1996 Edition

Description

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

Location

42 50 N, 12 50 E -- Southern Europe, a peninsula extending into the central Mediterranean Sea, northeast of Tunisia Flag ----

Area

comparative area

slightly larger than Arizona

land area

294,020 sq km

note

includes Sardinia and Sicily

total area

301,230 sq km

Climate

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

Coastline

7,600 km

Environment

current issues

air pollution from industrial emissions such as sulfur dioxide; coastal and inland rivers polluted from industrial and agricultural effluents; acid rain damaging lakes; inadequate industrial waste treatment and disposal facilities

international agreements

party to - Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Sulphur 85, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Wetlands, Whaling; signed, but not ratified - Air Pollution-Sulphur 94, Desertification

natural hazards

regional risks include landslides, mudflows, avalanches, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, flooding; land subsidence in Venice

Geographic coordinates

42 50 N, 12 50 E

Geographic note

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

International disputes

Italy is negotiating with Slovenia over property and minority rights issues dating from World War II

Irrigated land

31,000 sq km (1989 est.)

Land boundaries

border countries

Austria 430 km, France 488 km, Holy See (Vatican City) 3.2 km, San Marino 39 km, Slovenia 235 km, Switzerland 740 km

total

1,935.2 km

Land use

arable land

32%

forest and woodland

22%

meadows and pastures

17%

other

19%

permanent crops

10%

Location

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

Map references

Europe

Maritime claims

continental shelf

200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation

territorial sea

12 nm

Natural resources

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

Terrain

mostly rugged and mountainous; some plains, coastal lowlands

highest point

Mont Blanc 4,807 m

lowest point

Mediterranean Sea 0 m

Age structure

0-14 years: 15% (male 4,419,636; female 4,167,860) 15-64 years: 68% (male 19,656,546; female 19,629,291) 65 years and over: 17% (male 3,902,426; female 5,684,515) (July 1996 est.)

Birth rate

9.87 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Death rate

9.82 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Ethnic divisions

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

6.9 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)

Languages

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

female

81.48 years (1996 est.)

male

74.85 years

total population

78.06 years

Literacy

age 15 and over can read and write (1990 est.)

female

96%

male

98%

total population

97%

Nationality

adjective

Italian

noun

Italian(s)

Net migration rate

1.25 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Population

57,460,274 (July 1996 est.)

Population growth rate

0.13% (1996 est.)

Religions

Roman Catholic 98%, other 2%

Sex ratio

all ages

0.95 male(s)/female (1996 est.)

at birth

1.06 male(s)/female

under 15 years

1.06 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.69 male(s)/female

Total fertility rate

1.27 children born/woman (1996 est.)

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 (Camera dei Deputati)

elections last held 22 April 1996 (next to be held NA); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats - (630 total) Olive Tree 284, Freedom Alliance 246, Northern League 59, Refounded Communists 35, Southern Tyrol List 3, Autonomous List 2, other 1

Constitution

1 January 1948

Data code

IT

Diplomatic representation in US

chancery

1601 Fuller Street NW, Washington, DC 20009

chief of mission

Ambassador Ferdinando SALLEO

telephone

[1] (202) 328-5500

Executive branch

cabinet

Council of Ministers was nominated by the President of the Council (i.e., Prime Minister) and approved by the President of the Republic

chief of state

President Oscar Luigi SCALFARO (since 28 May 1992) was elected for a seven-year term by an electoral college consisting of both houses of Parliament and 58 regional representatives

head of government

Prime Minister (referred to in Italy as the President of the Council of Ministers) Romano PRODI (since 18 May 1996) was appointed by the president

FAX

[1] (202) 483-2187

[39] (6) 488-2672

consulate(s)

Detroit and New Orleans

consulate(s) general

Boston, Chicago, Houston, Miami, New York, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, San Francisco

consulate(s) general

Florence, Milan, Naples

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 Cote d'Ivoire, which has the colors reversed - orange (hoist side), white, and green

