|
Currency:
Euro
Capital:
Rome
Major Cities (by population size):
Rome, Milan, Naples, Turin, Palermo, Genoa, Bologna, Florence, Bari, Catania
Geography:
Italy is a “boot-shaped” peninsular in southern Europe, stretching south-eastwards out into the centre of the Mediterranean Sea. It is bordered to the northwest by France and Monaco, to the north by Switzerland and Austria, and to the east by Slovenia. It also includes two large islands – Sicily, at the southern “toe of the boot”, and Sardinia, off Italy's west coast. The Vatican City and San Marino are independent “micro-states” within the Italian territory and Campione d'Italia is an Italian enclave in Switzerland. Italy is divided into 20 regions, the most famous of which are arguably Tuscany (home to the city of Florence), Lazio (Rome), Lombardy (Milan), Piedmont (Turin) and Umbria (Perugia).
Italy's climate is predominantly Mediterranean but Alpine in the far north. The country is dominated by a series of mountain ranges, including the Alps and the Dolomites in the north and the Apennines which form the backbone of the peninsula. Natural hazards include landslides and avalanches in the mountains, earthquakes and volcanic eruptions in volcanic areas, and flooding and land subsidence in very low-lying areas such as Venice.
Politics:
Italy became a parliamentary democracy in 1946 when a referendum abolished the Italian monarchy and a constitution was introduced a year later. Amongst other things, the constitution divides Italy into 20 regions, each with its own regulations. The current president is Giorgio Napolitano and former head of the EU commission Romano Prodi is the prime minister. Italy was a founding member of NATO and the European Economic Community (EEC), and is also a member of the UN and the G8. It has been heavily involved in European economic and political unification, joining the Economic and Monetary Union in 1999. Ongoing political issues include high levels of illegal immigration, organised crime and corruption, and the massive economic disparities between the poor, mainly agricultural south and the prosperous, industrialised north.
Economy:
- Inflation rate (consumer prices): 2.3% (2006 est.)
- GDP (official exchange rate): $1.78 trillion (2006 est.)
- GDP (purchasing power parity): $1.727 trillion (2006 est.)
- GDP (real) growth rate: 1.6% (2006 est.)
- Foreign Direct Investment (net inflow): -$2.5 billion
Italy has a diversified industrial economy with approximately the same output as the UK and France, both overall and on a per capita level; Italy is the fourth largest economy in Europe after Germany, the UK and France, and the seventh largest in the world. These national statistics don't reflect Italy's massive regional differences, however, and its north is industrial and prosperous while its south is poor and agricultural; here, around 15% of the working population are currently unemployed.
Italy has been part of the Eurozone since the Euro was first introduced in 1999, meaning its monetary policy is controlled by the European Central Bank. This lack of economic independence has caused Italy some problems, precluding the possibility of lowering exchange rates to boost its flagging export competitiveness. Within the Eurozone, only Germany has grown at a slower rate than Italy and in 2006, Italian economic growth was a meagre 1.6%. Despite falling over the last couple of years, at 7% (2006 estimate), unemployment is still a big problem, particularly in the south of the country.
Italy's economic woes are in large part due to the stiff competition its manufacturing sector is facing from foreign competitors where labour costs are cheaper, particularly the emerging economies in Asia and Eastern Europe. (In 2004, Italy was the world's sixth largest exporter of manufactured goods.) Italy 's service sector is expanding and its clothing and textiles sector is strong, however, and its manufacturing industry is shifting to ultra-high-tech products to regain its competitive edge. The government's main economic challenges at present are driving through much needed structural reforms, such as introducing greater flexibility in the labour market, lightening the tax burden and addressing the large north/south divide.
Tourism is very important to the Italian economy and with other 37 million tourists each year, Italy is ranked as the world's fourth most popular holiday destination. Italy also does well in terms of foreign investment where, unlike other European countries, it has managed to maintain a relatively constant level over the last six years.
Legal System:
Italy's current constitution was introduced on 11th December 1947 and became effective on 1st January 1948. Amongst other things, the constitution divides Italy into 20 regions, each with its own regulations. Five of these regions (Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Sardinia, Aosta Valley, Trentino-Alto Adige/Sudtirol and Sicily) enjoy a special autonomous status that enables them to pass laws on local matters.
Italy's legal system is based on a civil law system. The judiciary is headed by the Constitutional Court (Corte Costituzionale). The Constitutional Court is composed of 15 judges – a third of which are appointed by the president, a further third by parliament and the final third are elected by the ordinary and administrative Supreme Courts. The Constitutional Court undertakes judicial reviews of the law in certain situations. Appeals are treated as new trials in Italy and the country is yet to accept compulsory ICJ jurisdiction.
The Heritage Foundation comments, “Property rights and contracts are secure, but the delivery of justice is extremely slow, and many companies choose to settle out of court. Corruption is more common than in other European countries, and many judges are politically oriented.”
People:
All Italy's population is officially Italian in ethnic origin, although in practice this includes small clusters of German-, French- and Slovene-Italians in the north of the country and Italians of Albanian and Greek descent in the south. Italian is the official national language and the majority of the population speaks Italian or one of its dialects. There are, however, small enclaves where other languages are spoken, such as the Trentino-Alto Adige region which is in parts predominantly German-speaking, the Valle d'Aosta region where there is a small French-speaking minority and the Trieste-Gorizia area where there is a Slovene-speaking minority. 90% of Italians are Roman Catholic and the other 10% is made up of well-established Protestant and Jewish communities as well as a growing Muslim immigrant community.
Demographics:
Italy has a population of over 58 million people (58,147,733 (July 2007 est.)) with a negligible growth rate of 0.01% (2007 est.) based on a birth rate of 8.54 births/1,000 population (2006 est.) and a net migration rate of 2.06 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) set against a death rate of 10.5 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.). Life expectancy at birth is 77 years for men and 83 years for women.
Italy has an ageing population and the number of Italians aged 65 and over is predicted to rise by 44 per cent between 2005 and 2050. In 2004, Italy was one of only four EU-25 countries where the proportion of the population aged 65 and over exceeded the proportion aged under 16.
Country Ratings:
- Economist Intelligence Unit Quality of Life Index: 7.810, rank: 8th (2005)
- Heritage Foundation Index of Economic Freedom: Rank 60, 63.4% free, Category: Moderately free
Sources & Resources:
|
Country Overview:
Sponsored listings: