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Communications

Airports [time series]

total: 137 usable: 133 with permanent-surface runways: 92 with runways over 3,659 m: 2 with runways 2,440-3,659 m: 36 with runways 1,220-2,439 m: 39

Roadways (Highways) [time series]

298,000 km total; autostrada (expressway) 6,000 km, state highways 46,000 km, provincial highways 103,000 km, communal highways 143,000 km; 270,000 km paved, 23,000 km gravel and crushed stone, 5,000 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]

536 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 6,788,938 GRT/10,128,468 DWT; includes 15 passenger, 36 short-sea passenger, 87 cargo, 4 refrigerated cargo, 21 container, 69 roll-on/roll-off cargo, 8 vehicle carrier, 1 multifunction large-load carrier, 138 oil tanker, 34 chemical tanker, 45 liquefied gas, 10 specialized tanker, 9 combination ore/oil, 57 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 microwave radio relay trunks; broadcast 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 - $24.5 billion, 2% of GDP (1992)

Manpower availability [time series]

males age 15-49 14,898,913; fit for military service 12,989,142; reach military age (18) annually 425,286 (1993 est.)

Economy

Agricultural products (Agriculture) [time series]

accounts for about 4% of GDP and about 10% of the work force; 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

Budget [time series]

revenues $447 billion; expenditures $581 billion, including capital expenditures of $46 billion (1992 est.)

Exchange rates (Currency) [time series]

1 Italian lira (Lit) = 100 centesimi

Economic aid [time series]

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

Electricity [time series]

58,000,000 kW capacity; 235,000 million kWh produced, 4,060 kWh per capita (1992)

Exchange rates [time series]

Italian lire (Lit) per US$1 - 1,482.5 (January 1993), 1,232.4 (1992), 1,240.6 (1991), 1,198.1 (1990), 1,372.1 (1989), 1,301.6 (1988)

Exports [time series]

$168.8 million (f.o.b., 1991) commodities: textiles, wearing apparel, metals, production machinery, motor vehicles, transportation equipment, chemicals, other partners: EC 58.3%, US 6.8%, OPEC 5.1% (1992)

Debt - external (External debt) [time series]

$42 billion (September 1992)

Fiscal year [time series]

calendar year

Illicit drugs [time series]

increasingly important gateway country for Latin American cocaine entering the European market

Imports [time series]

$169.7 million (f.o.b., 1991) commodities: petroleum, industrial machinery, chemicals, metals, food, agricultural products partners: EC 58.8%, OPEC 6.1%, US 5.5% (1992)

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

growth rate -0.5% (1992 est.); 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]

5.4% (1992)

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

GDP - purchasing power equivalent - $1.012 trillion (1992)

Real GDP per capita (National product per capita) [time series]

$17,500 (1992)

Real GDP growth rate (National product real growth rate) [time series]

0.9% (1992)

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 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 annual average rate of 3% in 1983-90, growth slowed to about 1% in 1991 and 1992. In the second half of 1992, Rome became unsettled by the prospect of not qualifying to participate in EC plans for economic and monetary union later in the decade; thus it finally began to address its huge fiscal imbalances. Thanks to the determination of Prime Minister AMATO, the government adopted a fairly stringent budget for 1993, 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, who were forced to withdraw the lira from the European monetary system in September 1992 when it came under extreme pressure in currency markets, remain committed to bringing the currency back into the grid as soon as conditions warrant. 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% (1992 est.)

Geography

Area [time series]

total area: 301,230 km2 land area: 294,020 km2 comparative area: slightly larger than Arizona note: includes Sardinia and Sicily

Climate [time series]

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

Coastline [time series]

4,996 km

Environment - current issues (Environment) [time series]

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

Disputes - international (International disputes) [time series]

small vocal minority in northern Italy seeks the return of parts of southwestern Slovenia

Irrigated land [time series]

31,000 km2 (1989 est.)

