
Map taken from lonelyplanet.com
About the Country:
OFFICIAL
NAME:
Italian
Republic
CAPITAL:
Rome
SYSTEM OF
GOVERNMENT: Multiparty Republic
AREA:
301,225 Sq Km
ESTIMATED 2000
POPULATION
57,298,100
LOCATION
& GEOGRAPHY: Italy
is located in southern Europe. It is bound by Tyrrhenian and Ligurian Seas
to the west, France to the northwest, Switzerland and Austria to the
north, Slovenia to the northeast, the Adriatic Sea to the east as well as
the Ionian and Mediterranean Seas to the south. The territory includes the
mainland and the islands of Sardinia and Sicily as well as some other
smaller islands. The country is predominantly mountainous with plains
accounting for less than 33% of the land area. The two principal mountain
ranges are (1.) the Alps which are divided into the three ranges of the
Western Alps, the Central Alps and the Eastern Alps. (2.) The Apennines
which is divided into the Northern or Ligurian Apennines and the
Tuscan-Emilian Apennines. Except for the Po Plain, the plains of Italy are
small in land area and numbers. The principal rivers are the Po, Tevere or
Tiber, Arno, Volturno, Liri and Adige as well as many shorter rivers that
flow to the Adriatic Sea. Major Cities (pop. est.); Rome 2,723,300, Milan
1,358,600, Naples 1,071,700, Turin 952,700, Palermo 696,700, Genoa
667,600, Bologna 401,300, Florence 397,400 (1993). Land Use; forested 23%,
pastures 15%, agricultural-cultivated 40%, other 22% (1993).
CLIMATE:
Italy has a temperate climate with a variety of
regional characteristics. The Alps region has harsh winters and moderately
warm summers with abundant rainfall. The Po Plain has harsh winters with
long periods of subfreezing temperatures and warm sultry summers, with
rainfall more common in winter. The Alpennine region has extremely mild
winters and hot summers. Italy is also subject to fierce seasonal winds.
Average temperature ranges in Rome are from 4 to 11 degrees Celsius (39 to
52 degrees Fahrenheit) in January to 20 to 30 degrees Celsius (68 to 86
degrees Fahrenheit) in July.
CURRENCY: The
official currency is the Euro divided into 100 cents.
ECONOMY: Gross National Product; USD $1,134,800,000,000
(1993). Public Debt; USD $1,038,200,000,000 (1993). Imports; L
232,187,445,000,000 (1993). Exports; L 265,092,306,000,000 (1993). Tourism
Receipts; USD $20,521,000,000 (1993). Balance of Trade; L
50,789,000,000,000 (1993). Economically Active Population; 22,621,800 or
40.6% of total population (1993). Unemployed; 10.4% (1993).