)

Birth

10.89Death

9.78Net migration

1.03

Male · female(1995 est.)

TotalMale · femaleLife expectancy years77.85

74.67 · 81.23

TotalMale · femaleLiteracy97%

98% · 96%

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

Labor force

23.988million

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

Age structure

0-14 years:: 15% (female 4,352,325; male 4,603,083)
15-64 years:: 68% (female 19,969,086; male 19,874,528)
65 years and over:: 17% (female 5,630,747; male 3,832,202) (July 1995 est.)

Infant mortality rate

7.4 deaths/1,000 live births (1995 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; President Oscar Luigi SCALFARO (since 28 May 1992); Prime Minister (referred to in Italy as the President of the Council of Ministers) Lamberto DINI (since 1 February 1995)

22 fields

Legislature, 267 seatsone dot, one seat

(326 total, 315 elected, 11 appointed senators-for-life) PDS 61Northern League 60Forza Italia 36Italian Popular Party 31Communist Refoundation 18Greens and The Network 13Italian Socialists 13Christian Democratic Center 12Democratic Alliance 8Christian Socialists 5Pact for Italy 4Radical Party (Pannella List) 1others 5

Legislature, 630 seatsseats by party

Northern League 117PDS 114Forza Italia 113Communist Refoundation 39Christian Democratic Center 33Italian Popular Party 33Greens and The Network 20Democratic Alliance 18Italian Socialists 16Pact for Italy 13Christian Socialists 5

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)

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) Lamberto DINI (since 1 February 1995)
cabinet:: Council of Ministers; nominated by the President of the Council (i.e., Prime Minister) and approved by the President of the Republic

Legislative branch

bicameral Parliament (Parlamento)

Senate (Senato della Repubblica)

elections last held 27-28 March 1994 (next must be held by spring 1999, but may be held by end of 1995);
results - percent of vote by party NA;
seats - (326 total, 315 elected, 11 appointed senators-for-life) PDS 61, Northern League 60, National Alliance 48, Forza Italia 36, Italian Popular Party 31, Communist Refoundation 18, Greens and The Network 13, Italian Socialists 13, Christian Democratic Center 12, Democratic Alliance 8, Christian Socialists 5, Pact for Italy 4, Radical Party (Pannella List) 1, others 5

Chamber of Deputies (Camera dei Deputati)

elections last held 27-28 March 1994 (next must be held by spring 1999, but may be held by end of 1995);
results - percent of vote by party NA;
seats - (630 total) Northern League 117, PDS 114, Forza Italia 113, National Alliance 109, Communist Refoundation 39, Christian Democratic Center 33, Italian Popular Party 33, Greens and The Network 20, Democratic Alliance 18, Italian Socialists 16, Pact for Italy 13, Christian Socialists 5

Judicial branch

Constitutional Court (Corte Costituzionale)

Political parties and leaders

Forza Italia (FI), Silvio BERLUSCONI;
National Alliance, Gianfranco FINI, party secretary;
Northern League - Federal Italy (NL), Umberto BOSSI, president;
Italian Social Movement, Pino RAUTI;
Democratic Party of the Left (PDS, Massimo D'ALEMA, secretary; Communist Refoundation (RC), Fausto BERTINOTTI; Greens, Gianni MATTIOLI; Italian Socialists, Ottaviano DELTURCO; Rete (The Network), Leoluca ORLANDO; Christian Socialists, Ermanno GORRIERI; Pact for Italy, Mario SEGNI; Italian Popular Party (PPI), Rocco BUTTIGLIONE, Gerardo BIANCO; Christian Democratic Center (CCD), Pier Ferdinando CASINI; Union of the Democratic Center (UDC), Raffaele COSTA; Pannella List, Marco PANNELLA

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, EC, ECE, ECLAC, EIB, ESA, FAO, G- 7, G-10, GATT, 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, NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, ONUSAL, OSCE, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIFIL, UNIKOM, UNITAR, 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:: [1] (202) 328-5500
consulate(s) general:: Boston, Chicago, Houston, Miami, New York, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, San Francisco
consulate(s):: Detroit and New Orleans

US diplomatic representation

chief of mission:: Ambassador Reginald BARTHOLOMEW
embassy:: Via Veneto 119/A, 00187-Rome
mailing address:: PSC 59, Box 100, Rome; APO AE 09624
telephone:: [39] (6) 46741

FAX

[39] (6) 4882672; consulate(s) general: Florence, Milan, Naples

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

$17,180

(1994 est.)

Real growth rate

2.2%

(1994 est.)industrial production growth: growth rate 4.3% (1994 est.); accounts for 35% of GDP

Inflation, consumer prices

3.9%

(1994)

Unemployment rate

12.2%

(January 1995)

Budget

Revenues

$339 billionExpenditures

$431 billion (1994 est.)

expenditures including capital expenditures of $NA

Installed generating capacity, 61,630,000 kW

Electricity production

209 billionElectricity consumption per capita

4,033 (1993)

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.

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 average annual rate of 3% in 1983-90, growth slowed to about 1% in 1991 and 1992, fell by 0.7% in 1993, and recovered to 2% in 1994.

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 highly inflationary wage indexation system, and started to scale back its extremely 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 European Union.

National product

GDP - purchasing power parity - $998.9 billion (1994 est.)

Exports

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

commodities:: metals, textiles and clothing, production machinery, motor vehicles, transportation equipment, chemicals, other
partners:: EU 53.4%, US 7.8%, OPEC 3.8% (1994)

Imports

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

commodities:: industrial machinery, chemicals, transport equipment, petroleum, metals, food, agricultural products
partners:: EU 56.3%, OPEC 5.3%, US 4.6% (1994)

External debt

$67 billion (1993 est.)

Industries

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

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

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 - 1,609.5 (January 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

7 fields

Airports by runway lengthpaved left, unpaved right · 138 in all

over 3,047 m

2,438 to 3,047 m

1,524 to 2,437 m

914 to 1,523 m

under 914 m

1,524 to 2,438 m

PavedUnpaved

Networkskm

Highways

305,388Railroads

19,503

Highways: paved: 277,388 km (6,940 km of expressways) · unpaved: gravel, crushed stone 23,000 km; earth 5,000 km (1992) · Railroads: standard gauge: 18,230 km 1.435-m gauge (10,499 km electrified; 2,112 km privately owned) · narrow gauge: 1,273 km 0.950-m to 1.000-m gauge (224 km electrified; 1,273 km privately owned)

Railroads

total:: 19,503 km
standard gauge:: 18,230 km 1.435-m gauge (10,499 km electrified; 2,112 km privately owned)
narrow gauge:: 1,273 km 0.950-m to 1.000-m gauge (224 km electrified; 1,273 km privately owned)

Highways

total:: 305,388 km
paved:: 277,388 km (6,940 km of expressways)
unpaved:: gravel, crushed stone 23,000 km; earth 5,000 km (1992)

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

total:: 441 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 5,767,969 GRT/8,547,221 DWT
ships by type:: bulk 40, cargo 62, chemical tanker 34, combination ore/oil 3, container 18, liquefied gas tanker 37, multifunction large-load carrier 1, oil tanker 136, passenger 7, roll-on/roll-off cargo 54, short-sea passenger 30, specialized tanker 11, vehicle carrier 8

Communications

3 fields

Telephone system

25,600,000 telephones;
modern, well-developed, fast;
fully automated telephone, telex, and data services

local:: NA
intercity:: high-capacity cable and microwave radio relay trunks
international:: 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