beans, grain, olives; fish catch of 525,000 metric tons in 1990
Illicit drugs:
increasingly important gateway country for Latin American cocaine entering
the European market
Economic aid:
donor - ODA and OOF commitments (1970-89), $25.9 billion
Currency:
1 Italian lira (Lit) = 100 centesimi
Exchange rates:
Italian lire (Lit) per US$1 - 1,482.5 (January 1993), 1,232.4 (1992),
1,240.6 (1991), 1,198.1 (1990), 1,372.1 (1989), 1,301.6 (1988)
Fiscal year:
calendar year

*Italy, Communications

Railroads:
20,011 km total; 16,066 km 1.435-meter government-owned standard gauge
(8,999 km electrified); 3,945 km privately owned - 2,100 km 1.435-meter
standard gauge (1,155 km electrified) and 1,845 km 0.950-meter narrow gauge
(380 km electrified)
Highways:
298,000 km total; autostrada (expressway) 6,000 km, state highways 46,000
km, provincial highways 103,000 km, communal highways 143,000 km; 270,000 km
paved, 23,000 km gravel and crushed stone, 5,000 km earth
Inland 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:
Cagliari (Sardinia), Genoa, La Spezia, Livorno, Naples, Palermo (Sicily),
Taranto, Trieste, Venice
Merchant marine:
536 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 6,788,938 GRT/10,128,468 DWT;
includes 15 passenger, 36 short-sea passenger, 87 cargo, 4 refrigerated
cargo, 21 container, 69 roll-on/roll-off cargo, 8 vehicle carrier, 1
multifunction large-load carrier, 138 oil tanker, 34 chemical tanker, 45
liquefied gas, 10 specialized tanker, 9 combination ore/oil, 57 bulk, 2
combination bulk
Airports:
total:
137
usable: 133
with permanent-surface runways:
92
with runways over 3,659 m:
2
with runways 2,440-3,659 m:
36
with runways 1,220-2,439 m:
39
Telecommunications:
modern, well-developed, fast; 25,600,000 telephones; fully automated
telephone, telex, and data services; high-capacity cable and microwave radio
relay trunks; broadcast stations - 135 AM, 28 (1,840 repeaters) FM, 83
(1,000 repeaters) TV; international service by 21 submarine cables, 3
satellite earth stations operating in INTELSAT with 3 Atlantic Ocean
antennas and 2 Indian Ocean antennas; also participates in INMARSAT and
EUTELSAT systems

*Italy, Defense Forces

Branches:
Army, Navy, Air Force, Carabinieri
Manpower availa