Railroads:
600 km 1.435-meter gauge, single track; diesel operated
Highways:
4,750 km; majority is bituminous surfaced
Pipelines:
crude oil 708 km; petroleum products 290 km; natural gas 89 km
Ports:
Ashdod, Haifa
Merchant marine:
34 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 629,966 GRT/721,106 DWT; includes 8
cargo, 23 container, 2 refrigerated cargo, 1 roll-on/roll-off; note - Israel
also maintains a significant flag of convenience fleet, which is normally at
least as large as the Israeli flag fleet; the Israeli flag of convenience
fleet typically includes all of its petroleum tankers
Civil air:
32 major transport aircraft
Airports:
51 total, 44 usable; 26 with permanent-surface runways; none with runways
over 3,659 m; 6 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 11 with runways 1,220-2,439 m
Telecommunications:
most highly developed in the Middle East although not the largest; good
system of coaxial cable and radio relay; 1,800,000 telephones; broadcast
stations - 14 AM, 21 FM, 20 TV; 3 submarine cables; satellite earth stations
- 2 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT and 1 Indian Ocean INTELSAT
:Israel Defense Forces
Branches:
Israel Defense Forces, including ground, naval, and air components;
historically, there have been no separate Israeli military services
Manpower availability:
eligible 15-49, 2,357,195; of the 1,189,275 males 15-49, 977,332 are fit for
military service; of the 1,167,920 females 15-49, 955,928 are fit for
military service; 44,624 males and 42,705 females reach military age (18)
annually; both sexes are liable for military service; Nahal or Pioneer
Fighting Youth, Frontier Guard, Chen
Defense expenditures:
$7.5 billion, 12.1% of GNP (1992 budget); note - does not include pay for
reserve soldiers and other defense-related categories; actual outlays would
therefore be higher
:Italy Geography
Total area:
301,230 km2
Land area:
294, 020 km2; includes Sardinia and Sicily
Comparative area:
slightly larger than Arizona
Land boundaries:
1,899.2 km; Austria 430 km, France 488 km, San Marino 39 km, Slovenia 199
km, Switzerland 740 km, Vatican City 3.2 km
Coastline:
4,996 km
Maritime claims:
Continental shelf:
200 m (depth) or to depth of exploitation
Territorial sea:
12 nm
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%; includes irrigated 10%
Environment:
regional risks include land-slides, mudflows, snowslides, earthquakes,
volcanic eruptions, flooding, pollution; land sinkage in Venice
Note:
strategic location dominating central Mediterranean as well as southern sea
and air approaches to Western Europe
:Italy People
Population:
57,904,628 (July 1992), growth rate 0.2% (1992)
Birth rate:
10 births/1,000 population (1992)
Death rate:
10 deaths/1,000 population (1992)
Net migration rate:
1 migrant/1,000 population (1992)
Infant mortality rate:
8 deaths/1,000 live births (1992)
Life expectancy at birth:
74 years male, 81 years female (1992)
Total fertility rate:
1.4 children born/woman (1992)
Nationality:
noun - Italian(s); adjective - Italian
Ethnic divisions:
primarily Italian but population includes small clusters of German-,
French-, and Slovene-Italians in the north and Albanian-Italians and
Greek-Italians in the south; Sicilians; Sardinians
Religions:
virtually 100% Roman Catholic
Languages:
Italian; parts of Trentino-Alto Adige region are predominantly German
speaking; small French-speaking minority in Valle d'Aosta region;
Slovene-speaking minority in the Trieste-Gorizia area
Literacy:
97% (male 98%, female 96%) age 15 and over can read and write (1990 est.)
Labor force:
23,988,000; services 58%, industry 32.2%, agriculture 9.8% (1988)
Organized labor:
40-45% of labor force (est.)
:Italy Government
Long-form name:
Italian Republic
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
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
National holiday:
Anniversary of the Republic, 2 June (1946)
Executive branch:
president, prime minister (president of the Council of Ministers)
Legislative branch:
bicameral Parliament (Parlamento) consists of an upper chamber or Senate of
the Republic (Senato della Repubblica) and a lower chamber or Chamber of
Deputies (Camera dei Deputati)
Judicial branch:
Constitutional Court (Corte Costituzionale)
Leaders:
Chief of State:
President Oscar Luigi SCALFARO (since 28 May 1992)
Head of Government:
Prime Minister Guiliano AMATO (since 28 June 1992); Deputy Prime Minister
Political parties and leaders:
Christian Democratic Party (DC), Arnaldo FORLANI (general secretary),
Ciriaco De MITA (president); Socialist Party (PSI), Bettino CRAXI (party
secretary); Social Democratic Party (PSDI), Carlo VIZZINI (party secretary);
Liberal Party (PLI), Renato ALTISSIMO (secretary general); Democratic Party
of the Left (PDS - was Communist Party, or PCI, until January 1991), Achille
OCCHETTO (secretary general); Italian Social Movement (MSI), Gianfranco FINI
(national secretary); Republican Party (PRI), Giorgio La MALFA (political
secretary); Lega Nord (Northern League), Umberto BOSSI, president
Suffrage:
universal at age 18 (except in senatorial elections, where minimum age is
25)
Elections:
Senate:
last held 5-6 April 1992 (next to be held by April 1997); results - DC
33.9%, PCI 28.3%, PSI 10.7%, other 27.1%; seats - (326 total, 315 elected)
DC 107, PDS 64, PSI 49, Leagues 25, other 70
Chamber of Deputies:
last held 5-6 April 1992 (next to be held April 1997); results - DC 29.7%,
PDS 26.6%, PSI 13.6%, Leagues 8.7%, Communist Renewal 5.6%, MSI 5.4%, PRI
4.4%, PLI 2.8%, PSDI 2.7%, other 11%
:Italy Government