Freedom Alliance

Forza Italia (FI), Silvio BERLUSCONI; National Alliance (AN), Gianfranco FINI; Christian Democratic Center (CCD), Pier Ferdinando CASINI; Democratic Union Party, Antonio MACCANICO

other

Northern League (NL), Umberto BOSSI; Italian Social Movement, Pino RAUTI; Communist Refoundation (RC), Fausto BERTINOTTI; Italian Socialists, Enrico BOSELLI; Rete (The Network), Leoluca ORLANDO; Christian Socialists, Luciano GUERZONI; Democratic Pact for Italy, Mario SEGNI; Italian Popular Party (PPI), Gerardo BIANCO; Pannella's Reformers, Marco PANNELLA; Christian Democratic Union (United Christian Democrats - CDU), Rocco BUTTIGLIONE; Democratic Alliance, Willer BORDON; Union for the New Republic, Raffaele COSTA; Unitary Communists, Famiano CRUCIANELLI; Autonomous List (a group of minor parties); Social Movement-Tricolor Flames

Independence

17 March 1861 (Kingdom of Italy proclaimed)

International organization participation

AfDB, AG (observer), AsDB, Australia Group, BIS, CCC, CDB (non-regional), CE, CEI, CERN, EBRD, ECE, ECLAC, EIB, ESA, EU, FAO, G- 7, G-10, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, LAIA (observer), MINURSO, MTCR, NACC, NAM (guest), NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OSCE, PCA, UN, UN Security Council (temporary), UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIFIL, UNIKOM, UNITAR, UNMOGIP, UNTSO, UPU, WCL, WEU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO, ZC

Judicial branch

Constitutional Court (Corte Costituzionale), composed of 15 judges (one-third appointed by the president, one-third elected by Parliament, one-third elected by the ordinary and administrative supreme courts)

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)

Name of country

conventional long form

Italian Republic

conventional short form

Italy

former

Kingdom of Italy

local long form

Repubblica Italiana

local short form

Italia

National holiday

Anniversary of the Republic, 2 June (1946)

Olive Tree

Democratic Party of the Left (PDS), Massimo D'ALEMA; Greens, Carlo RIPA DI MEANA; Italian Renewal, Lamberto DINI; Southern Tyrols List (German speakers)

Other political or pressure groups

the Roman Catholic Church; three major trade union confederations (Confederazione Generale Italiana del Lavoro or CGIL which is PDS-dominated, Confederazione Italiana dei Sindacati Lavoratori or CISL which is centrist, and Unione Italiana del Lavoro or UIL which is center-left); Italian manufacturers and merchants associations (Confindustria, Confcommercio); organized farm groups (Confcoltivatori, Confagricoltura)

Senate (Senato della Repubblica)

elections last held 22 April 1996 (next to be held by NA); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats - (326 total, 315 elected, 11 appointed senators-for-life) Olive Tree 157, Freedom Alliance 116, Northern League 27, Refounded Communists 10, regional lists 3, Social Movement-Tricolor Flames 1, Panella Reformers 1

Suffrage

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

Type of government

republic

US diplomatic representation

chief of mission

Ambassador Reginald BARTHOLOMEW

embassy

Via Veneto 119/A, 00187-Rome

mailing address

PSC 59, Box 100, Rome; APO AE 09624

telephone

[39] (6) 46741

Agriculture

fruits, vegetables, grapes, potatoes, sugar beets, soybeans, grain, olives; meat and dairy products; fish catch of 525,000 metric tons in 1990

Budget

expenditures

$431 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (1994 est.)

revenues

$339 billion

Currency

1 Italian lira (Lit) = 100 centesimi

Economic aid

donor

ODA, $3.043 billion (1993)

Economic overview

Since World War II, the Italian 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. Most raw materials needed by industry and over 75% of energy requirements must be imported. In the second half of 1992, Rome became unsettled by the prospect of not qualifying to participate in EU plans for economic and monetary union later in the decade; thus, it finally began to address its huge fiscal imbalances. Subsequently, the government has adopted fairly stringent budgets, abandoned its inflationary wage indexation system, and started to scale back its generous social welfare programs, including pension and health care benefits. Monetary officials were forced to withdraw the lira from the European monetary system in September 1992, when it came under extreme pressure in currency markets. For the 1990s, Italy faces the problems of pushing ahead with fiscal reform, refurbishing a tottering communications system, curbing pollution in major industrial centers, and adjusting to the new competitive forces accompanying the ongoing expansion and economic integration of the EU.

