Italy

Background: Italy became a nation-state in 1861 when the city-states of the peninsula, along with Sardinia and Sicily, were united under King Victor Emmanuel. An era of parliamentary government came to a close in the early 1920s when Benito Mussolini established a Fascist dictatorship. His disastrous alliance with Nazi Germany led to Italy's defeat in World War II. A democratic republic replaced the monarchy in 1946 and economic revival followed. Italy was a charter member of NATO and the European Economic Community (EEC). It has been at the forefront of European economic and political unification, joining the European Monetary Union in 1999.
Location: Southern Europe, a peninsula extending into the central Mediterranean Sea, northeast of Tunisia. Area: Total: 301,230 sq km, note: includes Sardinia and Sicily, water: 7,210 sq km, land: 294,020 sq km. Area - comparative: Slightly larger than Arizona. Land boundaries: Total: 1,932.2 km, border countries: Austria 430 km, France 488 km, Holy See 3.2 km, San Marino 39 km, Slovenia 232 km, Switzerland 740 km. Coastline: 7,600 km.
Climate and Terrain: Climate: Predominantly Mediterranean; Alpine in far north; hot, dry in south. Terrain: Mostly rugged and mountainous; some plains, coastal lowlands. Natural resources: Mercury, potash, marble, sulfur, natural gas and crude oil reserves, fish, coal.
People: Population: 57,715,625. Ethnic groups: Italian, includes small clusters of German-, French-, and Slovene-Italians, and Albanian-Italians and Greek-Italians. Religions: Predominately Roman Catholic with mature Protestant and Jewish communities and a growing Muslim immigrant community. Languages: Italian (official), German , French , Slovene.
Government: Government type: Republic. Capital: Rome. Independence: 17 March 1861 (Kingdom of Italy proclaimed; Italy was not finally unified until 1870).
Economy overview: Italy has a diversified industrial economy with roughly the same total and per capita output as France and the UK. This capitalistic economy remains divided into a developed industrial north, dominated by private companies, and a less developed agricultural south, with 20% unemployment. Most raw materials needed by industry and more than 75% of energy requirements are imported. Over the past decade, Italy has pursued a tight fiscal policy in order to meet the requirements of the Economic and Monetary Unions and has benefited from lower interest and inflation rates. GDP - composition by sector: Agriculture: 2.4%, industry: 30%, services: 67.6%.
Statistics: Telephones - main lines in use: 25 million. Telephones - mobile cellular: 20.5 million. Radio broadcast stations: AM about 100, FM about 4,600, shortwave 9. Radios: 50.5 million. Television broadcast stations: 358 (plus 4,728 repeaters). Televisions: 30.3 million. Internet users: 19.25 million. Railways: Total: 19,786 km. Highways: Total paved: 668,669 km. Airports: with paved runways: 97, with unpaved runways: 38. Heliports: 4.