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more about italy
italy |
5 definitions found From WordNet r 1.6 [wn]: Italy n : a republic in S Europe; was the core of the Roman Republic and the Roman Empire between the 4th century BC and the 5th century AD [syn: {Italy}, {Italia}] From U.S. Gazetteer (1990) [gazetteer]: Italy, TX (town, FIPS 37072) Location: 32.18139 N, 96.88388 W Population (1990): 1699 (668 housing units) Area: 2.9 sq km (land), 0.0 sq km (water) Zip code(s): 76651 From Easton's 1897 Bible Dictionary [easton]: Italy Acts 18:2; 27:1, 6; Heb. 13:24), like most geographical names was differently used at different periods of history. As the power of Rome advanced, nations were successively conquered and added to it till it came to designate the whole country to the south of the Alps. There was constant intercourse between Palestine and Italy in the time of the Romans. From Hitchcock's Bible Names Dictionary (late 1800's) [hitchcock]: Italy, abounding with calves or heifers From The CIA World Factbook (1995) [world95]: Italy Italy:Geography Location: Southern Europe, a peninsula extending into the central Mediterranean Sea, northeast of Tunisia Map references: Europe Area: total area: 301,230 sq km land area: 294,020 sq km comparative area: slightly larger than Arizona note: includes Sardinia and Sicily Land boundaries: total 1,899.2 km Austria 430 km France 488 km Holy See (Vatican City) 3.2 km San Marino 39 km Slovenia 199 km Switzerland 740 km Coastline: 4,996 km Maritime claims: continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation territorial sea: 12 nm International disputes: none Climate: predominantly Mediterranean; Alpine in far north; hot, dry in south Terrain: mostly rugged and mountainous; some plains, coastal lowlands Natural resources: mercury, potash, marble, sulfur, dwindling natural gas and crude oil reserves, fish, coal Land use: arable land: 32% permanent crops: 10% meadows and pastures: 17% forest and woodland: 22% other: 19% Irrigated land: 31,000 sq km (1989 est.) Environment: current issues: 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 natural hazards: regional risks include landslides, mudflows avalanches, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, flooding; land subsidence in Venice international agreements: party to - Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Sulphur 85, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Wetlands; signed, but not ratified - Air Pollution-Sulphur 94, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Desertification Note: strategic location dominating central Mediterranean as well as southern sea and air approaches to Western Europe Italy:People Population: 58,261,971 (July 1995 est.) Age structure: 0-14 years: 15% (female 4,352,325; male 4,603,083) 15-64 years: 68% (female 19,969,086; male 19,874,528) 65 years and over: 17% (female 5,630,747; male 3,832,202) (July 1995 est.) Population growth rate: 0.21% (1995 est.) Birth rate: 10.89 births/1,000 population (1995 est.) Death rate: 9.78 deaths/1,000 population (1995 est.) Net migration rate: 1.03 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1995 est.) Infant mortality rate: 7.4 deaths/1,000 live births (1995 est.) Life expectancy at birth: total population: 77.85 years male: 74.67 years female: 81.23 years (1995 est.) Total fertility rate: 1.41 children born/woman (1995 est.) Nationality: noun: Italian(s) adjective: Italian Ethnic divisions: Italian (includes small clusters of German-, French-, and Slovene-Italians in the north and Albanian-Italians and Greek-Italians in the south), Sicilians, Sardinians Religions: Roman Catholic 98%, other 2% Languages: Italian, 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: age 15 and over can read and write (1990 est.) total population: 97% male: 98% female: 96% Labor force: 23.988 million by occupation: services 58%, industry 32.2%, agriculture 9.8% (1988) Italy:Government Names: conventional long form: Italian Republic conventional short form: Italy local long form: Repubblica Italiana local short form: Italia former: Kingdom of Italy Digraph: IT Type: republic Capital: Rome Administrative divisions: 20 regions (regioni, singular - regione); Abruzzi, Basilicata, Calabria, Campania, Emilia-Romagna, Friuli-Venezia Giulia Lazio, Liguria, Lombardia, Marche, Molise, Piemonte, Puglia, Sardegna, Sicilia, Toscana, Trentino-Alto Adige, Umbria, Valle d'Aosta, Veneto Independence: 17 March 1861 (Kingdom of Italy proclaimed) National holiday: Anniversary of the Republic, 2 June (1946) Constitution: 1 January 1948 Legal system: based on civil law system, with ecclesiastical law influence; appeals treated as trials de novo; judicial review under certain conditions in Constitutional Court; has not 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 Oscar Luigi SCALFARO (since 28 