Map of Italy | Geography | People | Government | Economy | Energy | Communication
Military | Transportation | Transnational Issues | Year: Guide198919901991199219931994199519961997199819992000200120022003200420052006200720082009201020112012201320142015201620172018201920202021202220232024 | More stats

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Background: Italy became a nation-state in 1861 when the regional states of the peninsula, along with Sardinia and Sicily, were united under King Victor EMMANUEL II. An era of parliamentary government came to a close in the early 1920s when Benito MUSSOLINI established a Fascist dictatorship. His 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 is a charter member of NATO and the European Economic Community (EEC) and its subsequent successors the EC and the EU. It has been at the forefront of European economic and political unification, joining the Economic and Monetary Union in 1999. Persistent problems include sluggish economic growth, high youth and female unemployment, organized crime, corruption, and economic disparities between southern Italy and the more prosperous north.


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Location: Southern Europe, a peninsula extending into the central Mediterranean Sea, northeast of Tunisia

Geographic coordinates: 42 50 N, 12 50 E

Map reference: Europe

Area
Total: 301,340 km²
Land: 294,140 km²
Water: 7,200 km²
Note: includes Sardinia and Sicily
Comparative: almost twice the size of Georgia; slightly larger than Arizona

Land boundaries
Total: 1,836.4 km
Border countries: (5) Austria 404 km; France 476 km; Holy See (Vatican City) 3.4 km; San Marino 37 km; Slovenia 218 km; Switzerland 698 km

Coastline: 7,600 km

Maritime claims
Territorial sea: 12 nm
Continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation

Climate: predominantly Mediterranean; alpine in far north; hot, dry in south

Terrain: mostly rugged and mountainous; some plains, coastal lowlands

Elevation
Highest point: Mont Blanc (Monte Bianco) de Courmayeur (a secondary peak of Mont Blanc) 4,748 m
Lowest point: Mediterranean Sea 0 m
Mean elevation: 538 m

Natural resources: coal, antimony, mercury, zinc, potash, marble, barite, asbestos, pumice, fluorspar, feldspar, pyrite (sulfur), natural gas and crude oil reserves, fish, arable land

Land use
Agricultural land: 47.1% (2018 est.)
Agricultural land arable land: 22.8% (2018 est.)
Agricultural land permanent crops: 8.6% (2018 est.)
Agricultural land permanent pasture: 15.7% (2018 est.)
Forest: 31.4% (2018 est.)
Other: 21.5% (2018 est.)

Irrigated land: 26,010 km² (2013)

Major rivers

Major watersheds area km²: Atlantic Ocean drainage: Rhine-Maas (198,735 km²), (Black Sea) Danube (795,656 km²), (Adriatic Sea) Po (76,997 km²), (Mediterranean Sea) Rhone (100,543 km²)

Total water withdrawal
Municipal: 9.19 billion cubic meters (2020 est.)
Industrial: 7.7 billion cubic meters (2020 est.)
Agricultural: 17 billion cubic meters (2020 est.)

Total renewable water resources: 191.3 billion cubic meters (2020 est.)

Natural hazards: regional risks include landslides, mudflows, avalanches, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, flooding; land subsidence in Venice

Geography
Note: strategic location dominating central Mediterranean as well as southern sea and air approaches to Western Europe


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Population
Distribution: despite a distinctive pattern with an industrial north and an agrarian south, a fairly even population distribution exists throughout most of the country, with coastal areas, the Po River Valley, and urban centers (particularly Milan, Rome, and Naples), attracting larger and denser populations: 61,021,855 (2023 est.)
Growth rate: -0.11% (2023 est.)
Below poverty line: 20.1% (2018 est.)

Nationality
Noun: Italian(s)
Adjective: Italian

Ethnic groups: Italian (includes small clusters of German-, French-, and Slovene-Italians in the north and Albanian-Italians and Greek-Italians in the south)

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)
Major-language samples:

Religions: Christian 80.8% (overwhelmingly Roman Catholic with very small groups of Jehovah's Witnesses and Protestants), Muslim 4.9%, unaffiliated 13.4%, other 0.9% (2020 est.)

Demographic profile

Age structure
0-14 years: 12.08% (male 3,772,041/female 3,600,946)
15-64 years: 64.61% (male 19,430,217/female 19,997,042)
65 years and over: 23.31% (2023 est.) (male 6,248,663/female 7,972,946)

Dependency ratios
Total dependency ratio: 57.1
Youth dependency ratio: 19.9
Elderly dependency ratio: 37.2
Potential support ratio: 2.7 (2021 est.)

