Country Information Database


Italy Country Information

Flag of Italy
Map of Italy
Introduction Italy
Geography Italy
Geographic coordinates:
42 50 N, 12 50 E
Map references:
total: 301,230 sq km
land: 294,020 sq km
water: 7,210 sq km
note: includes Sardinia and Sicily
Area - comparative:
slightly larger than Arizona
Land boundaries:
total: 1,899.2 km
7,600 km
Maritime claims:
territorial sea: 12 nm
continental shelf: 200 m depth or to the depth of exploitation
mostly rugged and mountainous; some plains, coastal lowlands
Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Mediterranean Sea 0 m
Natural resources:
Land use:
arable land: 26.41%
permanent crops: 9.09%
other: 64.5% (2005)
Irrigated land:
27,500 sq km (2003)
Total renewable water resources:
175 cu km (2005)
Freshwater withdrawal (domestic/industrial/agricultural):
per capita: 723 cu m/yr (1998)
Natural hazards:
Environment - current issues:
Environment - international agreements:
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
Geography - note:
People Italy
58,145,320 (July 2008 est.)
Age structure:
0-14 years: 13.6% (male 4,086,951/female 3,842,765)
15-64 years: 66.3% (male 19,534,247/female 19,024,776)
65 years and over: 20% (male 4,864,189/female 6,792,393) (2008 est.)
Median age:
total: 42.9 years
male: 41.4 years
female: 44.4 years (2008 est.)
Population growth rate:
-0.019% (2008 est.)
Birth rate:
8.36 births/1,000 population (2008 est.)
Death rate:
10.61 deaths/1,000 population (2008 est.)
Net migration rate:
2.06 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2008 est.)
Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.07 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.06 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.03 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.72 male(s)/female
Infant mortality rate:
total: 5.61 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 6.19 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 5 deaths/1,000 live births (2008 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 80.07 years
male: 77.13 years
female: 83.2 years (2008 est.)
Total fertility rate:
1.3 children born/woman (2008 est.)
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
0.5% (2001 est.)
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
140,000 (2001 est.)
HIV/AIDS - deaths:
fewer than 1,000 (2003 est.)
noun: Italian(s)
adjective: Italian
Ethnic groups:
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 98.4%
male: 98.8%
female: 98% (2001 census)
School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education):
total: 16 years
male: 16 years
female: 17 years (2006)
Education expenditures:
4.5% of GDP (2005)
Government Italy
Country name:
conventional long form: Italian Republic
conventional short form: Italy
local long form: Repubblica Italiana
local short form: Italia
former: Kingdom of Italy
Government type:
name: Rome
geographic coordinates: 41 54 N, 12 29 E
Administrative divisions:
National holiday:
Republic Day, 2 June (1946)
Legal system:
Executive branch:
head of government: Prime Minister Silvio BERLUSCONI (referred to in Italy as the president of the Council of Ministers) (since 8 May 2008) note - in Italy the prime minister is referred to as the president of the Council of Ministers
Legislative branch:
elections: Senate - last held 13-14 April 2008 (next to be held April 2010); Chamber of Deputies - last held 13-14 April 2008 (next to be held in April 2010)
election results: Senate - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - S. BERLUSCONI coalition 174 (PdL 147, LN 25, MpA 2), W. VELTRONI coalition 132 (PD 118, IdV 3), UdC 3, other 6; Chamber of Deputies - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - S. BERLUSCONI coalition 344 (PdL 276, LN 60, MpA 8), W. VELTRONI coalition 246 (PD 217, IdV 29), UdC 36, other 4
Judicial branch:
Political parties and leaders:
Silvio BERLUSCONI coalition: People of Freedom or PdL [Silvio BERLUSCONI]; Lega Nord or LN [Umberto BOSSI]; Movement for Autonomy or MpA [Raffaele LOMBARDO]
Walter VELTRONI coalition: Democratic Party or PD [Walter VELTRONI]; Italy of Values or IdV [Antonio DI PIETRO]
other non-allied parties: Union of the Centre or UdC [Savino PEZZOTTA]
Political pressure groups and leaders:
manufacturers and merchants associations - Confcommercio; Confindustria; organized farm groups - Confcoltivatori; Confagricoltura; Roman Catholic Church; three major trade union confederations - Confederazione Generale Italiana del Lavoro or CGIL [Guglielmo EPIFANI] which is left wing; Confederazione Italiana dei Sindacati Lavoratori or CISL [Raffaele BONANNO], which is Roman Catholic centrist; Unione Italiana del Lavoro or UIL [Luigi ANGELETTI] which is lay centrist)
International organization participation:
Diplomatic representation in the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Giovanni CASTELLANETA
chancery: 3000 Whitehaven Street NW, Washington, DC 20008
telephone: [1] (202) 612-4400
FAX: [1] (202) 518-2151
consulate(s): Detroit
Diplomatic representation from the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Ronald P. SPOGLI
embassy: Via Vittorio Veneto 121, 00187-Rome
