ITALY
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ITALY
@Italy:Geography
Location: Southern Europe, a peninsula extending into the central
Mediterranean Sea, northeast of Tunisia
Map references: Europe
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ITALY - MAJOR CITIES
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Latitude, Internat'l Time
Population Longitude Phone Code Zone
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ROME 2,817,000 41.53N, 12.30E 39-6 GMT+1
Milan 1,479,000 45.28N, 9.12E 39-2 GMT+1
Naples 1,201,000 40.50N, 14.15E 39-81 GMT+1
Turin 1,025,000 45.04N, 7.40E 39-11 GMT+1
Palermo 729,000 38.08N, 13.23E 39-91 GMT+1
Genoa 722,000 44.24N, 8.56E 39-10 GMT+1
Bologna 427,000 44.30N, 11.20E 39-51 GMT+1
Florence 421,000 43.47N, 11.15E 39-55 GMT+1
Catania 372,000 37.31N, 15.04E 39-95 GMT+1
Bari 359,000 41.07N, 16.52E 39-80 GMT+1
Venice 328,000 45.26N, 12.20E 39-41 GMT+1
Messina 271,000 38.11N, 15.33E 39-90 GMT+1
Verona 259,000 45.27N, 11.00E 39-45 GMT+1
Taranto 245,000 40.28N, 17.15E 39-99 GMT+1
Trieste 237,000 45.40N, 13.46E 39-40 GMT+1
Cagliari 222,000 39.13N, 9.07E 39-70 GMT+1
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Area:
total area: 301,230 sq km
land area: 294,020 sq km
comparative area: slightly larger than Arizona
note: includes Sardinia and Sicily
Land boundaries: total 1,899.2 km, Austria 430 km, France 488 km, Holy
See (Vatican City) 3.2 km, San Marino 39 km, Slovenia 199 km,
Switzerland 740 km
Coastline: 4,996 km
Maritime claims:
continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation
territorial sea: 12 nm
International disputes: none
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
Land use:
arable land: 32%
permanent crops: 10%
meadows and pastures: 17%
forest and woodland: 22%
other: 19%
Irrigated land: 31,000 sq km (1989 est.)
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
@Italy:People
Population: 58,261,971 (July 1995 est.)
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.)
Population growth rate: 0.21% (1995 est.)
Birth rate: 10.89 births/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Death rate: 9.78 deaths/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Net migration rate: 1.03 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 7.4 deaths/1,000 live births (1995 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 77.85 years
male: 74.67 years
female: 81.23 years (1995 est.)
Total fertility rate: 1.41 children born/woman (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
Religions: Roman Catholic 98%, other 2%
Languages: 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)
Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1990 est.)
total population: 97%
male: 98%
female: 96%
Labor force: 23.988 million
by occupation: services 58%, industry 32.2%, agriculture 9.8% (1988)
@Italy:Government
Names:
conventional long form: Italian Republic
conventional short form: Italy
local long form: Repubblica Italiana
local short form: Italia
former: Kingdom of Italy
Digraph: IT
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
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.)
National product real growth rate: 2.2% (1994 est.)
National product per capita: $17,180 (1994 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 3.9% (1994)
Unemployment rate: 12.2% (January 1995)
Budget:
revenues: $339 billion
expenditures: $431 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA
(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.)
Industrial production: growth rate 4.3% (1994 est.); accounts for 35%
of GDP
Electricity:
capacity: 61,630,000 kW
production: 209 billion kWh
consumption per capita: 4,033 kWh (1993)
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
@Italy:Transportation
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
Airports:
total: 138
with paved runways over 3,047 m: 5
with paved runways 2,438 to 3,047 m: 34
with paved runways 1,524 to 2,437 m: 15
with paved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 26
with paved runways under 914 m: 34
with unpaved runways 1,524 to 2,438 m: 2
with unpaved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 22
@Italy:Communications
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
Radio:
broadcast stations: AM 135, FM 28 (repeaters 1,840), shortwave 0
radios: 16 million
Television:
broadcast stations: 83 (repeaters 1,000)
televisions: 18 million
@Italy:Defense Forces
Branches: Army, Navy, Air Force, Carabinieri
Manpower availability: males age 15-49 14,934,657; males fit for
military service 12,962,594; males reach military age (18) annually
382,142 (1995 est.)
Defense expenditures: exchange rate conversion - $21.5 billion, 2% of
GDP (1994)
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