Italy

Full name of country: Italian Republic

Region: Europe

Official language: Italian

Population: 60,964,931 (2024 est.)

Nationality: Italian(s) (noun), Italian (adjective)

Land area: 294,140 sq km (113,568 sq miles)

Water area: 7,200 sq km (2,780 sq miles)

Capital: Rome

National anthem: "Il Canto degli Italiani" (The Song of the Italians), by Goffredo Mameli/Michele Novaro

National holiday: Republic Day, June 2 (1946)

Population growth: -0.08% (2024 est.)

Time zone: UTC + 1

Flag: The flag of Italy features three vertical bands of color—one red, one white, and one green. It was formally adopted as the country’s flag in 1948. The green represents the Italian countryside, the white represents the Alps, and the red represents the blood of Italians killed during the country’s wars for independence.

Independence: March 17, 1861 (Kingdom of Italy proclaimed; Italy was not finally unified until 1870)

Government type: republic

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal except in senatorial elections, where minimum age is 25

Legal system: civil law system; judicial review of legislation under certain conditions in Constitutional Court

Italy is a republic in south central Europe. It occupies a long narrow peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, as well as several islands. Italy's long history and cultural achievements have exerted almost unparalleled influence on Western culture, from the wide reign of the Roman Empire to the artistic and architectural innovations of the Renaissance. Italy is one of the most active and productive members of the European Union.

Note: unless otherwise indicated, statistical data in this article is sourced from the CIA World Factbook, as cited in the bibliography.

People and Culture

Population: Life expectancy at birth in Italy is 85.5 years for women and 80.7 years for men (2024 estimates). The country ranked thirtieth on the 2021 United Nations (UN) Human Development Index, which placed the country in the "Very High" category.

About 72 percent of the Italian population occupies the urbanized areas—especially in the north (2023 estimate). According to the UN, Italy’s population density was 261 people per square kilometer in 2023, making it one of the most crowded countries in Europe.

Internal migration over the past half century has been from rural to urban areas. Rome, with a population of 4.31 million in 2023, is the country's largest city. Milan and Naples are the two other urban centers with over one million inhabitants.

Ethnically, the Italian population is largely homogenous, but culturally, it is diverse. Exceptions to this general picture include small minority groups that inhabit border areas as well as immigrants from developing countries. In 2018, it was estimated that over one hundred thousand of Europe's largest minority group, the Roma, lived in Italy.

Italian is a Romance language spoken by the vast majority of the population, though often not solely. The modern language derives from the dialect of Tuscany, particularly as it evolved in the city of Florence in medieval times. Regional dialects became less common as a result of uniform educational standards and communication between regions. However, some dialects are still spoken alongside Italian, some by only a handful of people, others by larger groups of people. Friulian is a type of the latter.

Minority languages or dialects not related to Italian include Occitan, spoken in the Piedmont region; Slovenian, spoken in areas bordering Slovenia; Tosca, an Albanian dialect spoken in the southeast; French in the Valle d'Aosta; German in the region of Trentino Alto Adige; Greek in the southern provinces of Lecce and Reggio Calabria; and Sardinian, spoken on the island of Sardinia.

Italy is steeped in the traditions of the Roman Catholic Church, and of the 80.8 percent of the population that is Christian, the majority are Roman Catholic. It is no longer the official state religion, however, and the percentage of practicing Catholics is much lower. Religious minorities include Jews and Protestants; over the last several decades, the Muslim population has grown through immigration.

Indigenous People: The Italian peninsula has been home to a pageant of peoples dating back to antiquity. It is from these that the common Italian stock derives. Following unification in 1861, a national identity began to be forged, though regional identities still remain important to this day. Historically, it has been economic disparities rather than ethnic differences that have challenged the Italian identity: the richer, urbanized north versus the less developed south.

Education: Education in Italy is universal and compulsory for children between the ages of six and sixteen. Primary school lasts for five years. Students may then complete two levels of secondary school; at the upper secondary level, they prepare for university or receive technical training.

Some of the oldest European universities are found in Italy, such as the University of Bologna. The University of Rome has the most students, but there are large institutions spread throughout the country, offering programs in every field.

Health Care: Italy has a national health care system that treats the medical needs of the population for free or at low cost. It is rated highly by international standards, though there is some regional disparity between north and south as regards the quality of the care.

Food: Italian cuisine is one of the most famous and varied in the world. Within the country, tastes vary subtly from region to region.

Breakfast is simple and might entail a pastry and a cup of cappuccino. Lunch is the largest meal of the day and can last several hours. Dinner is usually a lighter affair. Bread and pasta dishes, consisting of wheat noodles in a variety of shapes and combined with different sauces, are the daily staples; olive oil is used copiously. Dishes made with lamb, beef, horse, and seafood are all common. Popular beverages include wine, grappa, and espresso.

Italian cuisine is renowned for its cheeses (of which there as many as 450 types) and cured meats, such as salami and prosciutto crudo (cured ham). The country also has an ancient tradition of wine-making, and produces many types of wine.

