Italy

parliamentary republic

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, but the name Romulus may instead derive from the city's name; the name Rome may come from an Etruscan name for the Tiber River, which was Roma or Ruma

chief of state: President Sergio MATTARELLA (since 3 February 2015) head of government: Prime Minister Giorgia MELONI (since 22 October 2022); the prime minister's official title is President of the Council of Ministers cabinet: Council of Ministers proposed by the prime minister, who is known officially as the President of the Council of Ministers and locally as the premier; nominated by the president election/appointment process: 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); prime minister appointed by the president, confirmed by parliament most recent election date: 24-29 January 2022 (eight rounds) election results: 2022: Sergio MATTARELLA (independent) reelected president; electoral college vote count in eighth round - 759 out of 1,009 (505 vote threshold) 2015: Sergio MATTARELLA (independent) elected president; electoral college vote count in fourth round - 665 out of 995 (505 vote threshold) expected date of next election: 2029

legislature name: Parliament (Il Parlamento) legislative structure: bicameral

highest court(s): Supreme Court of Cassation or Corte Suprema di Cassazione (consists of the first president, 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)

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 amendment process: 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 5 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

ADB (nonregional member), AfDB (nonregional member), Arctic Council (observer), Australia Group, BIS, BSEC (observer), CBSS (observer), CD, CDB, CE, CEI, CERN, EAPC, EBRD, ECB, EIB, EITI (implementing country), EMU, ESA, EU, FAO, FATF, G-7, G-8, G-10, G-20, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC (national committees), ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IGAD (partners), IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC (NGOs), LAIA (observer), MIGA, MINURSO, NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OPCW, OSCE, Pacific Alliance (observer), Paris Club, PCA, PIF (partner), Schengen Convention, SELEC (observer), SICA (observer), UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIFIL, Union Latina, UNMOGIP, UNOOSA, UNRWA, UNTSO, UNWTO, UPU, Wassenaar Arrangement, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO, ZC

2% of GDP (2025 est.) 1.5% of GDP (2024 est.) 1.5% of GDP (2023 est.) 1.5% of GDP (2022 est.) 1.5% of GDP (2021 est.)

Italian Armed Forces (Forze Armate Italiane): 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) (2025) note 1: the National (or State) Police and Carabinieri (gendarmerie or military police) maintain internal security; the National Police reports to the Ministry of Interior while the Carabinieri reports to the Ministry of Defense but is also under the coordination of the Ministry of Interior; the Carabinieri is primarily a domestic police force organized along military lines, with some overseas responsibilities note 2: 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

17 or 18 years of age for voluntary military service for men and women ; voluntary service is a minimum of 12 months with the option to extend in the Armed Forces or compete for positions in other government security organizations; conscription abolished 2004 (2025) note: women serve in all military branches; as of 2023, women made up about 8% of the military's full-time personnel

the Italian military is responsible for Italy s national defense and security and fulfilling the country s commitments to the EU, NATO, the UN, and other multinational military, security, and humanitarian operations; it also has some domestic security duties; key areas of emphasis for Italy s security policy and multinational cooperation are Europe s eastern and southern flanks, including the Mediterranean Sea, East and North Africa, and the Middle East and its adjacent waters Italy has been an active member of NATO since its founding in 1948, and the Alliance is a cornerstone of Rome s national security strategy; it is one of NATO s leading contributors of military forces and participates in such Alliance missions as Air Policing in the Baltics, the Enhanced Forward Presence in Eastern Europe, and maritime patrols in the Mediterranean and beyond; it hosts NATO s Joint Force Command in Naples and a NATO Rapid Deployable Corps headquarters in Milan Italy is also active in European/EU defense cooperation and integration, including hosting the headquarters for the EU s Mediterranean naval operations force in Rome; in addition, Italy has close defense ties with the US and hosts several US military air, army, and naval bases and facilities (2025)

