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Communications

Airports [time series]

137 total, 134 usable; 91 with permanent-surface runways; 2 with runways over 3,659 m; 36 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 39 with runways 1,220-2,439 m

Civil air [time series]

125 major transport aircraft

Roadways (Highways) [time series]

294,410 km total; autostrada (expressway) 5,900 km, state highways 45,170 km, provincial highways 101,680 km, communal highways 141,660 km; 260,500 km paved, 26,900 km gravel and crushed stone, 7,010 km earth

Waterways (Inland waterways) [time series]

2,400 km for various types of commercial traffic, although of limited overall value

Merchant marine [time series]

546 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 7,004,462 GRT/10,265,132 DWT; includes 17 passenger, 39 short-sea passenger, 94 cargo, 4 refrigerated cargo, 24 container, 66 roll-on/roll-off cargo, 9 vehicle carrier, 1 multifunction large-load carrier, 1 livestock carrier, 142 petroleum tanker, 33 chemical tanker, 39 liquefied gas, 10 specialized tanker, 10 combination ore/oil, 55 bulk, 2 combination bulk

Pipelines [time series]

crude oil 1,703 km; petroleum products 2,148 km; natural gas 19,400 km

Ports [time series]

Cagliari (Sardinia), Genoa, La Spezia, Livorno, Naples, Palermo (Sicily), Taranto, Trieste, Venice

Railways (Railroads) [time series]

20,011 km total; 16,066 km 1.435-meter government-owned standard gauge (8,999 km electrified); 3,945 km privately owned - 2,100 km 1.435-meter standard gauge (1,155 km electrified) and 1,845 km 0.950-meter narrow gauge (380 km electrified)

Telecommunication systems (Telecommunications) [time series]

modern, well-developed, fast; 25,600,000 telephones; fully automated telephone, telex, and data services; high-capacity cable and radio relay trunks; very good broadcast service by stations - 135 AM, 28 (1,840 repeaters) FM, 83 (1,000 repeaters) TV; 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

Defense Forces

Military and security forces (Branches) [time series]

Army, Navy, Air Force, Carabinieri

Military expenditures (Defense expenditures) [time series]

exchange rate conversion - $22.7 billion, 2.2% of GDP (1991)

Manpower availability [time series]

males 15-49, 14,864,191; 12,980,362 fit for military service; 441,768 reach military age (18) annually

Economy

Agricultural products (Agriculture) [time series]

accounts for about 4% of GDP and 10% of the work force; self-sufficient in foods other than meat and dairy products; principal crops - fruits, vegetables, grapes, potatoes, sugar beets, soybeans, grain, olives; fish catch of 388,200 metric tons in 1988

Budget [time series]

revenues $431 billion; expenditures $565 billion, including capital expenditures of $48 billion (1991)

Exchange rates (Currency) [time series]

Italian lira (plural - lire); 1 Italian lira (Lit) = 100 centesimi

Economic aid [time series]

donor - ODA and OOF commitments (1970-89), $25.9 billion

Electricity [time series]

57,500,000 kW capacity; 235,000 million kWh produced, 4,072 kWh per capita (1991)

Exchange rates [time series]

Italian lire (Lit) per US$1 - 1,248.4 (March 1992), 1,240.6 (January 1991), 1,198.1 (1990), 1,372.1 (1989), 1,301.6 (1988), 1,296.1 (1987)

Exports [time series]

$209 billion (f.o.b., 1991) commodities: textiles, wearing apparel, metals, transportation equipment, chemicals partners: EC 58.5%, US 8%, OPEC 4%

Debt - external (External debt) [time series]

Fiscal year [time series]

calendar year

Real GDP (purchasing power parity) (GDP) [time series]

purchasing power equivalent - $965.0 billion, per capita $16,700; real growth rate 1.0% (1991 est.)

Imports [time series]

$222 billion (c.i.f., 1991) commodities: petroleum, industrial machinery, chemicals, metals, food, agricultural products partners: EC 58%, OPEC 7%, US 5%

Industrial production growth rate (Industrial production) [time series]

growth rate - 2.0% (1991); accounts for almost 35% of GDP

Industries [time series]

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

Inflation rate (consumer prices) [time series]

6.5% (1991)

Economic overview (Overview) [time series]

Since World War II the 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 small private companies, and an undeveloped agricultural south, dominated by large public enterprises. Services account for 48% of GDP, industry about 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 annual average rate of 3% during the period 1983-90, growth slowed to about 1% in 1991. For the 1990s, Italy faces the problems of refurbishing a tottering communications system, curbing pollution in major industrial centers, and adjusting to the new competitive forces accompanying the ongoing economic integration of the European Community.

Unemployment rate [time series]

11.0% (1991 est.)

Geography

Climate [time series]

predominantly Mediterranean; Alpine in far north; hot, dry in south

Coastline [time series]

4,996 km

Area - comparative (Comparative area) [time series]

slightly larger than Arizona

Disputes - international (Disputes) [time series]

none

Environment - current issues (Environment) [time series]

regional risks include land-slides, mudflows, snowslides, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, flooding, pollution; land sinkage in Venice

Area (Land area) [time series]

294, 020 km2; includes Sardinia and Sicily

Land boundaries [time series]

1,899.2 km; Austria 430 km, France 488 km, San Marino 39 km, Slovenia 199 km, Switzerland 740 km, Vatican City 3.2 km

Land use [time series]

arable land 32%; permanent crops 10%; meadows and pastures 17%; forest and woodland 22%; other 19%; includes irrigated 10%

Maritime claims [time series]

Continental shelf: 200 m (depth) or to depth of exploitation Territorial sea: 12 nm