mailing address: PSC 59, Box 100, APO AE 09624
telephone: [39] (06) 46741
consulate(s) general: Florence, Milan, Naples
Flag description:
Economy Italy
Economy - overview:
GDP (purchasing power parity):
$1.8 trillion (2007 est.)
GDP (official exchange rate):
$2.105 trillion (2007 est.)
GDP - real growth rate:
1.4% (2007 est.)
GDP - per capita (PPP):
$30,900 (2007 est.)
GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture: 2%
industry: 27%
services: 70.9% (2007 est.)
Labor force:
24.74 million (2007 est.)
Labor force - by occupation:
agriculture: 5%
industry: 32%
services: 63% (2001)
Unemployment rate:
6.2% (2007 est.)
Population below poverty line:
Household income or consumption by percentage share:
lowest 10%: 2.3%
highest 10%: 26.8% (2000)
Distribution of family income - Gini index:
33 (2005)
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
1.8% (2007 est.)
Investment (gross fixed):
21% of GDP (2007 est.)
revenues: $991.2 billion
expenditures: $1.031 trillion (2007 est.)
Public debt:
104% of GDP (2007 est.)
Agriculture - products:
Industrial production growth rate:
0.6% (2007 est.)
Electricity - production:
278.5 billion kWh (2005)
Electricity - production by source:
fossil fuel: 78.6%
hydro: 18.4%
nuclear: 0%
other: 3% (2001)
Electricity - consumption:
307.1 billion kWh (2005)
Electricity - exports:
1.109 billion kWh (2005)
Electricity - imports:
50.26 billion kWh (2005)
Oil - production:
164,800 bbl/day (2005 est.)
Oil - consumption:
1.732 million bbl/day (2005 est.)
Oil - exports:
521,400 bbl/day (2004)
Oil - imports:
2.182 million bbl/day (2004)
Oil - proved reserves:
621.7 million bbl (1 January 2006 est.)
Natural gas - production:
11.49 billion cu m (2005 est.)
Natural gas - consumption:
82.64 billion cu m (2005 est.)
Natural gas - exports:
379.8 million cu m (2005 est.)
Natural gas - imports:
70.45 billion cu m (2005)
Natural gas - proved reserves:
217.3 billion cu m (1 January 2006 est.)
Current account balance:
-$51.03 billion (2007 est.)
$502.4 billion f.o.b. (2007 est.)
Exports - commodities:
Exports - partners:
Germany 12.9%, France 11.4%, Spain 7.4%, US 6.8%, UK 5.8% (2007)
$498.1 billion f.o.b. (2007 est.)
Imports - commodities:
Imports - partners:
Germany 16.9%, France 9%, China 5.9%, Netherlands 5.5%, Belgium 4.3%, Spain 4.2% (2007)
Economic aid - donor:
ODA, $3.641 billion (2006)
Reserves of foreign exchange and gold:
$94.33 billion (31 December 2007 est.)
Debt - external:
$996.3 billion (31 December 2007)
Stock of direct foreign investment - at home:
$364.8 billion (2007 est.)
Stock of direct foreign investment - abroad:
$520.1 billion (2007 est.)
Market value of publicly traded shares:
$798.2 billion (2005)
Currency (code):
euro (EUR)
Currency code:
Exchange rates:
Fiscal year:
calendar year
Communications Italy
Telephones - main lines in use:
26.89 million (2006)
Telephones - mobile cellular:
78.571 million (2006)
Telephone system:
domestic: high-capacity cable and microwave radio relay trunks
Radio broadcast stations:
50.5 million (1997)
Television broadcast stations:
358 (plus 4,728 repeaters) (1995)
30.3 million (1997)
Internet country code:
Internet hosts:
4.117 million (2007)
Internet Service Providers (ISPs):
93 (Italy and Holy See) (2000)
Internet users:
32 million (2007)
Transportation Italy
132 (2007)
Airports - with paved runways:
total: 101
over 3,047 m: 7
2,438 to 3,047 m: 32
1,524 to 2,437 m: 15
914 to 1,523 m: 34
under 914 m: 13 (2007)
Airports - with unpaved runways:
total: 31
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1
914 to 1,523 m: 11
under 914 m: 19 (2007)
5 (2007)
gas 18,863 km; oil 1,258 km (2007)
total: 19,460 km
total: 484,688 km
paved: 484,688 km (includes 6,529 km of expressways) (2004)
2,400 km
Merchant marine:
total: 612 ships (1000 GRT or over) 12,959,580 GRT/13,667,504 DWT
by type: bulk carrier 55, cargo 50, carrier 2, chemical tanker 155, combination ore/oil 1, container 29, liquefied gas 27, passenger 20, passenger/cargo 155, petroleum tanker 37, refrigerated cargo 4, roll on/roll off 36, specialized tanker 13, vehicle carrier 28
foreign-owned: 65 (Denmark 3, France 2, Germany 3, Greece 8, Japan 2, Lebanon 1, Norway 2, Sweden 1, Switzerland 5, Taiwan 13, Turkey 1, UK 7, US 17)
registered in other countries: 202 (Bahamas 2, Belize 3, Bolivia 1, Cayman Islands 5, Cyprus 7, France 2, Gibraltar 1, Liberia 44, Malta 48, Marshall Islands 4, Netherlands 1, Norway 4, Panama 23, Portugal 13, Russia 3, Singapore 5, Slovakia 1, Spain 2, St Vincent and the Grenadines 17, Sweden 8, Turkey 3, UK 5) (2008)
Ports and terminals:
Military Italy
Military branches:
Military service age and obligation:
Manpower available for military service:
males age 16-49: 13,884,079
females age 16-49: 13,158,378 (2008 est.)
Manpower fit for military service:
males age 16-49: 11,285,488
females age 16-49: 10,680,672 (2008 est.)
Manpower reaching militarily significant age annually:
male: 290,740
female: 273,569 (2008 est.)
Military expenditures:
1.8% of GDP (2005 est.)
Transnational Issues Italy
Disputes - international:
Illicit drugs:

This page was last updated on 2 October, 2008 Access Time: Fri, 05 Mar 2021 06:19:14 +0000