nous; some plains, coastal lowlands

Elevation extremes: lowest point: Mediterranean Sea 0 m highest point:
Mont Blanc (Monte Bianco) de Courmayeur 4,748 m (a secondary peak of
Mont Blanc)

Natural resources: mercury, potash, marble, sulfur, natural gas and
crude oil reserves, fish, coal, arable land

Land use: arable land: 28% permanent crops: 9% other: 63% (1998 est.)

Irrigated land: 26,980 sq km (1998 est.)

Natural hazards: regional risks include landslides, mudflows, avalanches,
earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, flooding; land subsidence in Venice

Environment - current issues: air pollution from industrial emissions
such as sulfur dioxide; coastal and inland rivers polluted from
industrial and agricultural effluents; acid rain damaging lakes;
inadequate industrial waste treatment and disposal facilities

Environment - international agreements: party to: Air Pollution, Air
Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Sulphur 85, Air Pollution-Sulphur
94, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Antarctic-Environmental
Protocol, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Seals, Antarctic
Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species,
Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine
Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution,
Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling signed,
but not ratified: Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Climate
Change-Kyoto Protocol

Geography - note: strategic location dominating central Mediterranean
as well as southern sea and air approaches to Western Europe

People Italy

Population: 57,715,625 (July 2002 est.)

Age structure: 0-14 years: 14.1% (male 4,198,569; female 3,954,159) 15-64
years: 67.3% (male 19,334,208; female 19,492,048) 65 years and over: 18.6%
(male 4,436,073; female 6,300,568) (2002 est.)

Population growth rate: 0.05% (2002 est.)

Birth rate: 8.93 births/1,000 population (2002 est.)

Death rate: 10.13 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.)

Net migration rate: 1.73 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.)

Sex ratio: at birth: 1.07 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.06
male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.99 male(s)/female 65 years and over:
0.7 male(s)/female total population: 0.94 male(s)/female (2002 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 5.76 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.)

Life expectancy at birth: 82.63 years (2002 est.) male: Total fertility
rate: