Italy
 | Italy |  Population Government Economy Geography Communication Transportation | |
 Population | Top of page | |
| Inhabitants | Life expectancy | |
| 58,147,733 (July 2007 est.) | total population: 79.94 years
male: 77.01 years female: 83.07 years (2007 est.) | |
| Ethnic groups | Religions | |
| Italian (includes small clusters of German-, French-, and Slovene-Italians in the north and Albanian-Italians and Greek-Italians in the south) | Roman Catholic 90% (approximately; about one-third regularly attend services), other 10% (includes mature Protestant and Jewish communities and a growing Muslim immigrant community) | |
| Languages | Literacy | |
| Italian (official), 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) | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 98.6% male: 99% female: 98.3% (2003 est.) | |
 Government | Top of page | |
| Government type | Capital | |
| republic | Rome | |
| Independance | National day | |
| 17 March 1861 (Kingdom of Italy proclaimed; Italy was not finally unified until 1870) | Republic Day, 2 June (1946) | |
| Constitution | Legal system | |
| passed 11 December 1947, effective 1 January 1948; amended many times | based on civil law system; appeals treated as new trials; judicial review under certain conditions in Constitutional Court; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | |
 Economy | Top of page | |
| GDP (purchasing power parity) | Growth rate | |
| $1.78 trillion (2006 est.) | 1.6% (2006 est.) | |
| GDP per inhabitant | Unemployment rate | |
| $29,700 (2006 est.) | 7% (2006 est.) | |
| Population below poverty line | Inflation rate | |
| NA% | 2.3% (2006 est.) | |
| Exports | Imports | |
| $450.1 billion f.o.b. (2006 est.) | $445.6 billion f.o.b. (2006 est.) | |
| Reserves of foreign exchange and gold | Currency | |
| $70.5 billion (2006 est.) | euro (EUR) | |
| Military expenditures | ||
| 1.8% (2005 est.) | ||
 Geography | Top of page | |
| Location | Area | |
| Southern Europe, a peninsula extending into the central Mediterranean Sea, northeast of Tunisia | 301,230 sq km | |
| Climate | Natural resources | |
| predominantly Mediterranean; Alpine in far north; hot, dry in south | coal, mercury, zinc, potash, marble, barite, asbestos, pumice, fluorspar, feldspar, pyrite (sulfur), natural gas and crude oil reserves, fish, arable land | |
 Communication | Top of page | |
| Cellulars | Internet code | |
| 72.2 million (2005) | .it | |
| Internet hosts | Internet users | |
| 1.731 million (2006) | 28.87 million (2005) | |
 Transportation | Top of page | |
| Airports | Railways (in km) | |
| 133 (2006) | 19,459 km | |
| Roadways (in km) | Pipelines (in km) | |
| 484,688 km | gas 17,589 km; oil 1,136 km (2006) | |
