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:
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 98.6%
male: 99%
female: 98.3% (2003 est.)
Government Italy
Country name:
conventional long form: Italian Republic
conventional short form: Italy
local long form: Repubblica Italiana
former: Kingdom of Italy
local short form: Italia
Government 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; Italy was not finally
unified until 1870)
National holiday:
Republic Day, 2 June (1946)
Constitution:
1 January 1948