er of NATO and the European Economic Community (EEC). It has
been at the forefront of European economic and political
unification, joining the Economic and Monetary Union in 1999.
Persistent problems include illegal immigration, organized crime,
corruption, high unemployment, sluggish economic growth, and the low
incomes and technical standards of southern Italy compared with the
prosperous north.
Geography Italy
Location:
Southern Europe, a peninsula extending into the central
Mediterranean Sea, northeast of Tunisia
Geographic coordinates:
42 50 N, 12 50 E
Map references:
Europe
Area:
total: 301,230 sq km
land: 294,020 sq km
water: 7,210 sq km
note: includes Sardinia and Sicily
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
Maritime claims:
territorial sea: 12 nm
continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation
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)
Natural resources:
coal, mercury, zinc, potash, marble, barite, asbestos, pumice,
fluorospar, feldspar, pyrite (sulfur), natural gas and crude oil
reserves, fish, arable land
Land use:
arable land: 27.79%
permanent crops: 9.53%
other: 62.68% (2001)
Irrigated land:
26,980 sq km (1998 est.)
Natural hazards:
regional risks include landslides, mudflows, avalanches,
earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, flooding; land subsidence in Venice
Environment - current issues:
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
Environment - international agreements:
party to: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air
Pollution-Sulfur 85, Air Pollution-Sulfur 94, Air Pollution-Volatile
Organic Compounds, Antarctic-Environmental Protocol,
Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Seals, Antarctic
Treat
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