Median age
Total: 48.1 years (2023 est.)
Male: 47 years
Female: 49.1 years

Population growth rate: -0.11% (2023 est.)

Birth rate: 7 births/1,000 population (2023 est.)

Death rate: 11.3 deaths/1,000 population (2023 est.)

Net migration rate: 3.2 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2023 est.)

Population distribution: despite a distinctive pattern with an industrial north and an agrarian south, a fairly even population distribution exists throughout most of the country, with coastal areas, the Po River Valley, and urban centers (particularly Milan, Rome, and Naples), attracting larger and denser populations

Urbanization
Urban population: 72% of total population (2023)
Rate of urbanization: 0.27% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)

Major urban areas
Population: 4.316 million ROME (capital), 3.155 million Milan, 2.179 million Naples, 1.802 million Turin, 913,000 Bergamo, 850,000 Palermo (2023)

Environment
Current issues: air pollution from industrial emissions such as sulfur dioxide; coastal and inland rivers polluted from industrial and agricultural effluents; acid rain damaging lakes; inadequate industrial waste treatment and disposal facilities
International agreements party to: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Air Pollution-Sulphur 85, Air Pollution-Sulphur 94, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Antarctic-Environmental Protection, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Seals, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Climate Change-Paris Agreement, Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping-London Convention, Marine Dumping-London Protocol, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 2006, Wetlands, Whaling
International agreements signed, but not ratified: Air Pollution-Heavy Metals, Air Pollution-Multi-effect Protocol

Air pollutants
Particulate matter emissions: 14.22 micrograms per cubic meter (2019 est.)
Methane emissions: 41.3 megatons (2020 est.)

Sex ratio
At birth: 1.06 male(s)/female
0-14 years: 1.05 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.97 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.78 male(s)/female
Total population: 0.93 male(s)/female (2023 est.)

Mothers mean age at first birth: 31.4 years (2020 est.)

Maternal mortality ratio: 5 deaths/100,000 live births (2020 est.)

Infant mortality rate
Total: 3.1 deaths/1,000 live births (2023 est.)
Male: 3.3 deaths/1,000 live births
Female: 2.9 deaths/1,000 live births

Life expectancy at birth
Total population: 82.8 years (2023 est.)
Male: 80.5 years
Female: 85.3 years

Total fertility rate: 1.24 children born/woman (2023 est.)

Contraceptive prevalence rate: 65.1% (2013)
Note: percent of women aged 18-49

Drinking water source
Improved urban: NA
Improved rural: NA
Improved total: 99.9% of population
Unimproved urban: NA
Unimproved rural: NA
Unimproved total: 0.1% of population (2020 est.)

Current health expenditure: 9.6% of GDP (2020)

Physicians density: 3.95 physicians/1,000 population (2020)

Hospital bed density: 3.1 beds/1,000 population (2018)

Sanitation facility access
Improved urban:
Unimproved urban:

Hiv/Aids

Major infectious diseases

Obesity adult prevalence rate: 19.9% (2016)

Alcohol consumption
Per capita total: 7.65 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
Per capita beer: 1.99 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
Per capita wine: 4.83 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
Per capita spirits: 0.83 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
Per capita other alcohols: 0 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

Tobacco use
Total: 23.1% (2020 est.)
Male: 26.6% (2020 est.)
Female: 19.5% (2020 est.)

Children under the age of 5 years underweight: NA

Education expenditures: 4.3% of GDP (2020 est.)

Literacy
Definition: age 15 and over can read and write
Total population: 99.2%
Male: 99.4%
Female: 99% (2018)

School life expectancy primary to tertiary education
Total: 16 years
Male: 16 years
Female: 17 years (2020)

Youth unemployment
Rate ages 15 24 total: 30.9% (2021 est.)
Rate ages 15 24 male: 29.1%
Rate ages 15 24 female: 33.8%


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Country name
Conventional long form: Italian Republic
Conventional short form: Italy
Local long form: Repubblica Italiana
Local short form: Italia
Former: Kingdom of Italy
Etymology: derivation is unclear, but the Latin "Italia" may come from the Oscan "Viteliu" meaning "[Land] of Young Cattle" (the bull was a symbol of southern Italic tribes)

Government type: parliamentary republic

Capital
Name: Rome
Geographic coordinates: 41 54 N, 12 29 E
Time difference: UTC+1 (6 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time)
Daylight saving time: +1hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last Sunday in October
Etymology: by tradition, named after Romulus, one of the legendary founders of the city and its first king

