Italy

• predominantly Mediterranean;
• alpine in far north;
• hot, dry in south

mean elevation:

538 m

lowest point:

Mediterranean Sea 0 m

highest point:

Mont Blanc (Monte Bianco) de Courmayeur (a secondary peak of Mont Blanc) 4,748 m

• regional risks include landslides, mudflows, avalanches, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, flooding;
• land subsidence in Venice volcanism: significant volcanic activity;
• Etna (3,330 m), which is in eruption as of 2010, is Europe's most active volcano;
• flank eruptions pose a threat to nearby Sicilian villages;
• Etna, along with the famous Vesuvius, which remains a threat to the millions of nearby residents in the Bay of Naples area, have both been deemed Decade Volcanoes by the International Association of Volcanology and Chemistry of the Earth's Interior, worthy of study due to their explosive history and close proximity to human populations;
• Stromboli, on its namesake island, has also been continuously active with moderate volcanic activity;
• other historically active volcanoes include
  • Campi Flegrei,
  • Ischia,
  • Larderello,
  • Pantelleria,
  • Vulcano,
  • and Vulsini

• 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

noun:

Italian(s)

adjective:

Italian

0-14 years:

13.6% (male 4,326,862 /female 4,136,562)

15-24 years:

9.61% (male 2,994,651 /female 2,984,172)

25-54 years:

41.82% (male 12,845,442 /female 13,183,240)

55-64 years:

13.29% (male 4,012,640 /female 4,261,956)

65 years and over:

21.69% (male 5,817,819 /female 7,683,330) (2018 est.)

total dependency ratio:

56.5 (2015 est.)

youth dependency ratio:

21.5 (2015 est.)

elderly dependency ratio:

35 (2015 est.)

potential support ratio:

2.9 (2015 est.)

total:

45.8 years (2018 est.)

male:

44.7 years

female:

46.9 years

at birth:

1.06 male(s)/female

0-14 years:

1.05 male(s)/female

15-24 years:

1 male(s)/female

25-54 years:

0.97 male(s)/female

55-64 years:

0.94 male(s)/female

65 years and over:

0.76 male(s)/female

total population:

0.93 male(s)/female (2018 est.)

total:

3.2 deaths/1,000 live births (2018 est.)

male:

3.4 deaths/1,000 live births

female:

3 deaths/1,000 live births

total population:

82.4 years (2018 est.)

male:

79.7 years

female:

85.2 years

conventional long form:

Italian Republic

conventional short form:

Italy

local long form:

Repubblica Italiana

local short form:

Italia

former:

Kingdom of Italy

etymology:

derivation is unclear, but the Latin "Italia" may come from the Oscan "Viteliu" meaning "[Land] of Young Cattle" (the bull was a symbol of southern Italic tribes)

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

etymology:

by tradition, named after Romulus, one of the legendary founders of the city and its first king

• 15 regions (regioni, singular - regione) and 5 autonomous regions (regioni autonome, singular - regione autonoma) regions:
  • Abruzzo,
  • Basilicata,
  • Calabria,
  • Campania,
  • Emilia-Romagna,
  • Lazio (Latium),
  • Liguria,
  • Lombardia,
  • Marche,
  • Molise,
  • Piemonte (Piedmont),
  • Puglia (Apulia),
  • Toscana (Tuscany),
  • Umbria,
  • Veneto
  ;
• autonomous regions: Friuli Venezia Giulia;
• Sardegna (Sardinia);
• Sicilia (Sicily);
• Trentino-Alto Adige (Trentino-South Tyrol) or Trentino-Suedtirol (German);
• Valle d'Aosta (Aosta Valley) or Vallee d'Aoste (French)

history:

• previous 1848 (originally for the Kingdom of Sardinia and adopted by the Kingdom of Italy in 1861);
• latest enacted 22 December 1947, adopted 27 December 1947, entered into force 1 January 1948

amendments:

• proposed by both houses of Parliament;
• passage requires two successive debates and approval by absolute majority of each house on the second vote;
• a referendum is only required when requested by one fifth of the members of either house, by voter petition, or by five Regional Councils (elected legislative assemblies of the 15 first-level administrative regions and 5 autonomous regions of Italy);
• referendum not required if an amendment has been approved by a two-thirds majority in each house in the second vote;
• amended many times, last in 2012;
• note - a referendum held on 4 December 2016 on constitutional amendments was defeated (2017)

citizenship by birth:

no

citizenship by descent only:

at least one parent must be a citizen of Italy

dual citizenship recognized:

yes

residency requirement for naturalization:

4 years for EU nationals, 5 years for refugees and specified exceptions, 10 years for all others

chief of state:

President Sergio MATTARELLA (since 3 February 2015)

head of government:

• Prime Minister Giuseppe CONTE (since 1 June 2018);
• the prime minister's official title is President of the Council of Ministers;
• note - CONTE resigned on 20 August 2019 but returned as prime minister after PD and M5S agreed to form a new coalition government on 28 August 2019

cabinet:

• Council of Ministers proposed by the prime minister, known officially as the President of the Council of Ministers and locally as the Premier;
• nominated by the president;
• the current deputy prime ministers, known officially as vice-presidents of the Council of Ministers, are Matteo Salvini (L) and Luigi Di Maio (M5S) (since 1 June 2018)

elections/appointments:

• president indirectly elected by an electoral college consisting of both houses of Parliament and 58 regional representatives for a 7-year term (no term limits);
• election last held on 31 January 2015 (next to be held in 2022);
• prime minister appointed by the president, confirmed by parliament

election results:

Sergio MATTARELLA (independent) elected president; electoral college vote count in fourth round - 665 out of 1,009 (505-vote threshold)

highest courts:

