The 1994 CIA World Factbook

by United States. Central Intelligence Agency

Population:
58,138,394 (July 1994 est.)
Population growth rate:
0.21% (1994 est.)
Birth rate:
10.79 births/1,000 population (1994 est.)
Death rate:
9.71 deaths/1,000 population (1994 est.)
Net migration rate:
1.03 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1994 est.)
Infant mortality rate:
7.6 deaths/1,000 live births (1994 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
total population:
77.64 years
male:
74.44 years
female:
81.04 years (1994 est.)
Total fertility rate:
1.39 children born/woman (1994 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 Silvio BERLUSCONI (since 11 May 1994)
cabinet:
Council of Ministers; appointed by the president
Legislative branch:
bicameral Parliament (Parlamento)
Senate (Senato della Repubblica):
elections last held 27-28 March 1994 (next expected to be held by
spring 2001); 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, Popular Party 31,
Communist Refounding 18, Greens and The Network 13, Socialist Party
13, Christian Democratic Center 12, Democratic Alliance 8, Christian
Socialists 5, Pact for Italy 4, Radical Party 1, others 5
Chamber of Deputies (Camera dei Deputati):
elections last held 27-28 March 1994 (next expected to be held by
spring 2001); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats - (630
total) Northern League 117, PDS 114, Forza Italia 113, National
Alliance 109, Communist Refounding 39, Christian Democratic Center 33,
Popular Party 33, Greens and The Network 20, Democratic Alliance 18,
Socialist Party 16, Pact for Italy 13, Christian Socialists 5
Judicial branch:
Constitutional Court (Corte Costituzionale)
Political parties and leaders:
Rightists:
Forza Italia, Silvio BERLUSCONI; National Alliance (was Italian Social
Movement - MSI - until January 1994), Gianfranco FINI, party
secretary; Lega Nord (Northern League), Umberto BOSSI, president
Leftists:
Democratic Party of the Left (PDS - was Communist Party, or PCI, until
January 1991), Achille OCCHETTO, secretary; Communist Refounding,
Fausto BERTINOTTI; Greens, Carlo RIPA di MEARA; Radical Party, Marco
PANNELLA; Italian Socialist Party, Ottaviano DELTURCO; The Network,
Leoluca ORLANDO; Christian Socialists, Ermanno GORRIERI
Centrists:
Pact for Italy, Mario SEGNI; Popular Party, Rosa JERVOLINO; Christian
Democratic Center, Pier Ferdinando CASINI
Other political or pressure groups:
the Roman Catholic Church; three major trade union confederations
(CGIL - formerly Communist dominated, CISL - Christian Democratic, and
UIL - Social Democratic, Socialist, and Republican); Italian
manufacturers and merchants associations (Confindustria,
Confcommercio); organized farm groups (Confcoltivatori,
Confagricoltura)
Member of:
AfDB, AG (observer), Australia Group, AsDB, BIS, CCC, CDB
(non-regional), CE, CEI, CERN, COCOM, CSCE, EBRD, EC, ECE, ECLAC, EIB,
ESA, FAO, G-7, G-10, GATT, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, IDA,
IFAD, IEA, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INMARSAT, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, IOM,
ISO, ITU, LAIA (observer), LORCS, MINURSO, MTCR, NACC, NATO, NEA, NSG,
OAS (observer), OECD, ONUSAL, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO,
UNIFIL, UNIKOM, UNMOGIP, UNOSOM, UNTAC, 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:
(202) 328-5500
consulate(s) general:
Boston, Chicago, Houston, Miami, New York, Los Angeles, Philadelphia,
San Francisco
consulate(s):
Detroit, New Orleans, and Newark (New Jersey)
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) 488-2672
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