Land boundaries [time series]

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

Land use [time series]

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

Location [time series]

Southern Europe, a peninsula in the central Mediterranean Sea

Map references [time series]

Africa, Europe, Standard Time Zones of the World

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

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

Digraph [time series]

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

chief of mission: Ambassador Boris BIANCHERI CHIAPPORI chancery: 1601 Fuller Street NW, Washington DC 20009 telephone: (202) 328-5500 consulates general: Boston, Chicago, Houston, Miami, New York, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, San Francisco consulates: Detroit, New Orleans, and Newark (New Jersey)

Executive branch (Elections) [time series]

Senate: last held 5-6 April 1992 (next to be held by April 1997); results - DC 27.3%, PDS 17.0%, PSI 13.6%, Northern Leagues 8.2%, other 33.9%; seats - (326 total; 315 elected, 11 appointed senators-for-life) DC 107, PDS 64, PSI 49, Leagues 25, other 70 Chamber of Deputies: last held 5-6 April 1992 (next to be held by April 1997); results - DC 29.7%, PDS 16.1%, PSI 13.6%, Northern Leagues 8.7%, RC 5.6%, MSI 5.4%, PRI 4.4%, PLI 2.8%, PSDI 2.7%, other 11%; seats - (630 total) DC 206, PDS 107, PSI 92, Northern Leagues 55, RC 35, MSI 34, PRI 27, PLI 17, PSDI 16, other 41

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 Cote d'Ivoire, 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 Carlo Azeglio CIAMPI (29 April 1993)

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)

International organization participation (Member of) [time series]

AfDB, AG (observer), Australia Group, AsDB, BIS, CCC, CDB (non-regional), CE, CEI, CERN, COCOM, CSCE, EBRD, EC, ECE, ECLAC, 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, LAIA (observer), LORCS, MINURSO, MTCR, NACC, NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIFIL, UNIKOM, UNMOGIP, UNOMOZ, UNTSO, UPU, WCL, WEU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO, ZC

Country name (Names) [time series]

conventional long form: Italian Republic conventional short form: Italy local long form: Repubblica Italiana local short form: Italia former: Kingdom of Italy

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 - formerly 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), Fermo Mino MARTINAZZOLI, general secretary; Rosa Russo JERVOLINO, president; Socialist Party (PSI), Giorgio BENVENUTO, party secretary; Social Democratic Party (PSDI), Enrico FERRI, party secretary; Liberal Party (PLI); 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 BOGI, political secretary; Lega Nord (Northern League), Umberto BOSSI, president; Communist Renewal (RC), Sergio GARAVINI

Suffrage [time series]

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

Government type (Type) [time series]

republic

Diplomatic representation from the US (US diplomatic representation) [time series]

chief of mission: (vacant) embassy: Via Veneto 119/A, 00187, Rome mailing address: PSC 59, Box 100, APO AE 09624 telephone: [39] (6) 46741 FAX: [39] (6) 488-2672 consulates general: Florence, Genoa, Milan, Naples, Palermo (Sicily)

People

Birth rate [time series]

10.65 births/1,000 population (1993 est.)

Death rate [time series]

9.66 deaths/1,000 population (1993 est.)

Ethnic groups (Ethnic divisions) [time series]

Italian (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]

7.8 deaths/1,000 live births (1993 est.)

Labor force [time series]

23.988 million by occupation: services 58%, industry 32.2%, agriculture 9.8% (1988)

Languages [time series]

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)

Life expectancy at birth [time series]

total population: 77.43 years male: 74.22 years female: 80.85 years (1993 est.)

Literacy [time series]

age 15 and over can read and write (1990) total population: 97% male: 98% female: 96%

Nationality [time series]

noun: Italian(s) adjective: Italian

Net migration rate [time series]

1.03 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1993 est.)

Population [time series]

58,018,540 (July 1993 est.)

Population growth rate [time series]

0.2% (1993 est.)

Religions [time series]

Roman Catholic 100%

Total fertility rate [time series]

1.37 children born/woman (1993 est.)