Electricity

capacity

61,630,000 kW

consumption per capita

4,033 kWh (1993)

production

209 billion kWh

Exchange rates

Italian lire (Lit) per US$1 - 1,583.8 (January 1996), 1,629.6 (1995), 1,612.4 (1994), 1,573.7 (1993), 1,232.4 (1992), 1,240.6 (1991)

Exports

$190.8 billion (f.o.b., 1994)

commodities

metals, textiles and clothing, production machinery, motor vehicles, transportation equipment, chemicals

partners

EU 53.4%, US 7.8%, OPEC 3.8% (1994)

External debt

$67 billion (1993 est.)

Fiscal year

calendar year

GDP

purchasing power parity - $1.0886 trillion (1995 est.)

GDP composition by sector

agriculture

2.9%

industry

31.6%

services

65.5% (1994)

GDP per capita

$18,700 (1995 est.)

GDP real growth rate

3.2% (1995 est.)

Illicit drugs

important gateway country for Latin American cocaine and Southwest Asian heroin entering the European market

Imports

$168.7 billion (c.i.f., 1994)

commodities

industrial machinery, chemicals, transport equipment, petroleum, metals, food, agricultural products

partners

EU 56.3%, OPEC 5.3%, US 4.6% (1994)

Industrial production growth rate

5.5% (1995 est.)

Industries

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

Inflation rate (consumer prices)

5.4% (1995)

Labor force

23.988 million

by occupation

services 58%, industry 32.2%, agriculture 9.8% (1988)

Unemployment rate

12.2% (January 1995)

Branches

Army, Navy, Air Force, Carabinieri

Defense expenditures

exchange rate conversion - $20.4 billion, 1.9% of GDP (1995)

Manpower availability

males age 15-49

14,739,097

males fit for military service

12,769,628

males reach military age (18) annually

358,884 (1996 est.)

Radio broadcast stations

AM 135, FM 28 (repeaters 1,840), shortwave 0

Radios

45.7 million (1992 est.)

Telephone system

modern, well-developed, fast; fully automated telephone, telex, and data services

domestic

high-capacity cable and microwave radio relay trunks

international

satellite earth stations - 3 Intelsat (with a total of 5 antennas - 3 for Atlantic Ocean and 2 for Indian Ocean), 1 Inmarsat (Atlantic Ocean Region), and NA Eutelsat; 21 submarine cables

Telephones

25.6 million (1987 est.)

Television broadcast stations

83 (repeaters 1,000)

Televisions

24.35 million (1992 est.) Defense

Airports

total

132

with paved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m

15

with paved runways 2 438 to 3 047 m

34

with paved runways 914 to 1 523 m

24

with paved runways over 3 047 m

5

with paved runways under 914 m

32

with unpaved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m

2

with unpaved runways 914 to 1 523 m

20 (1995 est.)

Heliports

2 (1995 est.)

Highways

paved

271,674 km

total

305,388 km (including 45,076 km major roads, 112,111 km secondary roads, 6,301 km motorways)

unpaved

33,714 km (1991 est.)

Merchant marine

ships by type

bulk 35, cargo 57, chemical tanker 39, combination bulk 1, combination ore/oil 3, container 16, liquefied gas tanker 37, multifunction large-load carrier 1, oil tanker 123, passenger 5, roll-on/roll-off cargo 53, short-sea passenger 31, specialized tanker 11, vehicle carrier 7 (1995 est.)

total

419 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 5,480,320 GRT/7,919,064 DWT

Pipelines

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

Ports

Ancona, Augusta, Bari, Cagliari (Sardinia), Catania, Gaeta, Genoa, La Spezia, Livorno, Naples, Oristano (Sardinia), Palermo (Sicily), Piombino, Porto Torres (Sardinia), Ravenna, Savona, Trieste, Venice

Railways

narrow gauge

113 km 1.000-m gauge (113 km electrified); 867 km 0.950-m gauge (144 km electrified)

standard gauge

17,981 km 1.435-m gauge; Italian Railways (FS) operates 16,118 km of the total standard gauge routes (10,560 km electrified)

total

18,961 km

Waterways

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