1994)
commodities: industrial machinery, chemicals, transport equipment,
petroleum, metals, food, agricultural products
partners: EU 56.3%, OPEC 5.3%, US 4.6% (1994)

External debt: $67 billion (1993 est.)

Economic aid:
donor: ODA, $3.043 billion (1993)

Currency: 1 Italian lira (Lit) = 100 centesimi

Exchange rates: Italian lire (Lit) per US$1 - 1,583.8 (January
1996), 1,629.6 (1995), 1,612.4 (1994), 1,573.7 (1993), 1,232.4
(1992), 1,240.6 (1991)

Fiscal year: calendar year

Transportation
--------------

Railways:
total: 18,961 km
standard gauge: 17,981 km 1.435-m gauge; Italian Railways (FS)
operates 16,118 km of the total standard gauge routes (10,560 km
electrified)
narrow gauge: 113 km 1.000-m gauge (113 km electrified); 867 km
0.950-m gauge (144 km electrified)

Highways:
total: 305,388 km (including 45,076 km major roads, 112,111 km
secondary roads, 6,301 km motorways)
paved: 271,674 km
unpaved: 33,714 km (1991 est.)

Waterways: 2,400 km for various types of commercial traffic,
although of limited overall value

Pipelines: crude oil 1,703 km; petroleum products 2,148 km;
natural gas 19,400 km

Ports: Ancona, Augusta, Bari, Cagliari (Sardinia), Catania, Gaeta,
Genoa, La Spezia, Livorno, Naples, Oristano (Sardinia), Palermo
(Sicily), Piombino, Porto Torres (Sardinia), Ravenna, Savona,
Trieste, Venice

Merchant marine:
total: 419 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 5,480,320
GRT/7,919,064 DWT
ships by type: bulk 35, cargo 57, chemical tanker 39, combination
bulk 1, combination ore/oil 3, container 16, liquefied gas tanker
37, multifunction large-load carrier 1, oil tanker 123, passenger 5,
roll-on/roll-off cargo 53, short-sea passenger 31, specialized
tanker 11, vehicle carrier 7 (1995 est.)

Airports:
total: 132
with paved runways over 3 047 m: 5
with paved runways 2 438 to 3 047 m: 34
with paved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 15
with paved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 24
with paved runways under 914 m: 32
with unpaved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 2
with unpaved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 20 (1995 est.)

Heliports: 2 (1995 est.)

Communications
--------------

Telephones: 25.6 million (1987 est.)

Telephone system: modern, well-developed, fast; fully automated
telephone, telex, and data services
domestic: high-capacity cable and microwave radio relay trunks
international: satellite earth stations - 3 Int