Italy

Italian RepublicRepubblica Italiana

republicIndependence 17 March 1861 (Kingdom of Italy proclaimed

Italy as the 2002 edition of the CIA World Factbook published it: 117 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
Position42 50 N, 12 50 E
Area301,230 sq km
LocationSouthern Europe, a peninsula extending into the central Mediterranean Sea, northeast of Tunisia
2002

Every edition of Italy

Populationas each edition published it
57.72 million July 2002 est. · 57.66m in 1990
Population growth% a year
0.05% 2002 est. · 0.2% in 1993
Median ageyears
Not in this edition 41 yrs in 2003
Life expectancyyears at birth
79.25 years 2002 est. · 77.43 yrs in 1993
Fertility ratechildren per woman
1.19 children per woman 2002 est. · 1.4 in 1990
Infant mortalitydeaths per 1,000 live births
5.76 deaths per 1,000 live births 2002 est. · 6 in 1990
GDP per capitaeach edition's own dollars
$25,000 2002 est. · $17,500 in 1993
GDP real growth% a year
0.4% 2002 est. · 0.9% in 1993

Introduction

1 field

Background

Italy became a nation-state in 1861 when the city-states of the peninsula, along with Sardinia and Sicily, were united under King Victor EMMANUEL. 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 European Monetary Union in 1999. Persistent problems include illegal immigration, the ravages of organized crime, corruption, high unemployment, and the low incomes and technical standards of southern Italy compared with the prosperous north.

Geography

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

18 fields

Land useshare of 301,230 sq km

arable land 28.07%permanent crops 9.25%other 62.68% (1998 est.)irrigated 26,980 sq km (1998 est.)
Area
301,230sq km
note: includes Sardinia and Sicilywater: 7,210 sq kmland: 294,020 sq kmslightly larger than Arizona
Coastline
7,600km
continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitationterritorial sea: 12 NM
Highest point
4,748m
Mont Blanc (Monte Bianco) de Courmayeur · (a secondary peak of Mont Blanc)lowest point: Mediterranean Sea 0 m
Land boundaries
1,932.2km
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

Location

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

Geographic coordinates

42 50 N, 12 50 E

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, natural gas and crude oil reserves, fish, coal, arable land

Natural hazards

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

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-Sulphur 85, Air Pollution-Sulphur 94, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Seals, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling
signed, but not ratified:
Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol

Geography - note

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

People

18 fields
Population
57,715,625
(July 2002 est.)growth rate: 0.05% (2002 est.)

Per 1,000 population(2002 est.)

Birth
8.93Death
10.13Net migration
1.73
Literacy
98%
(1998)definition: age 15 and over can read and writemale: NA%female: NA%

Age structure

0-14 years:
14.1% (male 4,198,569; female 3,954,159)
15-64 years:
67.3% (male 19,334,208; female 19,492,048)
65 years and over:
18.6% (male 4,436,073; female 6,300,568) (2002 est.)

Sex ratio

at birth:
1.07 male(s)/female
under 15 years:
1.06 male(s)/female
15-64 years:
0.99 male(s)/female
65 years and over:
0.7 male(s)/female
total population:
0.94 male(s)/female (2002 est.)

Infant mortality rate

5.76 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.)

Life expectancy at birth

total population:
79.25 years
female:
82.63 years (2002 est.)
male:
76.08 years

Total fertility rate

1.19 children born/woman (2002 est.)

HIV/AIDS - deaths

1,000 (1999 est.)

Nationality

noun:
Italian(s)
adjective:
Italian

Ethnic groups

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

Religions

predominately Roman Catholic with mature Protestant and Jewish communities and a growing Muslim immigrant community

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)

Government

Republic; President Carlo Azeglio CIAMPI (since 13 May 1999); Prime Minister (referred to in Italy as the president of the Council of Ministers) Silvio BERLUSCONI (since 10 June 2001)

18 fields

Senate, 630 seats, elected 13 May 2001seats by party

House of Liberties (Forza Italia 189, National Alliance 96, CCD-CDU 40, Northern League 30, others 12) 367Olive Tree (Democrats of the Left 138, Daisy Alliance 76, Sunflower Alliance 18, Italian Communist Party 9, independents 7) 248non-affiliated with either coalition 15

Country name

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

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; Italy was not finally unified until 1870)

National holiday

Republic Day, 2 June (1946)

Constitution

1 January 1948

Suffrage

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

Executive branch

chief of state:
President Carlo Azeglio CIAMPI (since 13 May 1999)
elections:
  • president elected by an electoral college consisting of both houses of Parliament and 58 regional representatives for a seven-year term;
  • election last held 13 May 1999 (next to be held NA May 2006);
  • prime minister appointed by the president and confirmed by Parliament
head of government:
Prime Minister (referred to in Italy as the president of the Council of Ministers) Silvio BERLUSCONI (since 10 June 2001)
cabinet:
Council of Ministers nominated by the prime minister and approved by the president
election results:
Carlo Azeglio CIAMPI elected president; percent of electoral college vote - 70%

note: a five-party government coalition includes Forza Italia, National Alliance, Northern League, Democratic Christian Center, United Christian Democrats

