Country
name:
Italian Republic
Capital: Rome
Flag description: 3 equal
vertical bands of green (hoist
side), white and red
National anthem: La
Canzone degli Italiani
Location: Southern Europe,
a peninsula extending into the
central Mediterranean Sea, northeast
of Tunisia
Geographic coo
rd
inates:
42 50 N, 12 50 E
Map references: Europe
Area: 301,230 sq km
Climate: predominantly
Mediterranean; Alpine in far north;
hot, dry in south
Terrain: Mostly rugged and
mountainous; some plains; coastal
lowlands
Population: 58,057,477 (2004
est.)
Population growth rate: 0.09%
(2004 est.)
Birth rate: 9.05
births/1,000 population (2004 est.)
Death rate: 10.21
deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.)
Nationality:
-
noun: Italian(s)
-
adjective: Italian
Ethnic groups: Italian (include
small clusters of German-, French-,
and Slovene-Italians in the north
and Albanian-Italians and
Greek-Italians in the south)
Religions: predominantly
Roman Catholic with mature
Protestant and Jewish communities
and a growing Muslim immigrant
community
Languages: 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)
Literacy: 98.6%
Government type: Republic
National holiday: Republic
Day, 2 June
Legal system: based on
civil law system; appeals treated as
new trials; judicial review under
certain conditions in Constitutional
Court; hasn't accepted compulsory
ICJ jurisdiction
Suffrage: 18 years of
age; universal (except in senatorial
elections, where minimum age is 25)
Executive branch:
-
chief of
state: President Carlo
Azeglio CIAMPI (since 13 May 1999)
-
head of government: Prime
Minister Silvio BERLUSCONI (referred
to in Italy as the president of he
Council of Ministers)
Legislative
branch: Bicameral
parliament/Parlamento
Judicial branch: Constitutional
Court/Corte Constituzionale
GDP-real growth rate: 0.4%
(2003 est.)
Currency: Euro (€)
Currency code: EUR
Internet country code: .it
Time zone: UTC+1 (CET); in
summer UTC+2 (CEST)
Calling code: +39
Electricity: 220 V, 50 Hz
Weights & measures:
Metric
|
Statistical Fact 
