Italy became a nation-state in 1861 when the regional states of the peninsula, along with Sardinia and Sicily, were united under King Victor EMMANUEL II. An era of parliamentary government came to a close in the early 1920s when Benito MUSSOLINI established a Fascist dictatorship. His alliance with Nazi Germany led to Italy's defeat in World War II. A democratic republic replaced the monarchy in 1946 and economic revival followed. Italy was a charter member of NATO and the European Economic Community (EEC). It has been at the forefront of European economic and political unification, joining the Economic and Monetary Union in 1999. Persistent problems include illegal immigration, organized crime, corruption, high unemployment, sluggish economic growth, and the low incomes and technical standards of southern Italy compared with the prosperous north.

Southern Europe, a peninsula extending into the central Mediterranean Sea, northeast of Tunisia

slightly larger than Arizona

predominantly Mediterranean; Alpine in far north; hot, dry in south

mostly rugged and mountainous; some plains, coastal lowlands

coal, mercury, zinc, potash, marble, barite, asbestos, pumice, fluorspar, feldspar, pyrite (sulfur), natural gas and crude oil reserves, fish, arable land

regional risks include landslides, mudflows, avalanches, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, flooding; land subsidence in Venice

air pollution from industrial emissions such as sulfur dioxide; coastal and inland rivers polluted from industrial and agricultural effluents; acid rain damaging lakes; inadequate industrial waste treatment and disposal facilities

strategic location dominating central Mediterranean as well as southern sea and air approaches to Western Europe

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

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)

Christian 80% (overwhelming Roman Catholic with very small groups of Jehova Witnesses and Protestants), Muslims NEGL (about 700,000 but growing), Atheists and Agnostics 20%

61,261,254 (July 2012 est.)

9.06 births/1,000 population (2012 est.)

9.93 deaths/1,000 population (July 2012 est.)

4.67 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2012 est.)

ROME (capital) 3.357 million; Milan 2.962 million; Naples 2.27 million; Turin 1.662 million; Palermo 872,000 (2009)

4 deaths/100,000 live births (2010)

1.4 children born/woman (2012 est.)

4.242 physicians/1,000 population (2008)

3.7 beds/1,000 population (2008)

fewer than 1,000 (2009 est.)

15 regions (regioni, singular - regione) and 5 autonomous regions (regioni autonome, singular - regione autonoma)

17 March 1861 (Kingdom of Italy proclaimed; Italy was not finally unified until 1870)

Republic Day, 2 June (1946)

passed 11 December 1947, effective 1 January 1948; amended many times

civil law system; judicial review under certain conditions in Constitutional Court

has not submitted an ICJ jurisdiction declaration; accepts ICCt jurisdiction

18 years of age; universal (except in senatorial elections, where minimum age is 25)

bicameral Parliament or Parlamento consists of the Senate or Senato della Repubblica (315 seats; members elected by proportional vote with the winning coalition in each region receiving 55% of seats from that region; members to serve five-year terms; and up to 5 senators for life appointed by the president of the Republic) and the Chamber of Deputies or Camera dei Deputati (630 seats; members elected by popular vote with the winning national coalition receiving 54% of chamber seats; members to serve five-year terms); note - it has not been clarified if each president has the power to designate up to five senators or if five is the number of senators for life who might sit in the Senate

Constitutional Court or Corte Costituzionale (composed of 15 judges: one-third appointed by the president, one-third elected by parliament, one-third elected by the ordinary and administrative Supreme Courts); Supreme Court of Cassation or Corte Suprema di Cassazione

manufacturers and merchants associations - Confcommercio; Confindustria; organized farm groups - Confcoltivatori; Confagricoltura; Roman Catholic Church; three major trade union confederations - Confederazione Generale Italiana del Lavoro or CGIL [Susanna CAMUSSO] which is left wing; Confederazione Italiana dei Sindacati Lavoratori or CISL [Raffaele BONANNI], which is Roman Catholic centrist; Unione Italiana del Lavoro or UIL [Luigi ANGELETTI] which is lay centrist

ADB (nonregional member), AfDB (nonregional member), Australia Group, BIS, BSEC (observer), CBSS (observer), CD, CDB, CE, CEI, CERN, EAPC, EBRD, ECB, EIB, EMU, ESA, EU, FAO, FATF, G-20, G-7, G-8, G-10, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IGAD (partners), IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC, LAIA (observer), MIGA, MINURSO, NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OPCW, OSCE, Paris Club, PCA, PIF (partner), Schengen Convention, SELEC (observer), UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIFIL, Union Latina, UNMOGIP, UNRWA, UNTSO, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO, ZC

three equal vertical bands of green (hoist side), white, and red; design inspired by the French flag brought to Italy by Napoleon in 1797; colors are those of Milan (red and white) combined with the green uniform color of the Milanese civic guard

white, five-pointed star (Stella d'Italia)

Italy has a diversified industrial economy, which is divided into a developed industrial north, dominated by private companies, and a less-developed, welfare-dependent, agricultural south, with high unemployment. The Italian economy is driven in large part by the manufacture of high-quality consumer goods produced by small and medium-sized enterprises, many of them family owned. Italy also has a sizable underground economy, which by some estimates accounts for as much as 17% of GDP. These activities are most common within the agriculture, construction, and service sectors. Italy is the third-largest economy in the euro-zone, but exceptionally high public debt burdens and structural impediments to growth have rendered it vulnerable to scrutiny by financial markets. Public debt has increased steadily since 2007, reaching 120% of GDP in 2011, and borrowing costs on sovereign government debt have risen to record levels. During the second half of 2011 the government passed a series of three austerity packages to balance its budget by 2013 and decrease its public debt burden. These measures included a hike in the value-added tax, pension reforms, and cuts to public administration. The government also faces pressure from investors and European partners to address Italy's long-standing structural impediments to growth, such as an inflexible labor market and widespread tax evasion. The international financial crisis worsened conditions in Italy''s labor market, with unemployment rising from 6.2% in 2007 to 8.4% in 2011, but in the longer-term Italy''s low fertility rate and quota-driven immigration policies will increasingly strain its economy. The euro-zone crisis along with Italian austerity measures have reduced exports and domestic demand, slowing Italy''s recovery. Italy''s GDP is still 5% below its 2007 pre-crisis level.

