Italy
![]()
|
Republic of Italy | |
|
Click
here for a Map with Regions Click here for Italian Holidays | |
|
Area |
116,340 square miles - 301,000 sq. Km |
|
Population (1998) |
57,700,000 71% urban, 29% rural Ethnic Groups: Italian, small minorities of German. French, Slovene, Albanian, Greek |
|
Language |
Italian (official), small sections speak German or Slovene |
|
Capital and Major Cities (Pop.1997) |
Rome (2,700,000)
|
|
Currency |
1 lira (Lit) = 100 centesimi |
|
Gross Domestic Product (GDP 1994) |
$1.09 trill. Imports: 108 bill. - Partners: EU 56%, U.S. 5%. |
|
Religion |
Rom. Catholic (98% of the Population) |
|
Education & Health | |
|
Literacy (1994) |
Education: Free and
compulsory: ages 6-13 |
|
Universities (1995) |
42 |
|
Life Expectancy (1997) at Birth: |
Life Exp.:
F-81.6,
M-75 |
|
Health: |
Hospital beds:
1 per
147 persons. |
|
Government | |
|
Form of Government: |
Parliamentary Republic |
|
Head of State:
|
President (Elected to a seven-year term by legislators and representatives of regional councils) Current
President: |
|
Head of Government: |
Prime Minister (Appointed by the president and confirmed by parliament.) Current Prime Minister: (referred to in Italy as the president of the Council of Ministers) Silvio Berlusconi (since June 10, 2001, he was re-elected on April 23, 2005) |
| Cabinet: | Council of Ministers nominated by the prime minister and approved by the president |
|
Legislature: |
Bicameral Legislature or "Parlamento" consists of the Senate or "Senato"
(326 seats—315 elected
by popular vote of which 232 are directly elected and 83 are elected by
regional proportional representation, 11 are appointed
senators-for-life; members serve five-year terms)
elections Chamber of Deputies or "Camera dei Deputati" (630 seats; 475 are directly elected, 155 by regional proportional representation; members serve five-year terms) elections: |
| Political parties and leaders: |
Center-Left
Olive Tree Coalition [Francesco RUTELLI]
- Democrats of the Left, Daisy Alliance (including Italian Popular
Party, Italian Renewal, Union of Democrats for Europe, The Democrats),
Sunflower Alliance (including Green Federation, Italian Democratic
Socialists), Italian Communist Party; Christian Democratic Center or
CDC [Pier Ferdinando CASINI];
Christian Democratic Union or CDU [Rocco
BUTTIGLIONE]; Communist Renewal or RC [Fausto
BERTINOTTI]; Forza Italia or FI [Silvio
BERLUSCONI]; Green Federation [Grazia
FRANCESCATO]; House of Liberties (formerly Freedom Alliance,
a center-right coalition) [leader Silvio
BERLUSCONI] - Forza Italian, National Alliance, Christian
Democratic Center, Christian Democratic Union, Northern League; Italian
Communist Party or PdCI [Oliviero DILIBERTO];
Italian Democratic Socialists [Enrico BOSELLI];
Italian Popular Party [Pierluigi CASTAGNETTI];
Italian Renewal [Lamberto DINI];
Italian Social Movement-Tricolored Flame or MSI-FI [Pino
RAUTI]; National Alliance or AN [Gianfranco
FINI]; Northern League or NL [Umberto
BOSSI]; Radical Party (formerly Panella Reformers and
Autonomous List) [Marco PANNELLA];
Southern Tyrols People's Party or SVP (German speakers) [Siegfried
BRUGGER]; Union of Democrats for Europe [Clemente
MASTELLA]; The Democrats [Arturo
PARISI]
Source: CIA Fact Book on Italy |
