te, and orange; also similar to the flag of the
Cote d'Ivoire, which has the colors reversed - orange (hoist side),
white, and green

Economy

Economy - overview: Since World War II, the Italian economy has
changed from one based on agriculture into a ranking industrial
economy, with approximately the same total and per capita output as
France and the UK. This basically capitalistic economy is still
divided into a developed industrial north, dominated by private
companies, and a less developed agricultural south, with large public
enterprises. Most raw materials needed by industry and over 75% of
energy requirements must be imported. In the second half of 1992, Rome
became unsettled by the prospect of not qualifying to participate in
EU plans for economic and monetary union later in the decade; thus, it
finally began to address its huge fiscal imbalances. Subsequently, the
government has adopted fairly stringent budgets, abandoned its
inflationary wage indexation system, and started to scale back its
generous social welfare programs, including pension and health care
benefits. In November 1996 the lire rejoined the European monetary
system, which it had left in September 1992 when under extreme
pressure in currency markets. Italy in early 1997 faces the problem of
restructuring its economy to meet Maastricht criteria for inclusion in
the EMU, together with other problems of refurbishing a tottering
communications system, curbing industrial pollution, and adjusting to
new EU and global competitive forces.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $1.12 trillion (1996 est.)

GDP - real growth rate: 0.8% (1996 est.)

GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $19,600 (1996 est.)

GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture: 3.3%
industry : 33%
services: 63.7% (1994)

Inflation rate - consumer price index: 4% (1996 est.)

Labor force:
total: 22.851 million
by occupation: services 61%, industry 32%, agriculture 7% (1996)

Unemployment rate: 12% (1996 est.)

Budget:
revenues: $416 billion
expenditures : $506 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA
(1996 est.)

Industries: tourism, machinery, iron and steel, chemicals, food
processing, textiles, motor vehicles, clothing, footwear, ceramics

Industrial production growth rate: 0.5% (1996 est.)

Electricity - capacity: 57.19 million kW (1994)

Electricity - production: 241.6 billion kWh (1995)

Electricity - consumption per capita: 4,238 kWh (1995 est.)

Agri