Italy

Geography

Location: Italy lies in southern Europe. It is a peninsula that extends into the central Mediterranean Sea, northeast of Tunisia. Area: 301,230 sq. km (including Sardinia and Sicily). Principal cities: Rome, Milan, Turin, Genoa and Palermo. Tourist attractions: Basilica di San Francesco, Cappella degli Scrovegni, Cenacolo Vinciano, Colos­seum, Grand Canal, Leaning Tower of Pisa, Mt Etna, Pompeii, The Uffizi and Valley of the Temples. Time zone: GMT+ I hours.

People

Population: 58,147,733 (July 2007 est.). Population growth rate: 0.01% (2007 est.). Sex ratio: 0.96 male(s)/fe-male (2007 est.). Religions: Predominately Roman Catholic with mature Protestant and Jewish communities and a growing Muslim immigrant community. Languages: Italian (official), German, French, Slovene. Literacy rate: Total 98.6%, Male 99%, Female 98.3% (2003 est.). Infant mortality rate: 5.72 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.). Life expectancy: Total 79.94 years, Male 77.01 years, Female 83.07 years (2007 est).

Government

Capital: Rome. National anthem: II Canto degli Italian!, Government type: Republic. Independence: 17 March 1861 (Kingdom of Italy proclaimed; Italy was not finally unified until 1870). Legal system: Based on civil law system. Executive branch: Chief of state: President Giorgio Napolitano (since 15 May 2006). Head of government: Prime Minister Romano Prodi (since 17 May 2006). Elections: The president is elected by an electoral college consisting of both houses of parliament and 58 regional representatives for a seven-year term. Elections were last held on 10 May 2006 (next elections are scheduled for May 2013). Legistative branch: Bicameral Parliament or Parlamento consists of the Senate or Senato della Repubblica and the Cham­ber of Deputies or Camera dei Deputati. Judicial branch: Constitu­tional court or Corte Costituzionale.

Economy

Currency: Euro. Currency conver­sion: Euro per Indian rupee—0.0182 (June 2007 est.). GDP: Purchasing power parity—$1,756 trillion (2006 est.). GDP—real growth rate: 1.9% (2006 est.). GDP—per capita: Pur­chasing power parity—$30,200 (2006 est.). Inflation rate: 2.3% (2006 est.). Unemployment rate: 7% (2006 est.). Exports: $450.1 billion f.o.b. (2006 est.). Imports: $445.6 billion f.o.b. (2006 est.). External debt: $1,957 trillion (2006 est.).

Transport and Communications

Railways: 19,507 km. Roads: 484,688 km. Airports: Leonardo Da Vinci and Turin International Airports. Telephones: 25.049 million (2005). Mobile cellular: 72.7 million (2005). Internet users: 28.87 million (2005). Internet country code: .it. ISD code: 39.