in northern Italy seeks the return of parts of
southwestern Slovenia
Climate:
predominantly Mediterranean; Alpine in far north; hot, dry in south
Terrain:
mostly rugged and mountainous; some plains, coastal lowlands
Natural resources:
mercury, potash, marble, sulfur, dwindling natural gas and crude oil
reserves, fish, coal
Land use:
arable land:
32%
permanent crops:
10%
meadows and pastures:
17%
forest and woodland:
22%
other:
19%
Irrigated land:
31,000 km2 (1989 est.)
Environment:
regional risks include landslides, mudflows, snowslides, earthquakes,
volcanic eruptions, flooding, pollution; land sinkage in Venice
Note:
strategic location dominating central Mediterranean as well as southern sea
and air approaches to Western Europe

*Italy, People

Population:
58,018,540 (July 1993 est.)
Population growth rate:
0.2% (1993 est.)
Birth rate:
10.65 births/1,000 population (1993 est.)
Death rate:
9.66 deaths/1,000 population (1993 est.)
Net migration rate:
1.03 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1993 est.)
Infant mortality rate:
7.8 deaths/1,000 live births (1993 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
total population:
77.43 years
male:
74.22 years
female:
80.85 years (1993 est.)
Total fertility rate:
1.37 children born/woman (1993 est.)
Nationality:
noun:
Italian(s)
adjective:
Italian
Ethnic divisions:
Italian (includes small clusters of German-, French-, and Slovene-Italians
in the north and Albanian-Italians and Greek-Italians in the south),
Sicilians, Sardinians
Religions:
Roman Catholic 100%
Languages:
Italian, 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)
Literacy:
age 15 and over can read and write (1990)
total population:
97%
male:
98%
female:
96%
Labor force:
23.988 million
by occupation:
services 58%, industry 32.2%, agriculture 9.8% (1988)

*Italy, Government

Names:
conventional long form:
Italian Republic
conventional short form:
Italy
local long form:
Repubblica Italiana
local short form:
Italia
former:
Kingdom of Italy
Digraph:
IT
Type:
republic
Capital:
Rome
Administrative divisions:
20 regions (regioni, singular - regione); Abruzzi, Basilicata, Calabria,
Campania, Emilia-Romagna, F