| Geographical Information |
| Map Location |
Europe |
| Geographical Location |
42° 50' North Latitude
12° 50' East Longitude |
| Surface Area |
301,230 sq km |
| Climate |
Predominantly Mediterranean; Alpine in far north; hot, dry in south |
| Natural Resources |
Coal, mercury, zinc, potash, marble, barite, asbestos, pumice, fluorospar, feldspar, pyrite (sulfur), natural gas and crude oil reserves, fish, arable land |
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| Political Information |
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| Country Name |
Italian Republic |
| Capital City |
Rome |
| Government Type |
Republic |
| Administrative Divisions |
16 regions (regioni, singular - regione) and 4 autonomous regions* (regioni autonome, singular - regione autonoma); Abruzzo, 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 Day |
17 March 1861 (Kingdom of Italy proclaimed; Italy was not finally unified until 1870) |
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| Demographical Information |
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| Population |
58,103,033 (July 2005 est.) |
| Nationality |
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) |
| Religion |
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) |
| Population Growth Rate |
0.07% (2005 est.) |
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| Economical Information |
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| Currency |
Euro (EUR) |
| Industries |
Tourism, machinery, iron and steel, chemicals, food processing, textiles, motor vehicles, clothing, footwear, ceramics |
| Labor Force |
24.27 million (2004 est.) |
| Labor Force by Sectors |
Agriculture 5%, industry 32%, services 63% (2001) |
| Agriculture Products |
Fruits, vegetables, grapes, potatoes, sugar beets, soybeans, grain, olives; beef, dairy products; fish |
| Export Commodities |
Engineering products, textiles and clothing, production machinery, motor vehicles, transport equipment, chemicals; food, beverages and tobacco; minerals and nonferrous metals |
| Export Partners |
Germany 13.7%, France 12.1%, US 8%, Spain 7.3%, UK 6.9%, Switzerland 4.1% (2004) |
| Import Commodities |
Engineering products, chemicals, transport equipment, energy products, minerals and nonferrous metals, textiles and clothing; food, beverages and tobacco |
| Import Partners |
Germany 18.1%, France 10.7%, Netherlands 5.8%, Spain 4.7%, Belgium 4.4%, UK 4.3%, China 4.1% (2004) |
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| Transportation |
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| Railways |
19,507 km (11,651 km electrified) |
| Highways |
479,688 km |
| Pipelines |
Gas 17,335 km; oil 1,136 km (2004) |
| Airports |
134 (2004 est.) |
| Ports and Harbors |
Augusta (Sicily), Bagnoli, Bari, Brindisi, Gela (Sicily), Genoa, La Spezia, Livorno, Milazzo (Sicily), Naples, Porto Foxi, Porto Torres (Sardinia), Salerno, Savona, Taranto, Trieste, Venice |
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| Communication |
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| Phone Code |
+39 |
| Internet Abbreviation |
.it |
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| Other |
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| Short History |
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 II.
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 Economic and Monetary Union in 1999. Persistent problems include illegal immigration, organized crime, corruption, high unemployment,
sluggish economic growth, and the low incomes and technical standards of southern Italy compared with the prosperous north. |
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