@Italy, 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 annual average rate of 3% in 1983-90,
growth slowed to about 1% in 1991 and 1992 and fell by 0.7% in 1993.
In the second half of 1992, Rome became unsettled by the prospect of
not qualifying to participate in EC plans for economic and monetary
union later in the decade; thus it finally began to address its huge
fiscal imbalances. Thanks to the determination of Prime Ministers
AMATO and CIAMPI, the government adopted a fairly stringent budget for
1993 and 1994, 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
refurbishing a tottering communications system, curbing pollution in
major industrial centers, and adjusting to the new competitive forces
accompanying the ongoing economic integration of the European Union.
National product:
GDP - purchasing power equivalent - $967.6 billion (1993)
National product real growth rate:
-0.7% (1993)
National product per capita:
$16,700 (1993)
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
4.2% (1993)
Unemployment rate:
11.3% (January 1994)
Budget:
revenues:
$302 billion
expenditures:
$391 billion, including capital expenditures of $48 billion (1993
est.)
Exports:
$178.2 billion (f.o.b., 1992)
commodities:
metals, textiles and clothing, production machinery, motor vehicles,
transportation equipment, chemicals, other
partners:
EC 58.3%, US 6.8%, OPEC 5.1% (1992)
Imports:
$188.5 billion (f.o.b., 1992)
commodities:
industrial machinery, chemicals, transport equipment, petroleum,
metals, food, agricultural products
partners:
EC 58.8%, OPEC 6.1%, US 5.5% (1992)
External debt:
$67 billion (1993 est.)
Industrial production:
growth rate -2.8% (1993 est.); accounts for almost 35% of GDP
Electricity:
capacity:
58,000,000 kW
production:
235 billion kWh
consumption per capita:
4,060 kWh (1992)
Industries:
machinery, iron and steel, chemicals, food processing, textiles, motor
vehicles, clothing, footwear, ceramics
Agriculture:
accounts for about 4% of GDP and about 9.8% of the work force;
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 - 1,700.2 (January 1994), 1,573.7 (1993),
1,232.4 (1992), 1,240.6 (1991), 1,198.1 (1990), 1,372.1 (1989)
Fiscal year:
calendar year

@Italy, Communications

Railroads:
20,011 km total; 16,066 km 1.435-meter government-owned standard gauge
(8,999 km electrified); 3,945 km privately owned - 2,100 km
1.435-meter standard gauge (1,155 km electrified) and 1,845 km
0.950-meter narrow gauge (380 km electrified)
Highways:
total:
298,000 km
paved:
270,000 km (including nearly 7,000 km of expressways)
unpaved:
gravel, crushed stone 23,000 km; earth 5,000 km
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:
Cagliari (Sardinia), Genoa, La Spezia, Livorno, Naples, Palermo
(Sicily), Taranto, Trieste, Venice
Merchant marine:
474 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 6,055,779 GRT/8,924,779 DWT,
bulk 50, cargo 72, chemical tanker 34, combination bulk 1, combination
ore/oil 5, container 20, liquefied gas 39, multifunction large-load
carrier 1, oil tanker 129, passenger 8, refrigerated cargo 2,
roll-on/roll-off cargo 62, short-sea passenger 34, specialized tanker
10, vehicle carrier 7
Airports:
total:
137
usable:
132
with permanent-surface runways:
92
with runways over 3,659 m:
2
with runways 2,440-3,659 m:
36
with runways 1,220-2,439 m:
39
Telecommunications:
modern, well-developed, fast; 25,600,000 telephones; fully automated
telephone, telex, and data services; high-capacity cable and microwave
radio relay trunks; broadcast stations - 135 AM, 28 (1,840 repeaters)
FM, 83 (1,000 repeaters) TV; 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

@Italy, Defense Forces

Branches:
Army, Navy, Air Force, Carabinieri
Manpower availability:
males age 15-49 14,921,411; fit for military service 12,982,445; reach
military age (18) annually 403,017 (1994 est.)
Defense expenditures:
exchange rate conversion - $16.1 billion, 1.3% of GDP (1992)

@Jamaica, Geography