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 is a charter member of NATO and the European Economic Community (EEC) and its subsequent successors the EC and the EU. It has been at the forefront of European economic and political unification, joining the Economic and Monetary Union in 1999. Persistent problems include sluggish economic growth, high youth and female unemployment, organized crime, corruption, and economic disparities between southern Italy and the more prosperous north.
land: 294,140 sq km
water: 7,200 sq km
note: includes Sardinia and Sicily
border countries (6): Austria 404 km; France 476 km; Holy See (Vatican City) 3.4 km; San Marino 37 km; Slovenia 218 km; Switzerland 698 km
continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation
lowest point: Mediterranean Sea 0 m
mean elevation: 538 m
arable land: 22.8% (2018 est.)
permanent crops: 8.6% (2018 est.)
permanent pasture: 15.7% (2018 est.)
forest: 31.4% (2018 est.)
other: 21.5% (2018 est.)
61,021,855 (2023 est.)
noun: Italian(s)
adjective: Italian
Italian (includes small clusters of German-, French-, and Slovene-Italians in the north and Albanian-Italians and Greek-Italians in the south)
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)
major-language sample(s):
L’Almanacco dei fatti del mondo, l’indispensabile fonte per le informazioni di base. (Italian)
The World Factbook, the indispensable source for basic information.
Christian 80.8% (overwhelmingly Roman Catholic with very small groups of Jehovah’s Witnesses and Protestants), Muslim 4.9%, unaffiliated 13.4%, other 0.9% (2020 est.)
0-14 years: 12.08% (male 3,772,041/female 3,600,946)
15-64 years: 64.61% (male 19,430,217/female 19,997,042)
65 years and over: 23.31% (2023 est.) (male 6,248,663/female 7,972,946)
total dependency ratio: 57.1
youth dependency ratio: 19.9
elderly dependency ratio: 37.2
potential support ratio: 2.7 (2021 est.)
total: 48.1 years (2023 est.)
male: 47 years
female: 49.1 years
-0.11% (2023 est.)
7 births/1,000 population (2023 est.)
11.3 deaths/1,000 population (2023 est.)
3.2 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2023 est.)
despite a distinctive pattern with an industrial north and an agrarian south, a fairly even population distribution exists throughout most of the country, with coastal areas, the Po River Valley, and urban centers (particularly Milan, Rome, and Naples), attracting larger and denser populations
urban population: 72% of total population (2023)
rate of urbanization: 0.27% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)
4.316 million ROME (capital), 3.155 million Milan, 2.179 million Naples, 1.802 million Turin, 913,000 Bergamo, 850,000 Palermo (2023)
at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female
0-14 years: 1.05 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.97 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.78 male(s)/female
total population: 0.93 male(s)/female (2023 est.)
31.4 years (2020 est.)
5 deaths/100,000 live births (2020 est.)
total: 3.1 deaths/1,000 live births (2023 est.)
male: 3.3 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 2.9 deaths/1,000 live births
total population: 82.8 years (2023 est.)
male: 80.5 years
female: 85.3 years
1.24 children born/woman (2023 est.)
0.6 (2023 est.)
65.1% (2013)
note: percent of women aged 18-49
improved: urban: NA
rural: NA
total: 99.9% of population
unimproved: urban: NA
rural: NA
total: 0.1% of population (2020 est.)
9.6% of GDP (2020)
3.95 physicians/1,000 population (2020)
3.1 beds/1,000 population (2018)
improved: urban: 100% of population
rural: 100% of population
total: 100% of population
unimproved: urban: 0% of population
rural: 0% of population
total: 0% of population (2020 est.)
19.9% (2016)
total: 7.65 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
beer: 1.99 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
wine: 4.83 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
spirits: 0.83 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
other alcohols: 0 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
total: 23.1% (2020 est.)
male: 26.6% (2020 est.)
female: 19.5% (2020 est.)
NA
52.5% (2023 est.)
4.3% of GDP (2020 est.)
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 99.2%
male: 99.4%
female: 99% (2018)
total: 16 years
male: 16 years
female: 17 years (2020)
air pollution from industrial emissions such as sulfur dioxide; coastal and inland rivers polluted from industrial and agricultural effluents; acid rain damaging lakes; inadequate industrial waste treatment and disposal facilities
party to: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Air Pollution-Sulphur 85, Air Pollution-Sulphur 94, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Antarctic-Environmental Protection, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Seals, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Climate Change-Paris Agreement, Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping-London Convention, Marine Dumping-London Protocol, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 2006, Wetlands, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: Air Pollution-Heavy Metals, Air Pollution-Multi-effect Protocol
predominantly Mediterranean; alpine in far north; hot, dry in south
agricultural land: 47.1% (2018 est.)
arable land: 22.8% (2018 est.)
permanent crops: 8.6% (2018 est.)
permanent pasture: 15.7% (2018 est.)
forest: 31.4% (2018 est.)
other: 21.5% (2018 est.)
urban population: 72% of total population (2023)
rate of urbanization: 0.27% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)
0.01% of GDP (2018 est.)