Legislative branch

bicameral Parliament or Parlamento consists of the Senate or Senato della Repubblica (315 seats elected by popular vote of which 232 are directly elected and 83 are elected by regional proportional representation; in addition, there are a small number of senators-for-life including former presidents of the republic; members serve five-year terms) and the Chamber of Deputies or Camera dei Deputati (630 seats; 475 are directly elected, 155 by regional proportional representation; members serve five-year terms)

elections:
Senate - last held 13 May 2001 (next to be held NA 2006); Chamber of Deputies - last held 13 May 2001 (next to be held NA 2006)
election results:
  • Senate - percent of vote by party - NA%;
  • seats by party - House of Liberties 177 (Forza Italia 82, National Alliance 46, CCD-CDU 29, Northern League 17, others 3), Olive Tree 128 (Democrats of the Left 62, Daisy Alliance 42, Sunflower Alliance 16, Italian Communist Party 3, independents 5), non-affiliated with either coalition 10, senators for life 9;
  • Chamber of Deputies - percent of vote by party - NA%;
  • seats by party - House of Liberties 367 (Forza Italia 189, National Alliance 96, CCD-CDU 40, Northern League 30, others 12), Olive Tree 248 (Democrats of the Left 138, Daisy Alliance 76, Sunflower Alliance 18, Italian Communist Party 9, independents 7), non-affiliated with either coalition 15

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)

Political parties and leaders

  • Center-Left Olive Tree Coalition [Francesco RUTELLI] - Democrats of the Left, Daisy Alliance (including
    • Italian Popular Party,
    • Italian Renewal,
    • Union of Democrats for Europe,
    • The Democrats),
    • Sunflower Alliance (including Green Federation,
    • Italian Democratic Socialists),
    • Italian Communist Party
    ;
  • Center-Right Freedom House Coalition [Silvio BERLUSCONI] (formerly House of Liberties and Freedom Alliance) - Forza Italia, National Alliance, The Whiteflower Alliance (includes
    • Christian Democratic Center,
    • United Christian Democrats),
    • Northern League
    ;
  • Christian Democratic Center or CCD [Marco FOLLINI];
  • Communist Party or PdCI [Oliviero DILIBERTO];
  • Democrats of the Left or DS [Piero FASSINO];
  • Forza Italia or FI [Silvio BERLUSCONI];
  • Green Federation [Alfonso Pecoraro SCANIO];
  • Italian Communist Party or PdCI [Oliviero DILIBERTO];
  • Italian Popular Party or PPI [Pierluigi CASTAGNETTI];
  • Italian Renewal or RI [Lamberto DINI];
  • Italian Social Democrats or SDI [Enrico BOSELLI];
  • Socialist Movement-Tricolor Flame or MS-Fiamma [Pino RAUTI];
  • National Alliance or AN [Gianfranco FINI];
  • Northern League or NL [Umberto BOSSI];
  • Southern Tyrols People's Party or SVP (German speakers) [Siegfried BRUGGER];
  • Sunflower Alliance (includes Green Federation, Italian Social Democrats);
  • The Daisy Alliance (includes
    • Italian Popular Party,
    • Italian Renewal,
    • Union of Democrats for Europe,
    • The Democrats)
    ;
  • The Democrats [Arturo PARISI];
  • The Radicals (formerly Pannella Reformers and Autonomous List) [Marco PANNELLA];
  • The Whiteflower Alliance (includes Christian Democratic Center, United Christian Democrats);
  • Union of Democrats for Europe or UDEUR [Clemente MASTELLA];
  • United Christian Democrats or CDU [Rocco BUTTIGLIONE]

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 [Sergio COFFERATI] 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 [Pietro LARIZZA] which is lay centrist)

International organization participation

AfDB, AsDB, Australia Group, BIS, BSEC (observer), CCC, CDB, CE, CEI, CERN, EAPC, EBRD, ECE, ECLAC, EIB, EMU, ESA, EU, FAO, G- 7, G- 8, G-10, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, LAIA (observer), MINURSO, MONUC, NAM (guest), NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIFIL, UNIKOM, UNMEE, UNMIBH, UNMIK, UNMOGIP, UNTSO, UPU, WCL, WEU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO, ZC

Diplomatic representation in the US

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

Diplomatic representation from the US

chief of mission:
Ambassador Melvin SEMBLER
embassy:
Via Vittorio Veneto 119/A, 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

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

Economy

33 fields
Real growth rate
0.4%
(2002 est.)industrial production growth: -2.8% (2002)
Unemployment rate
9.1%
(2002 est.)
Labor force
23.6million
(2001 est.)

GDP - composition by sector(2001 est.)

agriculture 2%industry 30%services 68% (2001 est.)

