Ethnic groups:
Italian (includes small clusters of German-, French-, and
Slovene-Italians in the north and Albanian-Italians and
Greek-Italians in the south)
Religions:
predominately Roman Catholic with mature Protestant and Jewish
communities and a growing Muslim immigrant community
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:
16 regions (regioni, singular - regione) and 4 autonomous regions*
(regioni autonome, singular - regione autonoma); Abruzzo,
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)