Short Name: Italy

Long Name: Italian Republic

Short Name (local): Italia

Long Name (local): Repubblica Italiana

Member of European Union: Yes, 1957

International Dialing Code: +39

Capital City: Rome

National Tourist Office: Italian State Tourism Board, Italian Government Tourist Board (USA)

Foreign Embassies in Italy: Australia | Canada | U.K. | U.S.

Embassies and Visa Information: In Australia | In Canada | In the U.K. | In the U.S.

Nationality: Noun - Italian(s), Adjective - Italian

Government Type: Republic

Ethnic Groups: Italian (includes small clusters of German-, French-, and Slovene-Italians in the north and Albanian-Italians and Greek-Italians in the south)

Religions: Predominately Roman Catholic with mature Protestant and Jewish communities and a growing Muslim immigrant community

Languages: Italian (official), 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)

Monetary Unit: 1 Euro = 100 cents

Area: 301,230 sq km - slightly larger than Arizona

Climate: Predominantly Mediterranean; Alpine in far north; hot, dry in south

Population: 58,057,477 (July 2004 est.)

Sex Ratio: 0.96 male(s)/female (2004 est.)

Median Age: 41.4 years, male 39.8 years, female 43 years (2004 est.)

Life Expectancy: 79.54 years, male 76.61 years, female 82.66 years (2004 est.)

Population Growth Rate: 0.09% (2004 est.)

Net Migration Rate: 2.07 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.)

Unemployment Rate: 8.6% (2003 est.)

Gross National Income: US$21,560 (2003, World Bank)

Export Commodities: Engineering products, textiles and clothing, production machinery, motor vehicles, transport equipment, chemicals; food, beverages and tobacco; minerals and nonferrous metals

Export Partners: Germany 13.8%, France 12.3%, US 8.5%, Spain 7%, UK 6.9% (2003 est.)

Import Commodities: Engineering products, chemicals, transport equipment, energy products, minerals and nonferrous metals, textiles and clothing; food, beverages and tobacco

Import Partners: Germany 17.9%, France 11.2%, Netherlands 5.8%, Spain 4.8%, UK 4.7%, Belgium 4.3%, US 4% (2003 est.)

Natural Resources: Coal, mercury, zinc, potash, marble, barite, asbestos, pumice, fluorospar, feldspar, pyrite (sulfur), natural gas and crude oil reserves, fish, arable land

Public Television: Rai

Public Radio: Rai


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Graphics and statistics are public domain courtesy of The CIA World Factbook.
Outline map courtesy of WorldAtlas.com.

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