$1.871 trillion (2011 est.)

$1.863 trillion (2010 est.)

$1.83 trillion (2009 est.)

$2.199 trillion (2011 est.)

25.08 million (2011 est.)

20.5% of GDP (2011 est.)

46.6% of GDP (2011 est.)

-3.9% of GDP (2011 est.)

120.1% of GDP (2011 est.)

118.7% of GDP (2010 est.)

1.75% (31 December 2011)

1.75% (31 December 2010)

4.55% (31 December 2011 est.)

4.032% (31 December 2010 est.)

$1.147 trillion (31 December 2011 est.)

$1.205 trillion (31 December 2010 est.)

$2.269 trillion (31 December 2011 est.)

$2.065 trillion (31 December 2010 est.)

$3.469 trillion (31 December 2011 est.)

$3.221 trillion (31 December 2010 est.)

$431.5 billion (31 December 2011)

$318.1 billion (31 December 2010)

$317.3 billion (31 December 2009)

fruits, vegetables, grapes, potatoes, sugar beets, soybeans, grain, olives; beef, dairy products; fish

tourism, machinery, iron and steel, chemicals, food processing, textiles, motor vehicles, clothing, footwear, ceramics

-$70.1 billion (2011 est.)

-$72.02 billion (2010 est.)

$523.9 billion (2011 est.)

$448.4 billion (2010 est.)

engineering products, textiles and clothing, production machinery, motor vehicles, transport equipment, chemicals; food, beverages and tobacco; minerals, and nonferrous metals

Germany 13.3%, France 11.8%, US 5.9%, Spain 5.4%, Switzerland 5.4%, UK 4.7% (2011)

$556.4 billion (2011 est.)

$475.7 billion (2010 est.)

engineering products, chemicals, transport equipment, energy products, minerals and nonferrous metals, textiles and clothing; food, beverages, and tobacco

Germany 16.5%, France 8.9%, China 7.7%, Netherlands 5.5%, Spain 4.7% (2011)

$173.3 billion (31 December 2011 est.)

$158.9 billion (31 December 2010 est.)

$2.684 trillion (30 June 2011 est.)

$2.223 trillion (30 June 2010 est.)

$365.5 billion (31 December 2011 est.)

$332 billion (31 December 2010 est.)

$552.8 billion (31 December 2011 est.)

$487.6 billion (31 December 2010 est.)

euros (EUR) per US dollar -

279 billion kWh (2010 est.)

296.3 billion kWh (2009 est.)

1.817 billion kWh (2010 est.)

45.76 billion kWh (2010 est.)

101.2 million kW (2009 est.)

70.3% of total installed capacity (2009 est.)

0% of total installed capacity (2009 est.)

13.7% of total installed capacity (2009 est.)

8.6% of total installed capacity (2009 est.)

111,800 bbl/day (2011 est.)

7,500 bbl/day (2009 est.)

1.526 million bbl/day (2009 est.)

523.2 million bbl (1 January 2012 est.)

1.823 million bbl/day (2009 est.)

1.454 million bbl/day (2011 est.)

524,500 bbl/day (2009 est.)

259,600 bbl/day (2009 est.)

8.364 billion cu m (2011 est.)

77.83 billion cu m (2011 est.)

123 million cu m (2011 est.)

70.37 billion cu m (2011 est.)

66 billion cu m (1 January 2012 est.)

416.4 million Mt (2010 est.)

21.06 million (2011)

two Italian media giants dominate - the publicly-owned Radiotelevisione Italiana (RAI) with 3 national terrestrial stations and privately-owned Mediaset with 3 national terrestrial stations; a large number of private stations and Sky Italia - a satellite TV network; RAI operates 3 AM/FM nationwide radio stations; some 1,300 commercial radio stations (2007)

25.456 million (2010)

29.235 million (2009)

gas 18,348 km; oil 1,241 km (2010)

2,400 km (used for commercial traffic; of limited overall value compared to road and rail) (2012)

Augusta, Cagliari, Genoa, Livorno, Taranto, Trieste, Venice

Italian Armed Forces: Army (Esercito Italiano, EI), Navy (Marina Militare Italiana, MMI), Italian Air Force (Aeronautica Militare Italiana, AMI), Carabinieri Corps (Arma dei Carabinieri, CC) (2011)

18-27 year of age for voluntary military service; conscription abolished January 2005; women may serve in any military branch; 10-month service obligation, with a reserve obligation to age 45 (Army and Air Force) or 39 (Navy) (2006)

1.8% of GDP (2005 est.)

Italy's long coastline and developed economy entices tens of thousands of illegal immigrants from southeastern Europe and northern Africa

important gateway for and consumer of Latin American cocaine and Southwest Asian heroin entering the European market; money laundering by organized crime and from smuggling