Natural resources [time series]

mercury, potash, marble, sulfur, dwindling natural gas and crude oil reserves, fish, coal

Note [time series]

strategic location dominating central Mediterranean as well as southern sea and air approaches to Western Europe

Terrain [time series]

mostly rugged and mountainous; some plains, coastal lowlands

Area (Total area) [time series]

301,230 km2

Government

Administrative divisions [time series]

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

Capital [time series]

Rome

Constitution [time series]

1 January 1948

Diplomatic representation in the US (Diplomatic representation) [time series]

Ambassador Boris BIANCHERI CHIAPPORI; Chancery at 1601 Fuller Street NW, Washington, DC 20009; telephone (202) 328-5500; there are Italian Consulates General in Boston, Chicago, Houston, New Orleans, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, San Francisco, and Consulates in Detroit and Newark (New Jersey) US: Ambassador Peter F. SECCHIA; Embassy at Via Veneto 119/A, 00187, Rome (mailing address is APO AE 09624); telephone [39] (6) 46741, FAX [39] (6) 467-2356; there are US Consulates General in Florence, Genoa, Milan, Naples, and Palermo (Sicily)

Executive branch (Elections) [time series]

Senate: last held 5-6 April 1992 (next to be held by April 1997); results - DC 33.9%, PCI 28.3%, PSI 10.7%, other 27.1%; seats - (326 total, 315 elected) DC 107, PDS 64, PSI 49, Leagues 25, other 70 Chamber of Deputies: last held 5-6 April 1992 (next to be held April 1997); results - DC 29.7%, PDS 26.6%, PSI 13.6%, Leagues 8.7%, Communist Renewal 5.6%, MSI 5.4%, PRI 4.4%, PLI 2.8%, PSDI 2.7%, other 11%

Executive branch [time series]

president, prime minister (president of the Council of Ministers)

Flag [time series]

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 Ivory Coast, which has the colors reversed - orange (hoist side), white, and green

Independence [time series]

17 March 1861, Kingdom of Italy proclaimed

Judicial branch [time series]

Constitutional Court (Corte Costituzionale)

Executive branch (Leaders) [time series]

Chief of State: President Oscar Luigi SCALFARO (since 28 May 1992) Head of Government: Prime Minister Guiliano AMATO (since 28 June 1992); Deputy Prime Minister

Legal system [time series]

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

Legislative branch [time series]

bicameral Parliament (Parlamento) consists of an upper chamber or Senate of the Republic (Senato della Repubblica) and a lower chamber or Chamber of Deputies (Camera dei Deputati)

Country name (Long-form name) [time series]

Italian Republic

International organization participation (Member of) [time series]

AfDB, AG (observer), Australia Group, AsDB, BIS, CCC, CDB (nonregional member), CE, CERN, COCOM, CSCE, EBRD, EC, ECE, EIB, ESA, FAO, G-7, G-10, GATT, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, IDA, IFAD, IEA, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INMARSAT, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, LORCS, MTCR, NACC, NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, PCA, MTCR, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIFIL, UNIIMOG, UNMOGIP, UNTSO, UPU, WCL, WEU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO, ZC

National holiday [time series]

Anniversary of the Republic, 2 June (1946)

Political parties (Other political or pressure groups) [time series]

the Roman Catholic Church; three major trade union confederations (CGIL - Communist dominated, CISL - Christian Democratic, and UIL - Social Democratic, Socialist, and Republican); Italian manufacturers association (Confindustria); organized farm groups (Confcoltivatori, Confagricoltura)

Political parties (Political parties and leaders) [time series]

Christian Democratic Party (DC), Arnaldo FORLANI (general secretary), Ciriaco De MITA (president); Socialist Party (PSI), Bettino CRAXI (party secretary); Social Democratic Party (PSDI), Carlo VIZZINI (party secretary); Liberal Party (PLI), Renato ALTISSIMO (secretary general); Democratic Party of the Left (PDS - was Communist Party, or PCI, until January 1991), Achille OCCHETTO (secretary general); Italian Social Movement (MSI), Gianfranco FINI (national secretary); Republican Party (PRI), Giorgio La MALFA (political secretary); Lega Nord (Northern League), Umberto BOSSI, president

Suffrage [time series]

universal at age 18 (except in senatorial elections, where minimum age is 25)

Government type (Type) [time series]

republic

People

Birth rate [time series]

10 births/1,000 population (1992)

Death rate [time series]

10 deaths/1,000 population (1992)

Ethnic groups (Ethnic divisions) [time series]

primarily Italian but population includes small clusters of German-, French-, and Slovene-Italians in the north and Albanian-Italians and Greek-Italians in the south; Sicilians; Sardinians

Infant mortality rate [time series]

8 deaths/1,000 live births (1992)

Labor force [time series]

23,988,000; services 58%, industry 32.2%, agriculture 9.8% (1988)

Languages [time series]

Italian; parts of Trentino-Alto Adige region are predominantly German speaking; small French-speaking minority in Valle d'Aosta region; Slovene-speaking minority in the Trieste-Gorizia area

Life expectancy at birth [time series]

74 years male, 81 years female (1992)

Literacy [time series]

97% (male 98%, female 96%) age 15 and over can read and write (1990 est.)

Nationality [time series]

noun - Italian(s); adjective - Italian

Net migration rate [time series]

1 migrant/1,000 population (1992)

Organized labor [time series]

40-45% of labor force (est.)

Population [time series]

57,904,628 (July 1992), growth rate 0.2% (1992)

Religions [time series]

virtually 100% Roman Catholic

Total fertility rate [time series]

1.4 children born/woman (1992)