May 1992) head of government: Prime Minister (referred to in Italy as the President of the Council of Ministers) Lamberto DINI (since 1 February 1995) cabinet: Council of Ministers; nominated by the President of the Council (i.e., Prime Minister) and approved by the President of the Republic Legislative branch: bicameral Parliament (Parlamento) Senate (Senato della Repubblica): elections last held 27-28 March 1994 (next must be held by spring 1999, but may be held by end of 1995); results - percent of vote by party NA seats - (326 total, 315 elected, 11 appointed senators-for-life) PDS 61, Northern League 60, National Alliance 48, Forza Italia 36, Italian Popular Party 31, Communist Refoundation 18, Greens and The Network 13, Italian Socialists 13, Christian Democratic Center 12, Democratic Alliance 8, Christian Socialists 5, Pact for Italy 4, Radical Party (Pannella List) 1, others 5 Chamber of Deputies (Camera dei Deputati): elections last held 27-28 March 1994 (next must be held by spring 1999, but may be held by end of 1995); results - percent of vote by party NA seats - (630 total) Northern League 117, PDS 114, Forza Italia 113, National Alliance 109, Communist Refoundation 39, Christian Democratic Center 33, Italian Popular Party 33, Greens and The Network 20, Democratic Alliance 18, Italian Socialists 16, Pact for Italy 13, Christian Socialists 5 Judicial branch: Constitutional Court (Corte Costituzionale) Political parties and leaders: Forza Italia (FI), Silvio BERLUSCONI National Alliance, Gianfranco FINI, party secretary; Northern League - Federal Italy (NL), Umberto BOSSI, president; Italian Social Movement, Pino RAUTI Democratic Party of the Left (PDS, Massimo D'ALEMA, secretary; Communist Refoundation (RC), Fausto BERTINOTTI Greens, Gianni MATTIOLI Italian Socialists, Ottaviano DELTURCO Rete (The Network), Leoluca ORLANDO; Christian Socialists, Ermanno GORRIERI Pact for Italy, Mario SEGNI; Italian Popular Party (PPI), Rocco BUTTIGLIONE Gerardo BIANCO; Christian Democratic Center (CCD), Pier Ferdinando CASINI; Union of the Democratic Center (UDC), Raffaele COSTA; Pannella List, Marco PANNELLA Other political or pressure groups: the Roman Catholic Church; three major trade union confederations (Confederazione Generale Italiana del Lavoro or CGIL which is PDS-dominated, Confederazione Italiana dei Sindacati Lavoratori or CISL which is centerist, and Unione Italiana del Lavoro or UIL which is center-left); Italian manufacturers and merchants associations (Confindustria, Confcommercio); organized farm groups (Confcoltivatori, Confagricoltura) Member of: AfDB AG (observer), AsDB Australia Group BIS, CCC, CDB (non-regional), CE CEI, CERN, EBRD, EC ECE, ECLAC EIB, ESA, FAO, G- 7, G-10, GATT, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS ILO, IMF, IMO, INMARSAT INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, LAIA (observer), MINURSO MTCR, NACC, NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD ONUSAL OSCE, PCA, UN UNCTAD UNESCO, UNHCR UNIDO UNIFIL, UNIKOM UNITAR, UNMOGIP UNOMOZ UNTSO UPU, WCL, WEU, WHO WIPO, WMO, WTO, ZC Diplomatic representation in US: chief of mission: Ambassador Boris BIANCHERI-CHIAPPORI chancery: 1601 Fuller Street NW Washington, DC 20009 telephone: [1] (202) 328-5500 consulate(s) general: Boston, Chicago, Houston, Miami, New York, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, San Francisco consulate(s): Detroit and New Orleans US diplomatic representation: chief of mission: Ambassador Reginald BARTHOLOMEW embassy: Via Veneto 119/A, 00187-Rome mailing address: PSC 59, Box 100, Rome; APO AE 09624 telephone: [39] (6) 46741 FAX: [39] (6) 4882672 consulate(s) general: Florence, Milan, Naples Flag: three equal vertical bands of green (hoist side), white, and red; similar to the flag of Ireland, which is longer and is green (hoist side), white, and orange; also similar to the flag of the Cote d'Ivoire, which has the colors reversed - orange (hoist side), white, and green Economy Overview: Since World War II the Italian economy has changed from one based on agriculture into a ranking industrial economy, with approximately the same total and per capita output as France and the UK The country is still divided into a developed industrial north, dominated by private companies, and an undeveloped agricultural south, dominated by large public enterprises. Services account for 48% of GDP, industry 35%, agriculture 4%, and public administration 13%. Most raw materials needed by industry and over 75% of energy requirements must be imported. After growing at an average annual rate of 3% in 1983-90, growth slowed to about 1% in 1991 and 1992, fell by 0.7% in 1993, and recovered to 2% in 1994. In the second half of 1992, Rome became unsettled by the prospect of not qualifying to participate in EU plans for economic and monetary union later in the decade; thus