Administrative divisions: 15 regions (regioni, singular - regione) and 5 autonomous regions (regioni autonome, singular - regione autonoma)

Dependent areas

Independence: 17 March 1861 (Kingdom of Italy proclaimed; Italy was not finally unified until 1871)

National holiday: Republic Day, 2 June (1946)

Constitution
History: previous 1848 (originally for the Kingdom of Sardinia and adopted by the Kingdom of Italy in 1861); latest enacted 22 December 1947, adopted 27 December 1947, entered into force 1 January 1948
Amendments: proposed by both houses of Parliament; passage requires two successive debates and approval by absolute majority of each house on the second vote; a referendum is only required when requested by one fifth of the members of either house, by voter petition, or by 5 Regional Councils (elected legislative assemblies of the 15 first-level administrative regions and 5 autonomous regions of Italy); referendum not required if an amendment has been approved by a two-thirds majority in each house in the second vote; amended many times, last in 2020

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

International law organization participation: accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations; accepts ICCt jurisdiction

Citizenship
Citizenship by birth: no
Citizenship by descent only: at least one parent must be a citizen of Italy
Dual citizenship recognized: yes
Residency requirement for naturalization: 4 years for EU nationals, 5 years for refugees and specified exceptions, 10 years for all others

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

Executive branch
Chief of state: President Sergio MATTARELLA (since 3 February 2015)
Head of government: Prime Minister Giorgia MELONI (since 22 October 2022); the prime minister's official title is President of the Council of Ministers
Cabinet: Council of Ministers proposed by the prime minister, known officially as the President of the Council of Ministers and locally as the Premier; nominated by the president; the current deputy prime ministers, known officially as vice presidents of the Council of Ministers, are Matteo SALVINI (L) and Antonio TAIANI (FI) (since 22 October 2022)
Elections/appointments: president indirectly elected by an electoral college consisting of both houses of Parliament and 58 regional representatives for a 7-year term (no term limits); election last held on 24-29 January 2022 (eight rounds) (next to be held in 2,029); prime minister appointed by the president, confirmed by parliament
Election results:

Legislative branch
Description:
Elections:
Election results:
Note: in October 2019, Italy's Parliament voted to reduce the number of Senate seats from 315 to 200 and the number of Chamber of Deputies seats from 630 to 400; a referendum to reduce the membership of Parliament held on 20-21 September 2020 was approved, effective for the September 2022 snap election

Judicial branch
Highest courts: Supreme Court of Cassation or Corte Suprema di Cassazione (consists of the first president (chief justice), deputy president, 54 justices presiding over 6 civil and 7 criminal divisions, and 288 judges; an additional 30 judges of lower courts serve as supporting judges; cases normally heard by 5-judge panels; more complex cases heard by 9-judge panels); Constitutional Court or Corte Costituzionale (consists of the court president and 14 judges)
Judge selection and term of office: Supreme Court judges appointed by the High Council of the Judiciary, headed by the president of the republic; judges may serve for life; Constitutional Court judges - 5 appointed by the president, 5 elected by Parliament, 5 elected by select higher courts; judges serve up to 9 years
Subordinate courts: various lower civil and criminal courts (primary and secondary tribunals and courts of appeal)

Political parties and leaders:

International organization participation: ADB (nonregional member), AfDB (nonregional member), Arctic Council (observer), Australia Group, BIS, BSEC (observer), CBSS (observer), CD, CDB, CE, CEI, CERN, EAPC, EBRD, ECB, EIB, EITI (implementing country), EMU, ESA, EU, FAO, FATF, G-7, G-8, G-10, G-20, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC (national committees), ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IGAD (partners), IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC (NGOs), LAIA (observer), MIGA, MINURSO, NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OPCW, OSCE, Pacific Alliance (observer), Paris Club, PCA, PIF (partner), Schengen Convention, SELEC (observer), SICA (observer), UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIFIL, Union Latina, UNMOGIP, UNOOSA, UNRWA, UNTSO, UNWTO, UPU, Wassenaar Arrangement, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO, ZC

Diplomatic representation
In the us chief of mission: Ambassador Maria Angela ZAPPIA (since 15 September 2021)
In the us chancery: 3,000 Whitehaven Street NW, Washington, DC 20,008
In the us telephone: [1] (202) 612-4,400
In the us FAX: [1] (202) 518-2,154
In the us email address and website:
From the us chief of mission: Ambassador Jack Markell (since September 2023); note - also accredited to San Marino
From the us embassy: via Vittorio Veneto 121, 00187 Roma
From the us mailing address: 9,500 Rome Place, Washington DC 20,521-9,500
From the us telephone: [39] 06-46,741
From the us FAX: [39] 06-4,674-2,244
From the us email address and website:

