, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol

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

People

Population: 56,735,130 (July 1999 est.)

Age structure:
0-14 years: 14% (male 4,161,841; female 3,925,413)
15-64 years: 68% (male 19,205,293; female 19,285,848)
65 years and over: 18% (male 4,169,098; female 5,987,637) (1999 est.)

Population growth rate: -0.08% (1999 est.)

Birth rate: 9.27 births/1,000 population (1999 est.)

Death rate: 10.28 deaths/1,000 population (1999 est.)

Net migration rate: 0.17 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1999 est.)

Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.06 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.7 male(s)/female
total population: 0.94 male(s)/female (1999 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 6.3 deaths/1,000 live births (1999 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 78.51 years
male: 75.4 years
female: 81.82 years (1999 est.)

Total fertility rate: 1.22 children born/woman (1999 est.)

Nationality:
noun: Italian(s)
adjective: Italian

Ethnic groups: Italian (includes small clusters of German-,
French-, and Slovene-Italians in the north and Albanian-Italians and
Greek-Italians in the south)

Religions: Roman Catholic 98%, other 2%

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:
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 97%
male: 98%
female: 96% (1990 est.)

Government

Country name:
conventional long form: Italian Republic
conventional short form: Italy
local long form: Repubblica Italiana
local short form: Italia
former: Kingdom of Italy

Data code: IT

Government type: republic

Capital: Rome

Administrative divisions: 20 regions (regioni, singular--regione);
Abruzzi, Basilicata, Calabria, Campania, Emilia-Romagna,
Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Lazio, Liguria, Lombardia, Marche, Molise,
Piemonte, Puglia, Sardegna, Sicilia, Toscana, Trentino-Alto Adige,
Umbria, Valle d'Aosta, Veneto

Independence: 17 March 1861 (Kingdom of Italy proclaimed)

National holiday: Anniversary of the Republic, 2 June (1946)

Constitution: 1 January 1948

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