Italy: Facts and Figures - Facts and Figures

Official name

Italian Republic

Capital

Rome

Area

301,323 sq km

116,341 sq mi

Administrative divisions (population)

Abruzzi

1,299,272 (2005 estimate)

Basilicata

596,546 (2005 estimate)

Calabria

2,009,268 (2005 estimate)

Campania

5,788,986 (2005 estimate)

Emilia-Romagna

4,151,369 (2005 estimate)

Friuli-Venezia Giulia

1,204,718 (2005 estimate)

Lazio

5,269,972 (2005 estimate)

Liguria

1,592,309 (2005 estimate)

Lombardy

9,393,092 (2005 estimate)

Marche

1,518,780 (2005 estimate)

Molise

321,953 (2005 estimate)

Piedmont

4,330,172 (2005 estimate)

Apulia

4,068,167 (2005 estimate)

Sardinia

1,650,052 (2005 estimate)

Sicily

5,013,081 (2005 estimate)

Tuscany

3,598,269 (2005 estimate)

Trentino-Alto Adige

974,613 (2005 estimate)

Umbria

858,938 (2005 estimate)

Valle d'Aosta

122,868 (2005 estimate)

Veneto

4,699,950 (2005 estimate)

Largest cities (population)

Rome

2,553,873 (2005 estimate)

Milan

1,299,439 (2005 estimate)

Naples

995,171 (2005 estimate)

Turin

902,255 (2005 estimate)

Palermo

675,084 (2005 estimate)

Genoa

605,084 (2005 estimate)

Bologna

374,425 (2005 estimate)

Florence

368,059 (2005 estimate)

Bari

328,458 (2005 estimate)

Catania

305,773 (2005 estimate)

Venice

271,251 (2005 estimate)

Verona

259,068 (2005 estimate)

Messina

249,351 (2002 estimate)

Trieste

211,184 (2001)

Padua

204,870 (2001)

Taranto

202,033 (2001)

Brescia

187,567 (2001)

Mestre

181,900 (1996 estimate)

Reggio di Calabria

180,353 (2001)

Cagliari

164,249 (2001)

Population

58,147,733 (2007 estimate)

Population growth rate

0.01 per cent (2007 estimate)

Population density

198 persons per sq km (2007 estimate)

512 persons per sq mi (2007 estimate)

Urbanization

Per cent urban

68 per cent (2005 estimate)

Per cent rural

32 per cent (2005 estimate)

Life expectancy

Total

79.9 years (2007 estimate)

Female

83.1 years (2007 estimate)

Male

77 years (2007 estimate)

Infant mortality rate

6 deaths per 1,000 live births (2007 estimate)

Literacy rate

Total

98.8 per cent (2005 estimate)

Female

98.4 per cent (2005 estimate)

Male

99.1 per cent (2005 estimate)

Ethnic divisions

Italian (includes small clusters of German-, French-, and Slovenian-Italians in the north and Albanian-Italians and Greek-Italians in the south), Sicilian, Sardinian

Languages

Italian (official), French, German, Slovenian, Ladin, Emiliano-Romagnolo, Friulian, Ligurian, Lombard, Napoletano-Calabrese, Piemontese, Provençal, Sardinian, Sicilian, Venetian, and other regional languages.

Religions

Roman Catholic

98 per cent

Other or none

2 per cent

Type of government

Republic

Independence

March 17, 1861 (Kingdom of Italy proclaimed)

Constitution

January 1, 1948; amended in 1993

Voting rights

Universal at age 18 (except in senatorial elections, where minimum age is 25)

Gross domestic product (GDP) (US$)

1,762,519 million (2005)

GDP per capita (US$)

30,073.50 (2005)

GDP by economic sector

GDP, agriculture

2.3 per cent (2005)

GDP, industry

26.9 per cent (2005)

GDP, services

70.9 per cent (2005)

National budget (US$)

Total revenue

693,995 million (2005)

Total expenditure

628,583 million (2005)

Monetary unit

1 euro (EUR), consisting of 100 cents

Euro (€) notes and coins replaced the lira (Lit) as the national currency on January 1, 2002.

Exports

Metals, textiles and clothing, production machinery, motor vehicles, transport equipment, chemicals, electrical and precision machinery

Imports

Industrial machinery, chemicals, transport equipment, petroleum, metals, textiles, food, agricultural products

Major trading partners for exports

Germany, France, United States, United Kingdom, Spain, Switzerland

Major trading partners for imports

Germany, France, United Kingdom, Netherlands, Belgium, Spain, United States

Industries

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

Agriculture

Principal crops: fruits, vegetables, grapes, potatoes, sugar beet, soya beans, grains, olives

Natural resources

Mercury, potash, marble, sulphur, natural gas and crude oil, fish, coal, lead, zinc, barytes, fluorspar

Basic Facts and People sections

Area data are from the statistical bureaus of individual countries. Population, population growth rate, and population projections are from the United States Census Bureau, International Programs Center, International Data Base (IDB) (www.census.gov). Urban and rural population data are from the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations (UN), FAOSTAT database (www.fao.org). Largest cities population data and political divisions data are from the statistical bureaus of individual countries. Ethnic divisions and religion data are largely from the latest Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) World Factbook and from various country censuses and reports. Language data are largely from the Ethnologue, Languages of the World, Summer Institute of Linguistics International (www.sil.org).

Health and Education section

Life expectancy and infant mortality data are from the United States Census Bureau, International Programs Center, International database (IDB) (www.census.gov). Population per physician and population per hospital bed data are from the World Health Organization (WHO) (www.who.int). Education data are from the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) database (www.unesco.org).

Government section

Government, independence, legislature, constitution, highest court, and voting qualifications data are largely from various government Web sites, the latest Europa World Yearbook, and the latest Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) World Factbook. The armed forces data are from Military Balance.

Economy section

Gross domestic product (GDP), GDP per capita, GDP by economic sectors, employment, and national budget data are from the World Bank database (www.worldbank.org). Monetary unit, agriculture, mining, manufacturing, exports, imports, and major trade partner information is from the latest Europa World Yearbook and various International Monetary Fund (IMF) publications.

Energy, Communication, and Transportation section

Electricity information is from the Energy Information Administration (EIA) database (www.eia.doe.gov). Radio, telephone, television, and newspaper information is from the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) database (www.unesco.org). Internet hosts, motor vehicles, and road data are from the World Bank database (www.worldbank.org).

Note

Figures may not total 100 per cent due to rounding.