1992 Edition
CIA World Factbook 1992 (Project Gutenberg)
Geography
Climate
predominantly Mediterranean; Alpine in far north; hot, dry in south
Coastline
4,996 km
Comparative area
slightly larger than Arizona
Continental shelf
200 m (depth) or to depth of exploitation
Disputes
none
Environment
regional risks include land-slides, mudflows, snowslides, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, flooding, pollution; land sinkage in Venice
Land area
294, 020 km2; includes Sardinia and Sicily
Land boundaries
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
arable land 32%; permanent crops 10%; meadows and pastures 17%; forest and woodland 22%; other 19%; includes irrigated 10%
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
Territorial sea
12 nm
Total area
301,230 km2
People and Society
Birth rate
10 births/1,000 population (1992)
Death rate
10 deaths/1,000 population (1992)
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
8 deaths/1,000 live births (1992)
Labor force
23,988,000; services 58%, industry 32.2%, agriculture 9.8% (1988)
Languages
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
74 years male, 81 years female (1992)
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 (1992)
Organized labor
40-45% of labor force (est.)
Population
57,904,628 (July 1992), growth rate 0.2% (1992)
Religions
virtually 100% Roman Catholic
Total fertility rate
1.4 children born/woman (1992)
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
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%
Chief of State
President Oscar Luigi SCALFARO (since 28 May 1992)
Constitution
1 January 1948
Diplomatic representation
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
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
Head of Government
Prime Minister Guiliano AMATO (since 28 June 1992); Deputy Prime Minister
Independence
17 March 1861, Kingdom of Italy proclaimed
Judicial branch
Constitutional Court (Corte Costituzionale)
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), 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
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), 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
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
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 $431 billion; expenditures $565 billion, including capital expenditures of $48 billion (1991)
Currency
Italian lira (plural - lire); 1 Italian lira (Lit) = 100 centesimi
Economic aid
donor - ODA and OOF commitments (1970-89), $25.9 billion
Electricity
57,500,000 kW capacity; 235,000 million kWh produced, 4,072 kWh per capita (1991)
Exchange rates
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
$209 billion (f.o.b., 1991) commodities: textiles, wearing apparel, metals, transportation equipment, chemicals partners: EC 58.5%, US 8%, OPEC 4%
External debt
NA
Fiscal year
calendar year
GDP
purchasing power equivalent - $965.0 billion, per capita $16,700; real growth rate 1.0% (1991 est.)
Imports
$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 - 2.0% (1991); accounts for almost 35% of GDP
Industries
machinery, iron and steel, chemicals, food processing, textiles, motor vehicles, clothing, footwear, ceramics
Inflation rate (consumer prices)
6.5% (1991)
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 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
11.0% (1991 est.)
Communications
Airports
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
125 major transport aircraft
Highways
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
Inland waterways
2,400 km for various types of commercial traffic, although of limited overall value
Merchant marine
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
crude oil 1,703 km; petroleum 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
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
Military and Security
Branches
Army, Navy, Air Force, Carabinieri
Defense expenditures
exchange rate conversion - $22.7 billion, 2.2% of GDP (1991)
Manpower availability
males 15-49, 14,864,191; 12,980,362 fit for military service; 441,768 reach military age (18) annually