Arts & Entertainment: Italians have contributed some of the Western world’s most revered works of art, many of them inspired by Catholic traditions. Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, Raphael, and Giotto are just a few of the artists native to Italy that had a profound impact on art history. Few works rival da Vinci's Mona Lisa and The Last Supper and Michelangelo's painting of the Sistine Chapel and his sculpture David for fame. Architectural masterpieces in Italy include ancient Roman buildings, churches, and fountains.

Italian literature has produced such masters as the poet Dante, whose Divine Comedy is a seminal work of world literature, as well as Giovanni Boccaccio, Luigi Pirandello, and Italo Calvino. Major Italian thinkers include Nicolo Machiavelli, whose treatise on statecraft, The Prince, is still widely discussed today, and twentieth-century figures such as Antonio Gramsci and Benedetto Croce.

Italian cinema has produced many directors of international repute. Among them are Vittorio de Sica, Roberto Rossellini, Pier Palo Pasolini, Lina Wertmuller, Michelangelo Antonioni, and Federico Fellini, who made some of the most respected post-war films, including La Dolce Vita and 8½.

Italians have excelled at music as well, especially opera. Giuseppe Verdi and Giacomo Puccini are remembered as two of the foremost composers in the genre, while the tenor Luciano Pavarotti had a long, successful career as a performer and recording artist.

Several of Italy's major festivals take place in the city of Venice. These include Carnival, the Venice Film Festival, and the Venice Biennale, which has long attracted artists of the highest caliber in every field.

Holidays: In addition to the standard religious holidays of the church calendar, numerous feast days are celebrated throughout the country in honor of saints associated with particular villages, towns, or cities.

Environment and Geography

Topography: Italy is composed of the mainland, over half of which is the long, narrow boot-shaped peninsula, and several islands. Sardinia and Sicily are the largest of these. The Adriatic Sea is to the east of the peninsula, the Ionian Sea is to the south, and the Tyrrhenian Sea is to the west, giving Italy 7,600 kilometers (4,631 miles) of coastline. Major indentations along the coast include the Gulf of Taranto and the Gulf of Salerno. The terrain is generally hilly and mountainous except on coastal lowlands and the Plain of Lombardy in the north.

There are two major mountain ranges in Italy: the Alps, which dominate the northern portion of the country, and the Apennines, which rise along the peninsula in several ridges. The approach to Monte Bianco is the highest point in Italy. The mountain's summit, at 4,748 meters (15,577 feet) lies in France. Monte Corno is the highest peak of the Apennines at 2,912 meters (9,554 feet).

There are several active volcanoes in Italy. Mount Vesuvius, towering over the Bay of Naples, is historically the most famous. The largest and most active, Mount Etna, is found on the island of Sicily. It rises approximately 3,330 meters (10,826 feet), but its elevation is altered by frequent volcanic activity.

The Po and the Adige are Italy's two most significant rivers. The Po, the longest, flows 652 kilometers (405 miles) and feeds the Plain of Lombardy. Like the Adige, it flows into the Adriatic Sea. The largest lakes are Garda, Como, Maggiore, and Lugano, all in northern Italy.

Natural Resources: Italy does not have a wealth of natural resources, and many of the resources that once existed have been successfully exploited and exhausted. Sulfur, lignite, pumice, mercury, zinc, bauxite and lead are among the most prevalent minerals, and stone is one of the most important. Marble, travertine, and granite are all mined and processed in Italy.

Environmental problems confronting Italy include water pollution of rivers and seas, both by industrial effluent and poor wastewater treatment, leading to deadly algae blooms among other problems. Major urban centers are also afflicted by poor air quality as a result of emissions from industry and transportation.

Plants & Animals: Italy is home to many species of animals. The Mediterranean Monk Seal was listed as endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources, and the Marsican brown bear has been on the verge of extinction. Common mountain animals include the wolf, boar, and fox. Scorpions and several types of viper are poisonous animals. Marine animals include a wide variety of fish as well as shrimp, octopus, and mussels.

In the mountains, forests of oak, chestnut, and pine trees are prevalent. The lower lands are dominated by Mediterranean shrubs and trees, with olive, citrus and other fruit-bearing trees among them.

Climate: A Mediterranean climate prevails throughout much of the peninsula, with sea breezes moderating both summer and winter temperatures. The south, including the islands of Sicily and Sardinia, has a much hotter and drier climate. Rainfall, which is heaviest during the winter and spring, is much lower in the southern regions than in the central and northern regions.

In the north, away from the seas, summers and winters are cooler, the climate being more continental. In the mountains of the far north, the summers are cool and the winters are freezing, with heavy snowfall.