0% of GDP (2018 est.)
particulate matter emissions: 14.22 micrograms per cubic meter (2019 est.)
methane emissions: 41.3 megatons (2020 est.)
municipal solid waste generated annually: 29.524 million tons (2015 est.)
municipal solid waste recycled annually: 7,646,716 tons (2015 est.)
percent of municipal solid waste recycled: 25.9% (2015 est.)
Atlantic Ocean drainage: Rhine-Maas (198,735 sq km), (Black Sea) Danube (795,656 sq km), (Adriatic Sea) Po (76,997 sq km), (Mediterranean Sea) Rhone (100,543 sq km)
municipal: 9.19 billion cubic meters (2020 est.)
industrial: 7.7 billion cubic meters (2020 est.)
agricultural: 17 billion cubic meters (2020 est.)
191.3 billion cubic meters (2020 est.)
core EU economy; strong services, manufacturing, and tourism sectors; hard hit by COVID-19 disruptions but starting to recover; large EU exporter but data skews due to inflated port entry valuation; corruption somewhat stymies foreign direct investment
$2.478 trillion (2021 est.)
$2.322 trillion (2020 est.)
$2.553 trillion (2019 est.)
note: data are in 2017 dollars
6.74% (2021 est.)
-9.04% (2020 est.)
0.48% (2019 est.)
$41,900 (2021 est.)
$39,100 (2020 est.)
$42,700 (2019 est.)
note: data are in 2017 dollars
$2,002,763,000,000 (2019 est.)
1.87% (2021 est.)
-0.14% (2020 est.)
0.61% (2019 est.)
Fitch rating: BBB- (2020)
Moody’s rating: Baa3 (2018)
Standard & Poors rating: BBB (2017)
note: The year refers to the year in which the current credit rating was first obtained.
agriculture: 2.1% (2017 est.)
industry: 23.9% (2017 est.)
services: 73.9% (2017 est.)comparison rankings:
household consumption: 61% (2017 est.)
government consumption: 18.6% (2017 est.)
investment in fixed capital: 17.5% (2017 est.)
investment in inventories: -0.2% (2017 est.)
exports of goods and services: 31.4% (2017 est.)
imports of goods and services: -28.3% (2017 est.)
milk, grapes, wheat, maize, tomatoes, apples, olives, sugar beets, oranges, rice
tourism, machinery, iron and steel, chemicals, food processing, textiles, motor vehicles, clothing, footwear, ceramics
13.46% (2021 est.)
25.012 million (2021 est.)
9.83% (2021 est.)
9.16% (2020 est.)
9.95% (2019 est.)
total: 30.9% (2021 est.)
male: 29.1%
female: 33.8%
20.1% (2018 est.)
35.2 (2018 est.)
on food: 14.2% of household expenditures (2018 est.)
on alcohol and tobacco: 4.1% of household expenditures (2018 est.)
lowest 10%: 2.3%
highest 10%: 26.8% (2000)
revenues: $901.494 billion (2020 est.)
expenditures: $1.08 trillion (2020 est.)
-2.3% (of GDP) (2017 est.)
131.8% of GDP (2017 est.)
132% of GDP (2016 est.)
note: Italy reports its data on public debt according to guidelines set out in the Maastricht Treaty; general government gross debt is defined in the Maastricht Treaty as consolidated general government gross debt at nominal value, outstanding at the end of the year, in the following categories of government liabilities (as defined in ESA95): currency and deposits (AF.2), securities other than shares excluding financial derivatives (AF.3, excluding AF.34), and loans (AF.4); the general government sector comprises central, state, and local government and social security funds
24.77% (of GDP) (2020 est.)
calendar year
$64.719 billion (2021 est.)
$74.509 billion (2020 est.)
$66.321 billion (2019 est.)
$687.948 billion (2021 est.) note: data are in current year dollars
$559.952 billion (2020 est.) note: data are in current year dollars
$636.153 billion (2019 est.) note: data are in current year dollars
Germany 12%, France 11%, United States 10%, United Kingdom 5%, Spain 5%, Switzerland 5% (2019)
packaged medicines, cars and vehicle parts, refined petroleum, vaccines and cultures, jewelry, valves (2021)
$637.934 billion (2021 est.) note: data are in current year dollars
$490.684 billion (2020 est.) note: data are in current year dollars
$568.796 billion (2019 est.) note: data are in current year dollars
Germany 16%, France 9%, China 7%, Spain 5%, Netherlands 5%, Belgium 5% (2019)
crude petroleum, cars, packaged medicines, natural gas, refined petroleum (2019)
$227.478 billion (31 December 2021 est.)
$210.687 billion (31 December 2020 est.)
$175.398 billion (31 December 2019 est.)
$2,463,208,000,000 (2019 est.)