Budget

Revenues
$504 billionExpenditures
$517 billion (2001 est.)
expenditures including capital expenditures of $NA

Electricity

fossil fuel 80%hydro 17%other 3% (2000)nuclear 0%
Electricity production
257.41 billion (2000)Electricity consumption
283.74 billion (2000)Electricity exports
484 million (2000)Electricity imports
44.831 billion (2000)

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 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. Rome 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.

GDP

purchasing power parity - $1.438 trillion (2002 est.)

GDP - per capita

purchasing power parity - $25,000 (2002 est.)

Household income or consumption by percentage share

lowest 10%:
2%
highest 10%:
27% (2000)

Labor force - by occupation

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

Industries

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

Agriculture - products

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

Exports

$259.2 billion f.o.b. (2002 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

EU 53.8% (Germany 14.5%, France 12.2%, UK 6.7%, Spain 6.1%), US 9.7% (2001)

Imports

$238.2 billion f.o.b. (2002 est.)

Imports - commodities

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

Imports - partners

EU 56.5% (Germany 17.7%, France 11.1%, Netherlands 6.2%, UK 5.1%), US 4.9% (2001)

Economic aid - donor

ODA, $1 billion (2002 est.)

Currency

euro (EUR); Italian lira (ITL)

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

Exchange rates

  • euros per US dollar - 1.1324 (January 2002), 1.1175 (2001), 1.0854 (2000), 0.9386 (1999);
  • Italian lire per US dollar - 1,688.7 (January 1999), 1,736.2 (1998), 1,703.1 (1997)

Fiscal year

calendar year

Communications

10 fields
Mobile cellular
20.5 million
(1999)
Internet users
93
(Italy and Holy See) (2000)
Fixed lines
25 million
(1999) · country code .it

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:
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

Radio broadcast stations

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

Radios

50.5 million (1997)

Television broadcast stations

358 (plus 4,728 repeaters) (1995)

Televisions

30.3 million (1997)

Internet users

19.25 million (2001)

Transportation

10 fields

Airports by runway lengthpaved left, unpaved right

5
over 3,047 m
34
2,438 to 3,047 m
30
914 to 1,523 m
18
12
under 914 m
18
15
1,524 to 2,437 m
2
Paved 96Unpaved 38

Networkskm

Highways
668,669Railways
19,786Waterways
2,400
Highways: paved: 668,669 km (including 6,460 km of expressways) · unpaved: 0 km (2001) · Railways: standard gauge: 18,761 km 1.435-m gauge (11,251 km electrified) · narrow gauge: 113 km 1.000-m gauge (113 km electrified); 912 km 0.950-m gauge (192 km electrified) (2001) · Waterways: note: serves various types of commercial traffic, although of limited overall value (2002)

Railways

total:
19,786 km
standard gauge:
18,761 km 1.435-m gauge (11,251 km electrified)
narrow gauge:
113 km 1.000-m gauge (113 km electrified); 912 km 0.950-m gauge (192 km electrified) (2001)

Highways

total:
668,669 km
paved:
668,669 km (including 6,460 km of expressways)
unpaved:
0 km (2001)

Waterways

2,400 km note: serves various types of commercial traffic, although of limited overall value (2002)

Pipelines

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

Ports and harbors

Augusta (Sicily), Bagnoli, Bari, Brindisi, Gela, Genoa, La Spezia, Livorno, Milazzo, Naples, Porto Foxi, Porto Torres (Sardinia), Salerno, Savona, Taranto, Trieste, Venice (2001)

Merchant marine

total:
467 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 8,499,248 GRT/10,383,988 DWT

note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: Croatia 1, Denmark 4, France 1, Greece 3, Man, Isle of 1, Monaco 7,

Netherlands 6, Norway 1, Panama 2, Spain 1, Switzerland 1, Taiwan 15, Turkey 1, United Kingdom 6, United States 12 (2002 est.)

ships by type:
bulk 45, cargo 41, chemical tanker 91, combination ore/oil 4, container 24, liquefied gas 37, multi-functional large-load carrier 1, passenger 15, petroleum tanker 80, refrigerated cargo 4, roll on/roll off 70, short-sea passenger 27, specialized tanker 12, vehicle carrier 16

Airports

135 (2001)

Heliports

4 (2002)

Military

Army, Navy, Air Force, Carabinieri

7 fields

Military branches

Army, Navy, Air Force, Carabinieri

Military manpower - military age

18 years of age (2002 est.)

Military manpower - availability

males age 15-49: 14,184,307 (2002 est.)

Military manpower - fit for military service

males age 15-49: 12,157,753 (2002 est.)

Transnational Issues

2 fields

Disputes - international

Croatia and Italy are still trying to resolve bilateral property and ethnic minority rights dating from World War II

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

Central Intelligence Agency. “Italy.” The World Factbook 2002. Archived by The Factbook, thefactbook.org/italy/2002.

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