Flag description: three equal vertical bands of green (hoist side), white, and red; design inspired by the French flag brought to Italy by Napoleon in 1797; colors are those of Milan (red and white) combined with the green uniform color of the Milanese civic guard
Note: similar to the flag of Mexico, which is longer, uses darker shades of green and red, and has its coat of arms centered on the white band; Ireland, which is longer and is green (hoist side), white, and orange; also similar to the flag of the Cote d'Ivoire, which has the colors reversed - orange (hoist side), white, and green

National symbols: white, five-pointed star (Stella d'Italia); national colors: red, white, green

National anthem
Name: "Il Canto degli Italiani" (The Song of the Italians)
Lyrics/music: Goffredo MAMELI/Michele NOVARO
Note: adopted 1946; the anthem, originally written in 1847, is also known as "L'Inno di Mameli" (Mameli's Hymn), and "Fratelli D'Italia" (Brothers of Italy)

National heritage
Total World Heritage Sites: 58 (53 cultural, 5 natural)
Selected World Heritage Site locales:


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Economy overview: core EU economy; strong services, manufacturing, and tourism sectors; hard hit by COVID-19 disruptions but starting to recover; large EU exporter but data skews due to inflated port entry valuation; corruption somewhat stymies foreign direct investment

Real gdp purchasing power parity:
Note: data are in 2017 dollars

Real gdp growth rate:

Real gdp per capita:
Note: data are in 2017 dollars

Gross national saving

Gdp composition by end use
Household consumption: 61% (2017 est.)
Government consumption: 18.6% (2017 est.)
Investment in fixed capital: 17.5% (2017 est.)
Investment in inventories: -0.2% (2017 est.)
Exports of goods and services: 31.4% (2017 est.)
Imports of goods and services: -28.3% (2017 est.)

Gdp composition by sector of origin
Agriculture: 2.1% (2017 est.)
Industry: 23.9% (2017 est.)
Services: 73.9% (2017 est.)

Agriculture products: milk, grapes, wheat, maize, tomatoes, apples, olives, sugar beets, oranges, rice

Industries: tourism, machinery, iron and steel, chemicals, food processing, textiles, motor vehicles, clothing, footwear, ceramics

Industrial production growth rate: 13.46% (2021 est.)

Labor force: 25.012 million (2021 est.)

Unemployment rate:

Youth unemployment
Rate ages 15 24 total: 30.9% (2021 est.)
Rate ages 15 24 male: 29.1%
Rate ages 15 24 female: 33.8%

Population below poverty line: 20.1% (2018 est.)

Gini index
Coefficient distribution of family income: 35.2 (2018 est.)

Household income or consumption by percentage share
Lowest 10%: 2.3%
Highest 10%: 26.8% (2000)

Distribution of family income gini index

Budget
Revenues: $901.494 billion (2020 est.)
Expenditures: $1.08 trillion (2020 est.)
Surplus  or deficit: -2.3% (of GDP) (2017 est.)

Taxes and other revenues: 24.77% (of GDP) (2020 est.)

Public debt:
Note: Italy reports its data on public debt according to guidelines set out in the Maastricht Treaty; general government gross debt is defined in the Maastricht Treaty as consolidated general government gross debt at nominal value, outstanding at the end of the year, in the following categories of government liabilities (as defined in ESA95): currency and deposits (AF.2), securities other than shares excluding financial derivatives (AF.3, excluding AF.34), and loans (AF.4); the general government sector comprises central, state, and local government and social security funds

Revenue
From forest resources: 0.01% of GDP (2018 est.)
From coal: 0% of GDP (2018 est.)