$2,533,153,000,000 (2018 est.)
euros (EUR) per US dollar -
Exchange rates:
0.845 (2021 est.)
0.876 (2020 est.)
0.893 (2019 est.)
0.847 (2018 est.)
0.885 (2017 est.)
electrification - total population: 100% (2021)
installed generating capacity: 121.442 million kW (2020 est.)
consumption: 286.375 billion kWh (2020 est.)
exports: 7.587 billion kWh (2020 est.)
imports: 39.787 billion kWh (2020 est.)
transmission/distribution losses: 17.702 billion kWh (2020 est.)comparison rankings:
fossil fuels: 55.9% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
nuclear: 0% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
solar: 9.2% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
wind: 6.9% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
hydroelectricity: 17.5% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
tide and wave: 0.2% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
geothermal: 2.2% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
biomass and waste: 8.1% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
Number of operational nuclear reactors: 0
Number of nuclear reactors under construction: 0
Net capacity of operational nuclear reactors: 0GW
Percent of total electricity production: 0%
Percent of total energy produced: 0%
Number of nuclear reactors permanently shut down: 4
production: 1.456 million metric tons (2020 est.)
consumption: 9.335 million metric tons (2020 est.)
exports: 368,000 metric tons (2020 est.)
imports: 8.235 million metric tons (2020 est.)
proven reserves: 17 million metric tons (2019 est.)
total petroleum production: 107,700 bbl/day (2021 est.)
refined petroleum consumption: 1,255,100 bbl/day (2019 est.)
crude oil and lease condensate exports: 10,100 bbl/day (2018 est.)
crude oil and lease condensate imports: 1.253 million bbl/day (2018 est.)
crude oil estimated reserves: 497.9 million barrels (2021 est.)
1.607 million bbl/day (2017 est.)
615,900 bbl/day (2017 est.)
422,500 bbl/day (2017 est.)
production: 3,888,491,000 cubic meters (2020 est.)
consumption: 74,313,109,000 cubic meters (2019 est.)
exports: 314.656 million cubic meters (2020 est.)
imports: 70,908,014,000 cubic meters (2019 est.)
proven reserves: 45.76 billion cubic meters (2021 est.)
332.041 million metric tonnes of CO2 (2019 est.)
from coal and metallurgical coke: 27.194 million metric tonnes of CO2 (2019 est.)
from petroleum and other liquids: 162.472 million metric tonnes of CO2 (2019 est.)
from consumed natural gas: 142.375 million metric tonnes of CO2 (2019 est.)
112.606 million Btu/person (2019 est.)
number of registered air carriers: 9 (2020)
inventory of registered aircraft operated by air carriers: 180
annual passenger traffic on registered air carriers: 27,630,435 (2018)
annual freight traffic on registered air carriers: 1.418 billion (2018) mt-km
I
129 (2021)
98
note: paved runways have a concrete or asphalt surface but not all have facilities for refueling, maintenance, or air traffic control; the length of a runway required for aircraft to safely operate depends on a number of factors including the type of aircraft, the takeoff weight (including passengers, cargo, and fuel), engine types, flap settings, landing speed, elevation of the airport, and average maximum daily air temperature; paved runways can reach a length of 5,000 m (16,000 ft.), but the “typical” length of a commercial airline runway is between 2,500-4,000 m (8,000-13,000 ft.)
31
note: unpaved runways have a surface composition such as grass or packed earth and are most suited to the operation of light aircraft; unpaved runways are usually short, often less than 1,000 m (3,280 ft.) in length; airports with unpaved runways often lack facilities for refueling, maintenance, or air traffic control
5 (2021)
20,223 km gas, 1,393 km oil, 1,574 km refined products (2013)
total: 18,475 km (2020) 12,936 km electrified
1289.3 0.950-mm gauge (151.3 km electrified)
total: 487,700 km (2007)
paved: 487,700 km (2007) (includes 6,700 km of expressways)
2,400 km (2012) (used for commercial traffic; of limited overall value compared to road and rail)
total: 1,266 (2022)
by type: bulk carrier 20, container ship 6, general cargo 107, oil tanker 102, other 1,031
major seaport(s): Augusta, Cagliari, Genoa, Livorno, Taranto, Trieste, Venice
oil terminal(s): Melilli (Santa Panagia) oil terminal, Sarroch oil terminal
container port(s) (TEUs): Genoa (2,557,847), Gioia Tauro (3,146,553) (2021)
LNG terminal(s) (import): Panigaglia (La Spezia), Adriatic (Porto Levante), Oristano (Sardinia), Ravenna, Toscana (Livorno)
Italy operates one PC 5 or 6 class light icebreaker, it is based in the Mediterranean
note - PC indicates a Polar Class vessel: PC 5 - year-round operation in medium first-year ice which may include old ice inclusions (ice thickness up to 70-120 cm); PC 6 - summer/autumn operation in medium first-year ice which may include old ice inclusions (ice thickness up to 30-70 cm)
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