Land area: 113,521 sq mi (294,019 sq km); total area: 116,305 sq mi (301,230 sq km) Population (2008 est.): 58,145,321 (growth rate: 0.0%); birth rate: 8.3/1000; infant mortality rate: 5.6/1000; life expectancy: 80.0; density per sq km: 197
Capital and largest city (2003 est.): Rome, 3,550,900 (metro. area), 2,455,600 (city proper) Other large cities: Milan, 1,180,700; Naples, 991,700; Turin, 856,000; Palermo, 651,500; Genoa, 602,500; Bologna, 369,300; Florence, 351,600; Bari, 311,900; Catania, 305,900; Venice, 265,700
Monetary unit: Euro (formerly lira)
National name: Repubblica Italiana
Current government officials
Languages: Italian (official); German-, French-, and Slovene-speaking minorities
Ethnicity/race: Italian (includes small clusters of German-, French-, and Slovene-Italians in the north and Albanian- and Greek-Italians in the south)
Religions: Roman Catholic approx. 90%, Protestant, Jewish, Islamic
National Holiday: Republic Day, June 2
Literacy rate: 99% (2003 est.)
Economic summary: GDP/PPP (2007 est.): $1.786 trillion; per capita $30,400. Real growth rate: 1.5%. Inflation: 2%. Unemployment: 6%. Arable land: 26%. Agriculture: fruits, vegetables, grapes, potatoes, sugar beets, soybeans, grain, olives; beef, dairy products; fish. Labor force: 24.86 million; services 63%, industry 32%, agriculture 5% (2001). Industries: tourism, machinery, iron and steel, chemicals, food processing, textiles, motor vehicles, clothing, footwear, ceramics. Natural resources: coal, mercury, zinc, potash, marble, barite, asbestos, pumice, fluorospar, feldspar, pyrite (sulfur), natural gas and crude oil reserves, fish, arable land. Exports: $474.8 billion f.o.b. (2007 est.): engineering products, textiles and clothing, production machinery, motor vehicles, transport equipment, chemicals; food, beverages and tobacco; minerals, and nonferrous metals. Imports: $483.6 billion f.o.b. (2007 est.): engineering products, chemicals, transport equipment, energy products, minerals and nonferrous metals, textiles and clothing; food, beverages, and tobacco. Major trading partners: Germany, France, U.S., Spain, UK, Switzerland, Netherlands, Belgium, China (2006).
