south, dominated by 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. Monetary officials were forced to withdraw the lira from
the European monetary system in September 1992, when it came under
extreme pressure in currency markets. For the 1990s, Italy faces the
problems of pushing ahead with fiscal reform, refurbishing a
tottering communications system, curbing pollution in major
industrial centers, and adjusting to the new competitive forces
accompanying the ongoing expansion and economic integration of the
EU.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $1.0886 trillion (1995 est.)

GDP real growth rate: 3.2% (1995 est.)

GDP per capita: $18,700 (1995 est.)

GDP composition by sector:
agriculture: 2.9%
industry: 31.6%
services: 65.5% (1994)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 5.4% (1995)

Labor force: 23.988 million
by occupation: services 58%, industry 32.2%, agriculture 9.8% (1988)

Unemployment rate: 12.2% (January 1995)

Budget:
revenues: $339 billion
expenditures: $431 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA
(1994 est.)

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

Industrial production growth rate: 5.5% (1995 est.)

Electricity:
capacity: 61,630,000 kW
production: 209 billion kWh
consumption per capita: 4,033 kWh (1993)

Agriculture: fruits, vegetables, grapes, potatoes, sugar beets,
soybeans, grain, olives; meat and dairy products; fish catch of
525,000 metric tons in 1990

Illicit drugs: important gateway country for Latin American
cocaine and Southwest Asian heroin entering the European market

Exports: $190.8 billion (f.o.b., 1994)
commodities: metals, textiles and clothing, production machinery,
motor vehicles, transportation equipment, chemicals
partners: EU 53.4%, US 7.8%, OPEC 3.8% (1994)

Imports: $168.7 billion (c.i.f.,