From Wikitravel

Contents 1 Know 1.1 Geography 1.2 People 1.3 Government 1.4 Economy 1.5 Communications

Know

Italy became a nation-state in 1861 when the city-states of the peninsula, along with Sardinia and Sicily, were united under King Victor Emmanuel. An era of parliamentary government came to a close in the early 1920s when Benito Mussolini established a Fascist dictatorship. His disastrous 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 was a charter member of NATO and the European Economic Community (EEC). It has been at the forefront of European economic and political unification, joining the European Monetary Union in 1999. Persistent problems include illegal immigration, the ravages of organized crime, corruption, high unemployment and the low incomes and technical standards of southern Italy compared to the prosperous north.

Geography

Location 

Southern Europe, a peninsula extending into the central Mediterranean Sea, northeast of Tunisia

Map references 

Europe

Area 

total: 301,230 sq km
note: includes Sardinia and Sicily
water: 7,210 sq km
land: 294,020 sq km

Area - comparative 

slightly larger than Arizona

Land boundaries 

total: 1,932.2 km
border countries: Austria 430 km, France 488 km, Holy See (Vatican City) 3.2 km, San Marino 39 km, Slovenia 232 km, Switzerland 740 km

Coastline 

7,600 km

Climate 

predominantly Mediterranean; Alpine in far north; hot, dry in south

Terrain 

mostly rugged and mountainous; some plains, coastal lowlands

Elevation extremes 

lowest point: Mediterranean Sea 0 m
highest point: Mont Blanc (Monte Bianco) de Courmayeur 4,748 m (a secondary peak of Mont Blanc)

People

Population 

57,715,625 (July 2002 est.)

Nationality 

noun: Italian(s)
adjective: Italian

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)

Government

Country name 

conventional long form: Italian Republic
conventional short form: Italy
local long form: Repubblica Italiana
former: Kingdom of Italy
local short form: Italia

Government type 

republic

Capital 

Rome

Independence 

17 March 1861 (Kingdom of Italy proclaimed; Italy was not finally unified until 1870)

National holiday 

Republic Day, 2 June (1946)

Constitution 

1 January 1948

Economy

Economy - overview 

Italy has a diversified industrial economy with roughly the same total and per capita output as France and the UK. This capitalistic economy remains divided into a developed industrial north, dominated by private companies, and a less developed agricultural south, with 20% unemployment. Most raw materials needed by industry and more than 75% of energy requirements are imported. Over the past decade, Italy has pursued a tight fiscal policy in order to meet the requirements of the Economic and Monetary Unions and has benefited from lower interest and inflation rates. The current government has enacted numerous short-term reforms aimed at improving competitiveness and long-term growth. Rome has moved slowly, however, on implementing needed structural reforms, such as lightening the high tax burden and overhauling Italy's rigid labor market and over-generous pension system, because of the current economic slowdown and opposition from labor unions.

Currency 

euro (EUR)

Currency code 

EUR

Exchange rates 

euros per US dollar - 1.1324 (January 2002), 1.1175 (2001), 1.0854 (2000), 0.9386 (1999); Italian lire per US dollar - 1,688.7 (January 1999), 1,736.2 (1998), 1,703.1 (1997)

Communications

Internet country code 

.it