Italy has on average about 8,000 military personnel deployed in support of NATO, UN, and other foreign missions; significant ground troop deployments include Bulgaria (750), Hungary (250), Kosovo (870), Latvia (300), and Lebanon (875); in addition, air and naval units are deployed in support of NATO missions (2025) note : since 1960, Italy has committed more than 60,000 troops to UN missions, and it hosts a training center in Vicenza for police personnel destined for peacekeeping missions

$3.133 trillion (2024 est.) $3.11 trillion (2023 est.) $3.088 trillion (2022 est.) note: data in 2021 dollars

$53,100 (2024 est.) $52,700 (2023 est.) $52,300 (2022 est.) note: data in 2021 dollars

0.7% (2024 est.) 0.7% (2023 est.) 4.8% (2022 est.) note: annual GDP % growth based on constant local currency

1% (2024 est.) 5.6% (2023 est.) 8.2% (2022 est.) note: annual % change based on consumer prices

131.8% of GDP (2017 est.) note: Italy reports its data on public debt according to guidelines set out in the Maastricht Treaty; general government gross debt is defined in the Maastricht Treaty as consolidated general government gross debt at nominal value, outstanding at the end of the year, in the following categories of government liabilities (as defined in ESA95): currency and deposits (AF.2), securities other than shares excluding financial derivatives (AF.3, excluding AF.34), and loans (AF.4); the general government sector comprises central, state, and local government and social security funds

$778.898 billion (2024 est.) $774.311 billion (2023 est.) $737.083 billion (2022 est.) note: balance of payments - exports of goods and services in current dollars

$717.278 billion (2024 est.) $739.646 billion (2023 est.) $775.518 billion (2022 est.) note: balance of payments - imports of goods and services in current dollars

6.8% (2024 est.) 7.7% (2023 est.) 8.1% (2022 est.) note: % of labor force seeking employment

revenues: $935.038 billion (2023 est.) expenditures: $1.104 trillion (2023 est.) note: central government revenues (excluding grants) and expenditures converted to US dollars at average official exchange rate for year indicated

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

milk, wheat, grapes, tomatoes, maize, olives, apples, oranges, sugar beets, rice (2023) note: top ten agricultural products based on tonnage

total: 60,924,851 (2025 est.) male: 29,383,949 female: 31,540,902

-0.05% (2025 est.)

0-14 years: 11.9% (male 3,699,167/female 3,531,734) 15-64 years: 64.5% (male 19,378,160/female 19,958,137) 65 years and over: 23.6% (2024 est.) (male 6,336,738/female 8,060,995)

7.13 births/1,000 population (2025 est.)

11.2 deaths/1,000 population (2025 est.)

3.55 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2025 est.)

total population: 83 years (2024 est.) male: 80.7 years female: 85.5 years

urban population: 72% of total population (2023) rate of urbanization: 0.27% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)

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

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), Croatian (in Molise) major-language sample(s): L'Almanacco dei fatti del mondo, l'indispensabile fonte per le informazioni di base. (Italian) The World Factbook, the indispensable source for basic information.

Christian 80.8% (overwhelmingly Roman Catholic with very small groups of Jehovah's Witnesses and Protestants), Muslim 4.9%, unaffiliated 13.4%, other 0.9% (2020 est.)

total population: 99.3% (2019 est.) male: 99.5% (2019 est.) female: 99.2% (2019 est.)

coal, antimony, mercury, zinc, potash, marble, barite, asbestos, pumice, fluorspar, feldspar, pyrite (sulfur), natural gas and crude oil reserves, fish, arable land

Islamic State of Iraq and ash-Sham (ISIS) note: details about the history, aims, leadership, organization, areas of operation, tactics, targets, weapons, size, and sources of support of the group(s) appear(s) in the Terrorism reference guide

refugees: 520,127 (2024 est.) stateless persons: 3,000 (2024 est.)

655 (2025)

total: 18,475 km (2020) 12,936 km electrified 1289.3 0.950-mm gauge (151.3 km electrified)

total: 1,276 (2023) by type: bulk carrier 17, container ship 6, general cargo 109, oil tanker 95, other 1,049

total subscriptions: 78.7 million (2024 est.) subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 133 (2024 est.)

percent of population: 87% (2023 est.)