Climate is adversely affecting culture in one particularly pressing case: that of the northeastern city of Venice, which was built on a lagoon and encompasses numerous canals. The city is prone to seasonal flooding from high tides. The higher levels and increasing salinity of the water have damaged many of its buildings, causing concern about whether the city can be preserved. An ambitious project has been underway for years to put movable dams in the lagoon. These dams will be submerged unless they are needed to prevent high tides from flooding the city.

Economy

Industry: Italy compensates for its relative dearth of natural resources with a robust industrial sector. It has one of the largest economies in the world and is a member of the Group of Seven (G7) (which had been the Group of Eight until Russia's suspension in 2014). Gross domestic product (GDP) per capita is around US$52,700 (2023 est.). Inflation, which has long plagued Italy, has been decreasing, though foreign debt is still an outstanding problem.

Unemployment was estimated at a rate of 7.62 percent in 2023, and the workforce numbered just over 25.669 million. Unemployment is a greater problem in the agricultural south and explains the internal migration to the north, where industry is concentrated. Italy's main trading partners are other European countries as well as the United States.

Small- and medium-sized businesses, privately owned, make up a large portion of all Italian businesses. A significant percent of the GDP is generated by the manufacturing industry. Italian automobiles and clothing labels are two of the largest industries. Fiat, Ferrari, and Alfa Romeo are the most famous automobile makers, and Italian fashion, centered in Milan, is respected the world over for labels such as Gucci, Prada, and Versace. These two industries alone make up a major portion of the country's exports.

Agriculture: Agricultural production is concentrated in the south. Approximately 4 percent of the labor force is employed in agriculture, but it is important for both domestic consumption and export to other European countries.

Among the important crops cultivated in Italy are tomatoes, apples, pears, and citrus fruits. In the north and center of the country, wheat is dominant, while in the Po Valley, potatoes, corn, and sugar beets are the major crops. Grape and olive cultivation, and their subsequent processing into wine and olive oil, makes Italy a leader in these industries.

Sheep are the most common type of large livestock, followed by pigs, cattle, and goats. Poultry is also numerous.

Tourism: Italy is one of the most-visited countries in the world, and both foreign and domestic tourists are vital to the Italian economy. It has a highly developed infrastructure and a variety of attractions, both natural and cultural. The summer months see the most visitors. The services industry, of which tourism is a part, accounts for almost 64.9 percent of the total GDP (2023 estimate).

There is no shortage of tourist sites in Italy, which boasts an estimated 95,000 churches and 20,000 cities or towns with historic and cultural value. Among the most important museums are the Uffizi Gallery in Florence and the Vatican Museum. Major archaeological sites include the Roman ruins scattered throughout the country and particularly in Rome, and the lava-preserved cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum. Other attractions are the sculpted fountains of Rome, the squares and canals of Venice, and the well-preserved hilltop town of Siena.

Government

Italy is a parliamentary republic and one of the founding members of the European Union.

The executive branch of the government consists of a president and a prime minister. Though some powers are vested in the president, it is the prime minister who has the responsibility for running the government. The prime minister is appointed by the president and approved by the parliament.

The parliament is bicameral. The Chamber of Deputies consists of 630 members serving five-year terms. The Senate of the Republic consists of 321 members, and they too are elected for five-year terms, with the exception of six senators, who are elected for life. Three-quarters of the members in each house are elected by direct vote; the others are assigned seats by proportional representation.

The highest judicial powers are divided between the Supreme Court of Cassation and a constitutional court, whose fifteen judges are solely responsible for interpreting the constitution. The president, the parliament, and the Supreme Court each appoint five of the judges.

Local government is concentrated at the regional level. Each of the fifteen regions has a directly elected council and an executive. Italy's many provinces are presided over by appointed prefects. The commune is the form of local government below the provinces and is presided over by a directly elected council and an appointed mayor.

Italy's numerous political parties cross the spectrum from right-wing to left-wing, and sometimes form alliances. Chief among the parties are the Democratic Party, the Northern League, and the Civic Choice.

Interesting Facts

• An estimated 7 million Italians immigrated to the United States between the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.
• Italy has two independent countries within its borders: San Marino and Vatican City.
• The Italian parliament approved a law recognizing civil unions of same-sex couples in May 2016.
• In 2021, Italy was the largest exporter of unglazed ceramics, pasta, and processed tomatoes.

Bibliography

"Italy." Human Development Reports, United Nations Development Programme, 8 Sept. 2022, hdr.undp.org/data-center/specific-country-data#/countries/ITA. Accessed 4 Dec. 2024.

"Italy." The World Bank, data.worldbank.org/country/italy. Accessed 19 Oct. 2023.

"Italy." The World Factbook, Central Intelligence Agency, 17 Oct. 2023, www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/italy/. Accessed 4 Dec. 2024.

"Italy." World Health Organization, www.who.int/countries/ita/en/. Accessed 19 Oct. 2023.

World Statistics Pocketbook 2023 Edition, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, United Nations, 31 July 2023, unstats.un.org/unsd/publications/pocketbook/files/world-stats-pocketbook-2023.pdf. Accessed 19 Oct. 2023.