| Political Pressure Groups and Leaders: | The Roman Catholic Church; three major trade union confederations (Confederazione Generale Italiana del Lavoro or CGIL [Sergio COFFERATI] which is left wing, Confederazione Italiana dei Sindacati Lavoratori or CISL [Sergio D'ANTONI] which is Catholic centrist, and Unione Italiana del Lavoro or UIL [Pietro LARIZZA] which is lay centrist); Italian manufacturers and merchants associations (Confindustria, Confcommercio); organized farm groups (Confcoltivatori, Confagricoltura) |
|
Voting Qualifications: |
Universal suffrage for all citizens age 18 and older |
|
Judicial branch Highest Court: | Constitutional Court Supreme Court of Cassation or 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) |
|
Armed Services: |
325,000 troops; Army, Navy, Air Force (men 18 years old and older must serve for 12 months) |
|
Political Divisions: |
20 regions with, some autonomy, divided into 95 provinces. |
|
Economy, Transportation & Communication | |
|
Economy: |
Industries. Tourism, steel, machinery, autos, textiles, shoes, clothing, chemicals. Chief crops: Grapes, olives, citrus fruits, vegetables, wheat Minerals: Mercury, Potash, Sulfur, Crude oil reserves (1996) 685 mil bblis. Livestock (1996) sheep: 10.5 mil; pigs: 8.0 mil; cattle: 7.0 mil; goats: 1.5 mil; Fish catch (1995): 609,000 metric tons. Electricity prod. (1995): 225 bill. kWh. Labor Force: 58% services, 32% industrial, 10% agriculture |
|
Transportation: |
Railroads: Length. 11,774.8 mi. Motor Vehicles: in use 30.0 mil Passenger cars, 2.8 mil comm. vehicles Civil Aviation: 19.7 bill. passenger-mi.; 31 airports. Chief Ports: Genoa, Venice, Trieste, Palermo, Naples. La Spezia |
|
Communications: |
Television sets: 1per 2.3 persons Radios: 1 per 1.2 persons Telephones: 1 per 2.3 persons Daily newspaper circ.: 105 per 1,000 population |
|
Organizations and Agencies | |
|
Major International Organization Participation: |
AfDB, AsDB, Australia Group, BIS, BSEC (observer), CCC, CDB (non-regional), CE, CEI, CERN, EAPC, EBRD, ECE, ECLAC, EIB, EMU, ESA, EU, FAO, G- 7, G-10, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, LAIA (observer), MINURSO, MTCR, NAM (guest), NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIFIL, UNIKOM, UNITAR, UNMIBH, UNMOGIP, UNTSO, UPU, WCL, WEU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO, ZC |
|
Major Islands | |
|
Sicily: |
9,928 sq. mi., pop. (1994 est.) 5,025,000. The island lies in the Mediterranean and has a dimension of 180 by 120 mi., seat of a region that embraces the island of Pantelieria, 32 sq. mi., and the Lipari group, 44 sq. mi., Including 2 active volcanoes: Volcano, 1,637 ft, and Stromboli, 3,038 ft. From prehistoric times Sicily has been settled by various peoples; a Greek state had its capital at Syracuse. Sicily was taken by Rome from Carthage in 215 BC. Mt. Etna, an 11,053-ft. active volcano, is its tallest peak |
|
Sardinia: |
9,301 sq. mi., pop. (1994 est.) 1,657,000. The island of Sardinia lies in the Mediterranean, 115 mi. W of Italy and 7 1/2 mi. S of Corsica. It Is 160 mi. long, 68 mi. wide, and mountainous, with mining Of coal, zinc Rod and copper. In 1720 Sardinia was added to the possessions of the Dukes of Savoy in Piedmont and Savoy to form the Kingdom of Sardinia. Giuseppe Garibaldi is buried on the nearby isle of Caprera. |
|
Elba: |
86 sq. mi., lies 6 miles West of Tuscany. Napoleon I lived in exile on Elba 1814-1815. |
Back to Top Arcaini Home Page Fact Sheet on Italy History of Italian Anthem Includes Sound and History History of Italian Flag History of Italy History of Italy Summarized Italian Holidays in 2000 Italian Rivers Le Cinque Terre Map of Italy Please be patient loading this page it may take a minute