Country Profile [CIA World Factbook]
Italy became a nation-state in 1861 when the regional states of the peninsula, along with Sardinia and Sicily, were united under King Victor EMMANUEL II. An era of parliamentary government came to a close in the early 1920s when Benito MUSSOLINI established a Fascist dictatorship. His alliance with Nazi Germany led to Italy's defeat in World War II. A democratic republic replaced the monarchy in 1946 and economic revival followed. Italy was a charter member of NATO and the European Economic Community (EEC). It has been at the forefront of European economic and political unification, joining the Economic and Monetary Union in 1999. Persistent problems include illegal immigration, organized crime, corruption, high unemployment, sluggish economic growth, and the low incomes and technical standards of southern Italy compared with the prosperous north.
Disputes
Italy's long coastline and developed economy entices tens of thousands of illegal immigrants from southeastern Europe and northern Africa
| Location |
Southern Europe, a peninsula extending into the central Mediterranean Sea, northeast of Tunisia |
| Coordinates |
42° 49.98' N 12° 49.98' E |
| Capital
| Rome |
| Main Cities |
Bologna, Florence, Genoa, Milan, Naples, Palermo, Turin, Venice |
| Area |
301230 km2 |
| Boundaries (km) |
1,932.2 - Austria 430, France 488, Holy See (Vatican City) 3.2, San Marino 39, Slovenia 232, Switzerland 740 |
| Coastline (km) |
7,600 |
| Timezone (GMT) |
1 |
| Population |
58,126,212 (July 2009 est.) (Demographics) |
| Public Holidays |
Republic Day, 2 June (1946) |
| Currency |
euro (EUR) |
| GDP |
$1.786 trillion (2007 est.) (Economic data) |
| Main Exports |
engineering products, textiles and clothing, production machinery, motor vehicles, transport equipment, chemicals; food, beverages and tobacco; minerals, and nonferrous metals |
| Climate |
predominantly Mediterranean; Alpine in far north; hot, dry in south |
| Natural Hazards |
regional risks include landslides, mudflows, avalanches, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, flooding; land subsidence in Venice |
| Physical Features |
Mt Etna volcano, Stromboli volcano, Mt Vesuvius volcano, Mt Vulcano, Alps, Apennines, River Po, River Tiber, River Arno, Lake Maggiore, Lake Como, Lake Garda, Mont Blanc |
| Environmental Agreements |
party to: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Air Pollution-Sulfur 85, Air Pollution-Sulfur 94, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Seals, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
|
Flag
 Country Map(s)
|
