1991 Edition
CIA World Factbook 1991 (Project Gutenberg)
Geography
Climate
predominantly Mediterranean; Alpine in far north; hot, dry in south
Coastline
4,996 km
Comparative area
slightly larger than Arizona
Environment
regional risks include landslides, mudflows, snowslides, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, flooding, pollution; land sinkage in Venice
Land boundaries
1,902.2 km total; Austria 430 km, France 488 km, San Marino 39 km, Switzerland 740 km, Vatican City 3.2 km, Yugoslavia 202 km
Land use
arable land 32%; permanent crops 10%; meadows and pastures 17%; forest and woodland 22%; other 19%; includes irrigated 10%
Maritime claims
Continental shelf: 200 m (depth) or to depth of exploitation; Territorial sea: 12 nm
Natural resources
mercury, potash, marble, sulfur, dwindling natural gas and crude oil reserves, fish, coal
Note
strategic location dominating central Mediterranean as well as southern sea and air approaches to Western Europe
Terrain
mostly rugged and mountainous; some plains, coastal lowlands
Total area
301,230 km2; land area: 294,020 km2; includes Sardinia and Sicily
People and Society
Birth rate
11 births/1,000 population (1991)
Death rate
10 deaths/1,000 population (1991)
Ethnic divisions
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
6 deaths/1,000 live births (1991)
Labor force
23,988,000; services 58%, industry 32.2%, agriculture 9.8% (1988)
Language
Italian; parts of Trentino-Alto Adige region are predominantly German speaking; significant French-speaking minority in Valle d'Aosta region; Slovene-speaking minority in the Trieste-Gorizia area
Life expectancy at birth
75 years male, 82 years female (1991)
Literacy
97% (male 98%, female 96%) age 15 and over can read and write (1990 est.)
Nationality
noun--Italian(s); adjective--Italian
Net migration rate
1 migrant/1,000 population (1991)
Organized labor
40-45% of labor force (est.)
Population
57,772,375 (July 1991), growth rate 0.2% (1991)
Religion
nominally Roman Catholic almost 100%
Total fertility rate
1.4 children born/woman (1991)
Government
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
Capital
Rome
Communists
1.3 million (1990)
Constitution
1 January 1948
Diplomatic representation
Ambassador Rinaldo PETRIGNANI; 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 New York 09794); telephone [39] (6) 46741; there are US Consulates General in Florence, Genoa, Milan, Naples, and Palermo (Sicily)
Elections
Senate--last held 14-15 June 1987 (next to be held by June 1992); results--DC 33.9%, PCI 28.3%, PSI 10.7%, other 27.1%; seats--(320 total, 315 elected) DC 125, PCI 100, PSI 36, other 54; Chamber of Deputies--last held 14-15 June 1987 (next to be held by June 1992); results--DC 34.3%, PCI 26.6%, PSI 14.3%, MSI 5.9%, PRI 3.7%, PSDI 3.0%, Radicals 2.6%, Greens 2.5%, PLI 2.1%, Proletarian Democrats 1.7%, other 3.3%; seats--(630 total) DC 234, PCI 177, PSI 94, MSI 35, PRI 21, PSDI 17, Radicals 13, Greens 13, PLI 11, Proletarian Democrats 8, other 7
Executive branch
president, prime minister (president of the Council of Ministers)
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 Ivory Coast which has the colors reversed--orange (hoist side), white, and green
Independence
17 March 1861, Kingdom of Italy proclaimed
Judicial branch
Constitutional Court (Corte Costituzionale)
Leaders
Chief of State--President Francesco COSSIGA (since 3 July 1985); Head of Government--Prime Minister Giulio ANDREOTTI (since 22 July 1989, heads the government for the seventh time); Deputy Prime Minister Claudio MARTELLI (since 23 July 1989)
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
Legislative branch
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)
Long-form name
Italian Republic
Member of
AfDB, AG (observer), AsDB, BIS, CCC, 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, NATO, NEA, OAS (observer), OECD, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIFIL, UNIIMOG, UNMOGIP, UNTSO, UPU, WCL, WEU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
National holiday
Anniversary of the Republic, 2 June (1946)
Other political or pressure groups
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 and leaders