• Supreme Court of Cassation or Corte Suprema di Cassazione (consists of the first president (chief justice), deputy president, 54 justices presiding over 6 civil and 7 criminal divisions, and 288 judges; an additional 30 judges of lower courts serve as supporting judges; cases normally heard by 5-judge panels; more complex cases heard by 9-judge panels);
• Constitutional Court or Corte Costituzionale (consists of the court president and 14 judges)

judge selection and term of office:

• Supreme Court judges appointed by the High Council of the Judiciary, headed by the president of the republic;
• judges may serve for life;
• Constitutional Court judges - 5 appointed by the president, 5 elected by Parliament, 5 elected by select higher courts;
• judges serve up to 9 years

subordinate courts:

various lower civil and criminal courts (primary and secondary tribunals and courts of appeal)

chief of mission:

Ambassador Lewis EISENBERG (since 4 October 2017); note - also accredited to San Marino

telephone:

[39] 06-4674-1

embassy:

Via Vittorio Veneto 121, 00187-Rome

mailing address:

PSC 59, Box 100, APO AE 09624

FAX:

[39] 06-488-2672

consulate(s) general:

Florence, Milan, Naples

name:

"Il Canto degli Italiani" (The Song of the Italians)

lyrics/music:

Goffredo MAMELI/Michele NOVARO

note: adopted 1946; the anthem, originally written in 1847, is also known as "L'Inno di Mameli" (Mameli's Hymn), and "Fratelli D'Italia" (Brothers of Italy)

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

agriculture:

3.9%

industry:

28.3%

services:

67.8% (2011)

lowest 10%:

2.3%

highest 10%:

26.8% (2000)

• engineering products, textiles and clothing, production machinery, motor vehicles, transport equipment, chemicals;
• foodstuffs, beverages, and tobacco;
• minerals, nonferrous metals

general assessment:

• modern, well-developed, fast;
• fully automated telephone, telex, and data services;
• highest mobile penetration rates in Europe;
• leading edge of development with 5G;
• Rome, Turin and Naples have 5G commercially for users (2018)

domestic:

high-capacity cable and microwave radio relay trunks; 33 per 100 for fixed-line and 135 per 100 for mobile-cellular subscriptions (2018)

international:

• country code - 39;
• landing points for Italy-Monaco, Italy-Libya, Italy-Malta, Italy-Greece-1, Italy-Croatia, BlueMed, Janna, FEA, SeaMeWe-3 & 4 & 5, Trapani-Kelibia, Columbus-III, Didon, GO-1, HANNIBAL System, MENA, Bridge International, Malta-Italy Interconnector, Melita1, IMEWE, VMSCS, AAE-1, and OTEGLOBE, submarine cables provide links to Asia, the Middle East, Europe, North Africa, Southeast Asia, Australia and US;
• satellite earth stations - 3 Intelsat (with a total of 5 antennas - 3 for Atlantic Ocean and 2 for Indian Ocean) (2019)

• two Italian media giants dominate - the publicly owned Radiotelevisione Italiana (RAI) with 3 national terrestrial stations and privately owned Mediaset with 3 national terrestrial stations;
• a large number of private stations and Sky Italia - a satellite TV network;
• RAI operates 3 AM/FM nationwide radio stations;
• about 1,300 commercial radio stations

Italian Armed Forces:

Army (Esercito Italiano, EI), Navy (Marina Militare Italiana, MMI; includes aviation, marines), Italian Air Force (Aeronautica Militare Italiana, AMI), Carabinieri Corps (Arma dei Carabinieri, CC). (2019); The Financial Guard (Guardia di Finanza) under the Ministry of Economy and Finance is a force with military status and nationwide remit for financial crime investigations, including narcotics trafficking, smuggling, and illegal immigration.

• 18-25 years of age for voluntary military service;
• women may serve in any military branch;
• Italian citizenship required;
• 1-year service obligation (2013)

number of registered air carriers:

9 (2015)

inventory of registered aircraft operated by air carriers: 382 (2015)

annual passenger traffic on registered air carriers:

26,036,010 (2015)

annual freight traffic on registered air carriers:

945,433,732 mt-km (2015)

total:

20,182 km (2014)

standard gauge:

18,770.1 km 1.435-m gauge (12,893.6 km electrified) (2014)

narrow gauge:

122.3 km 1.000-m gauge (122.3 km electrified) (2014); 1289.3 0.950-m gauge (151.3 km electrified)

total:

487,700 km (2007)

paved:

487,700 km (includes 6,700 km of expressways) (2007)

total:

1,405

by type:

bulk carrier 59, container ship 10, general cargo 142, oil tanker 128, other 1066 (2018)

major seaport(s):

Augusta, Cagliari, Genoa, Livorno, Taranto, Trieste, Venice

oil terminal(s):

Melilli (Santa Panagia) oil terminal, Sarroch oil terminal

container port(s) (TEUs):

Genoa (2,622,200), Gioia Tauro (2,448,600) (2017)

LNG terminal(s) (import):

La Spezia, Panigaglia, Porto Levante

refugees (country of origin):

• 22,319 (Nigeria), 18,249 (Pakistan), 16,941 (Afghanistan), 15,003 (Mali), 13,373 (Somalia), 12,549 (Gambia), 13,525 (Ukraine), 7,644 (Senegal), 7,174 (Cote d'Ivoire), 6,975 (Eritrea) (2018);
• note - estimate for Ukraine represents asylum applicants since the beginning of the Ukraine crisis in 2014 to July 2018

stateless persons:

732 (2018)

note: 489,456 estimated refugee and migrant arrivals by sea (January 2015-December 2019); hosts an estimated 108,924 migrants and asylum seekers as of the end of June 2019; 23,370 arrivals in 2018

• 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