Facts And Figures About Italy

Country Name:

Conventional long form: Italian Republic
Conventional short form: Italy

Location:

Southern Europe, a peninsula extending into the central Mediterranean Sea, northeast of Tunisia

Area:

Total: 301,230 sq km
Land: 294,020 sq km
Water: 7,210 sq km
Note: includes Sardinia and Sicily

Land Boundaries:

Total: 1,932.2 km

Irrigated Land:

27,500 sq km (2003)

Land Use:

Arable land: 26.41%
Permanent crops: 9.09%
Other: 64.5% (2005

Border Countries:

Border countries: Austria 430 km, France 488 km, Holy See (Vatican City) 3.2 km, San Marino 39 km, Slovenia 232 km, Switzerland 740 km

Coastline:

7,600 km

Climate:

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

Terrain:

Mostly rugged and mountainous; some plains, coastal lowlands

Geography:

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

Population:

58,133,509 (July 2006 est.)

Age Structure:

0-14 Years:

0-14 years: 13.8% (male 4,147,149/female 3,899,980)

15-64 Years:

15-64 years: 66.5% (male 19,530,512/female 19,105,841)

65 Years and Over:

65 years and over: 19.7% (male 4,771,858/female 6,678,169) (2006)

Average Age:

Total:

42.2 years

Male:

40.7 years

Female:

43.7 years (2006 est.)

Ethnic Groups:

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

Religions:

Approximately 90% Roman Catholic (about one-third regularly attend services); mature Protestant and Jewish communities and a growing Muslim immigrant community

General

Languages:

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

Government Type:

Republic

Capital:

Name: Rome
Geographic coordinates: 41 54 N, 12 29 E

Administrative Divisions:

15 regions (regioni, singular - regione) and 5 autonomous regions* (regioni autonome, singular - regione autonoma); Abruzzo, 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; Italy was not finally unified until 1870)

Economy

Currency:

Euro (EUR)

Exchange Rates:

Euros per US dollar - 0.8041 (2005)

GDP Growth Rate:

0.1% (2005 est.)

Labour Occupations:

Agriculture: 5%
Industry: 32%
Services: 63% (2001)

Unemployment Rate:

7.7% (2005 est.)

Inflation Rate:

2% (2005 est.)

Agriculture Produce:

Fruits, vegetables, grapes, potatoes, sugar beets, soybeans, grain, olives; beef, dairy products; fish

Transportation

Railways:

Total: 19,459 km
Standard gauge: 18,037 km 1.435-m gauge (11,354 km electrified)
Narrow gauge: 123 km 1.000-m gauge (122 km electrified); 1,299 km 0.950-m gauge (161 km electrified) (2005)

Roads:

Total: 479,688 km
paved: 479,688 km (including 6,478 km of expressways) (2004)

Airports:

Total: 98
Over 3,047 m: 7
2,438 to 3,047 m: 30
1,524 to 2,437 m: 16
914 to 1,523 m: 31
Under 914 m: 14 (2006)

Ports & Harbours:

Augusta, Genoa, Livorno, Melilli Oil Terminal, Ravenna, Taranto, Trieste

Communications

Mains Telephones:

25.957 million (2004)

Mobile Telephones:

62.75 million (2004)

Television Stations:

358 (plus 4,728 repeaters) (1995)

Internet Users:

28.87 million (2005)

Country Internet Code:

.it