Christian Democratic Party (DC), Arnaldo FORLANI (general secretary), Ciriaco De MITA (president); Socialist Party (PSI), Bettino CRAXI (party secretary); Social Democratic Party (PSDI), Antonio CARIGLIA (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), Giuseppe (Pino) RAUTI (national secretary); Republican Party (PRI), Giorgio La MALFA (political secretary); Lega Nord, Umberto BOSSI, president; Italy's 50th postwar government was formed on 13 April 1991, with Prime Minister ANDREOTTI, a Christian Democrat, presiding over a four-party coalition consisting of the Christian Democrats, Socialists, Social Democrats, and Liberals
Suffrage
universal at age 18 (except in senatorial elections, where minimum age is 25)
Type
republic
Economy
Agriculture
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
revenues $355 billion; expenditures $448 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (1989)
Currency
Italian lira (plural--lire); 1 Italian lira (Lit) = 100 centesimi
Economic aid
donor--ODA and OOF commitments (1970-89), $25.9 billion
Electricity
56,800,000 kW capacity; 225,000 million kWh produced, 3,900 kWh per capita (1990)
Exchange rates
Italian lire (Lit) per US$1--1,134.4 (January 1991), 1,198.1 (1990), 1,372.1 (1989), 1,301.6 (1988), 1,296.1 (1987), 1,490.8 (1986), 1,909.4 (1985)
Exports
$170.4 billion (f.o.b., 1990); commodities--textiles, wearing apparel, metals, transportation equipment, chemicals; partners--EC 57%, US 8%, OPEC 4%
External debt
NA
Fiscal year
calendar year
GDP
$844.7 billion, per capita $14,600; real growth rate 2.0% (1990)
Imports
$182.0 billion (c.i.f., 1990); commodities--petroleum, industrial machinery, chemicals, metals, food, agricultural products; partners--EC 58%, OPEC 6%, US 5%
Industrial production
growth rate - 0.1% (1990); accounts for almost 35% of GDP
Industries
machinery, iron and steel, chemicals, food processing, textiles, motor vehicles, clothing, footwear, ceramics
Inflation rate (consumer prices)
6% (1990)
Overview
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 34%, agriculture 4%, and public administration 13%. Most raw materials needed by industry and over 75% of energy requirements must be imported. The economic recovery that began in mid-1983 has continued through 1990, with the economy growing at an annual average rate of 3%. 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
11.0% (1990 est.)
Communications
Airports
138 total, 135 usable; 90 with permanent-surface runways; 2 with runways over 3,659 m; 36 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 38 with runways 1,220-2,439 m
Civil air
125 major transport aircraft
Highways
294,410 km total; autostrada 5,900 km, state highways 45,170 km, provincial highways 101,680 km, communal highways 141,660 km; 260,500 km concrete, bituminous, or stone block, 26,900 km gravel and crushed stone,7,010 km earth
Inland waterways
2,400 km for various types of commercial traffic, although of limited overall value
Merchant marine
575 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 7,462,744 GRT/11,593,730 DWT; includes 11 passenger, 44 short-sea passenger, 103 cargo, 5 refrigerated cargo, 23 container, 67 roll-on/roll-off cargo, 7 vehicle carrier, 1 multifunction large-load carrier, 2 livestock carrier, 151 petroleum, oils, and lubricants (POL) tanker, 37 chemical tanker, 38 liquefied gas, 10 specialized tanker, 14 combination ore/oil, 60 bulk, 2 combination bulk
Pipelines
crude oil, 1,703 km; refined products, 2,148 km; natural gas, 19,400 km
Ports
Cagliari (Sardinia), Genoa, La Spezia, Livorno, Naples, Palermo (Sicily), Taranto, Trieste, Venice
Railroads
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)
Telecommunications
well engineered, constructed, and operated; 28,000,000 telephones; stations--144 AM, 54 (over 1,800 repeaters) FM, 450 (over 1,300 repeaters) TV; 22 submarine cables; communication satellite earth stations operating in INTELSAT 3 Atlantic Ocean and 2 Indian Ocean, INMARSAT, and EUTELSAT systems
Military and Security
Branches
Army, Navy, Air Force, Carabinieri
Defense expenditures
$19.2 billion, 2.2% of GDP (1990) _%_
Manpower availability
males 15-49, 14,747,224; 12,877,803 fit for military service; 418,043 reach military age (18) annually