it finally began to address its huge fiscal imbalances. Subsequently, the government has adopted fairly stringent budgets, abandoned its highly inflationary wage indexation system, and started to scale back its extremely generous social welfare programs, including pension and health care benefits. Monetary officials were forced to withdraw the lira from the European monetary system in September 1992 when it came under extreme pressure in currency markets. For the 1990s, Italy faces the problems of pushing ahead with fiscal reform, refurbishing a tottering communications system, curbing pollution in major industrial centers, and adjusting to the new competitive forces accompanying the ongoing expansion and economic integration of the European Union. National product: GDP - purchasing power parity - $998.9 billion (1994 est.) National product real growth rate: 2.2% (1994 est.) National product per capita: $17,180 (1994 est.) Inflation rate (consumer prices): 3.9% (1994) Unemployment rate: 12.2% (January 1995) Budget: revenues: $339 billion expenditures: $431 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (1994 est.) Exports: $190.8 billion (f.o.b., 1994) commodities: metals, textiles and clothing, production machinery, motor vehicles, transportation equipment, chemicals, other partners: EU 53.4%, US 7.8%, OPEC 3.8% (1994) Imports: $168.7 billion (c.i.f., 1994) commodities: industrial machinery, chemicals, transport equipment, petroleum, metals, food, agricultural products partners: EU 56.3%, OPEC 5.3%, US 4.6% (1994) External debt: $67 billion (1993 est.) Industrial production: growth rate 4.3% (1994 est.); accounts for 35% of GDP Electricity: capacity: 61,630,000 kW production: 209 billion kWh consumption per capita: 4,033 kWh (1993) Industries: machinery, iron and steel, chemicals, food processing, textiles, motor vehicles, clothing, footwear, ceramics Agriculture: accounts for about 4% of GDP; self-sufficient in foods other than meat, dairy products, and cereals; principal crops - fruits, vegetables, grapes, potatoes, sugar beets, soybeans, grain, olives; fish catch of 525,000 metric tons in 1990 Illicit drugs: important gateway country for Latin American cocaine and Southwest Asian heroin entering the European market Economic aid: donor: ODA and OOF commitments (1970-89), $25.9 billion Currency: 1 Italian lira (Lit) = 100 centesimi Exchange rates: Italian lire (Lit) per US$1 - 1,609.5 (January 1995), 1,612.4 (1994), 1,573.7 (1993), 1,232.4 (1992), 1,240.6 (1991), 1,198.1 (1990) Fiscal year: calendar year Italy:Transportation Railroads: total: 19,503 km standard gauge: 18,230 km 1.435-m gauge (10,499 km electrified; 2,112 km privately owned) narrow gauge: 1,273 km 0.950-m to 1.000-m gauge (224 km electrified; 1,273 km privately owned) Highways: total: 305,388 km paved: 277,388 km (6,940 km of expressways) unpaved: gravel, crushed stone 23,000 km earth 5,000 km (1992) Inland 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: Ancona, Augusta, Bari, Cagliari (Sardinia), Catania Gaeta, Genoa, La Spezia Livorno Naples, Oristano (Sardinia), Palermo (Sicily), Piombino Porto Torres (Sardinia), Ravenna, Savona, Trieste, Venice Merchant marine: total: 441 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 5,767,969 GRT/8,547,221 DWT ships by type: bulk 40, cargo 62, chemical tanker 34, combination ore/oil 3, container 18, liquefied gas tanker 37, multifunction large-load carrier 1, oil tanker 136, passenger 7, roll-on/roll-off cargo 54, short-sea passenger 30, specialized tanker 11, vehicle carrier 8 Airports: total: 138 with paved runways over 3,047 m: 5 with paved runways 2,438 to 3,047 m: 34 with paved runways 1,524 to 2,437 m: 15 with paved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 26 with paved runways under 914 m: 34 with unpaved runways 1,524 to 2,438 m: 2 with unpaved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 22 Italy:Communications Telephone system: 25,600,000 telephones; modern, well-developed, fast fully automated telephone, telex, and data services local: NA intercity: high-capacity cable and microwave radio relay trunks international: international service by 21 submarine cables, 3 satellite earth stations operating in INTELSAT with 3 Atlantic Ocean antennas and 2 Indian Ocean antennas; also participates in INMARSAT and EUTELSAT systems Radio: broadcast stations: AM 135, FM 28 (repeaters 1,840), shortwave 0 radios: 16 million Television: broadcast stations: 83 (repeaters 1,000) televisions: 18 million Italy:Defense Forces Branches: Army, Navy, Air Force, Carabinieri Manpower availability: males age 15-49 14,934,657; males fit for military service 12,962,594; males reach military age (18) annually 382,142 (1995 est.) Defense expenditures: exchange rate conversion - $21.5 billion, 2% of GDP (1994)
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