total: 654,676 km
paved: 654,676 km (including 6,957 km of expressways)
unpaved: 0 km (1998 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 and harbors: Augusta (Sicily), Bagnoli, Bari, Brindisi, Gela,
Genoa, La Spezia, Livorno, Milazzo, Naples, Porto Foxi, Porto Torres
(Sardigna), Salerno, Savona, Taranto, Trieste, Venice

Merchant marine:
total: 427 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 6,971,578 GRT/9,635,770
DWT
ships by type: bulk 41, cargo 45, chemical tanker 73, combination
ore/oil 2, container 20, liquified gas 38, livestock carrier 1,
multi-functional large load carrier 1, passenger 6, petroleum tanker
87, roll-on/roll-off 58, short-sea passenger 26, specialized tanker
13, vehicle carrier 16 (1999 est.)

Airports: 136 (1999 est.)

Airports - with paved runways:
total: 97
over 3,047 m: 5
2,438 to 3,047 m: 33
1,524 to 2,437 m: 16
914 to 1,523 m: 31
under 914 m: 12 (1999 est.)

Airports - with unpaved runways:
total: 39
1,524 to 2,437 m: 2
914 to 1,523 m: 19
under 914 m: 18 (1999 est.)

Heliports: 3 (1999 est.)

@Italy:Military

Military branches: Army, Navy, Air Force, Carabinieri

Military manpower - military age: 18 years of age

Military manpower - availability:
males age 15-49: 14,315,634 (2000 est.)

Military manpower - fit for military service:
males age 15-49: 12,331,306 (2000 est.)

Military manpower - reaching military age annually:
males: 311,160 (2000 est.)

Military expenditures - dollar figure: $23.294 billion (FY99)

Military expenditures - percent of GDP: 1.7% (FY99)

@Italy:Transnational Issues

Disputes - international: Italy and Slovenia made progress in
resolving bilateral issues; Croatia and Italy made progress toward
resolving a bilateral issue dating from World War II over property and
ethnic minority rights

Illicit drugs: important gateway for and consumer of Latin American
cocaine and Southwest Asian heroin entering the European market

______________________________________________________________________

JAMAICA

@Jamaica:Introduction

Background: Jamaica gained full independence within the British
Commonwealth in 1962. Deteriorating economic conditions during the
1970s led to recurrent violence and a dropoff in tourism. Elections in
1980 saw the democratic socialists voted out of office, and a more
c