Fiscal year: calendar year

Inflation rate consumer prices:

Central bank discount rate

Commercial bank prime lending rate

Stock of narrow money

Stock of broad money

Stock of domestic credit

Market value of publicly traded shares

Current account balance:

Exports:
Partners: Germany 12%, France 11%, United States 10%, United Kingdom 5%, Spain 5%, Switzerland 5% (2019)
Commodities: packaged medicines, cars and vehicle parts, refined petroleum, vaccines and cultures, jewelry, valves (2021)

Imports:
Partners: Germany 16%, France 9%, China 7%, Spain 5%, Netherlands 5%, Belgium 5% (2019)
Commodities: crude petroleum, cars, packaged medicines, natural gas, refined petroleum (2019)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold:

Debt external:

Stock of direct foreign investment at home

Stock of direct foreign investment abroad

Exchange rates:


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Electricity
Access electrification-total population: 100% (2021)
Installed generating capacity: 121.442 million kW (2020 est.)
Consumption: 286.375 billion kWh (2020 est.)
Exports: 7.587 billion kWh (2020 est.)
Imports: 39.787 billion kWh (2020 est.)
Transmission/distribution losses: 17.702 billion kWh (2020 est.)
Generation sources fossil fuels: 55.9% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
Generation sources nuclear: 0% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
Generation sources solar: 9.2% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
Generation sources wind: 6.9% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
Generation sources hydroelectricity: 17.5% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
Generation sources tide and wave: 0.2% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
Generation sources geothermal: 2.2% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
Generation sources biomass and waste: 8.1% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)

Coal
Production: 1.456 million metric tons (2020 est.)
Consumption: 9.335 million metric tons (2020 est.)
Exports: 368,000 metric tons (2020 est.)
Imports: 8.235 million metric tons (2020 est.)
Proven reserves: 17 million metric tons (2019 est.)

Petroleum
Total petroleum production: 107,700 bbl/day (2021 est.)
Refined petroleum consumption: 1,255,100 bbl/day (2019 est.)
Crude oil and lease condensate exports: 10,100 bbl/day (2018 est.)
Crude oil and lease condensate imports: 1.253 million bbl/day (2018 est.)
Crude oil estimated reserves: 497.9 million barrels (2021 est.)

Crude oil

Refined petroleum
Products production: 1.607 million bbl/day (2017 est.)
Products exports: 615,900 bbl/day (2017 est.)
Products imports: 422,500 bbl/day (2017 est.)

Natural gas
Production: 3,888,491,000 cubic meters (2020 est.)
Consumption: 74,313,109,000 cubic meters (2019 est.)
Exports: 314.656 million cubic meters (2020 est.)
Imports: 70,908,014,000 cubic meters (2019 est.)
Proven reserves: 45.76 billion cubic meters (2021 est.)

Carbon dioxide emissions: 332.041 million metric tonnes of CO2 (2019 est.)
From coal and metallurgical coke: 27.194 million metric tonnes of CO2 (2019 est.)
From petroleum and other liquids: 162.472 million metric tonnes of CO2 (2019 est.)
From consumed natural gas: 142.375 million metric tonnes of CO2 (2019 est.)

Energy consumption per capita: 112.606 million Btu/person (2019 est.)


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Telephones
Fixed lines total subscriptions: 19,982,393 (2022 est.)
Fixed lines subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 34 (2021 est.)
Mobile cellular total subscriptions: 78,114,933 (2021 est.)
Mobile cellular subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 132 (2021 est.)

Telephone system

Broadcast media: two Italian media giants dominate with 3 national terrestrial stations and privately owned companies with 3 national terrestrial stations; a large number of private stations, a satellite TV network; 3 AM/FM nationwide radio stations; about 1,300 commercial radio stations

Internet
Country code: .it
Users total: 44.25 million (2021 est.)
Users percent of population: 75% (2021 est.)

Broadband fixed subscriptions
Total: 18,128,787 (2020 est.)
Subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 30 (2020 est.)


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Military expenditures:

Military and security forces: Italian Armed Forces: Army (Esercito Italiano, EI), Navy (Marina Militare Italiana, MMI; includes aviation, marines), Italian Air Force (Aeronautica Militare Italiana, AMI); Carabinieri Corps (Arma dei Carabinieri, CC) (2023)
Note 1: the National Police and Carabinieri (gendarmerie or military police) maintain internal security; the National Police reports to the Ministry of Interior while the Carabinieri reports to the Ministry of Defense but is also under the coordination of the Ministry of Interior; the Carabinieri is primarily a domestic police force organized along military lines, with some overseas responsibilities
Note 2: the Financial Guard (Guardia di Finanza) under the Ministry of Economy and Finance is a force with military status and nationwide remit for financial crime investigations, including narcotics trafficking, smuggling, and illegal immigration

Military service age and obligation: 17-25 years of age for voluntary military service for men and women (some variations on age depending on the military branch); voluntary service is a minimum of 12 months with the option to extend in the Armed Forces or compete for positions in the Military Corps of the Italian Red Cross, the State Police, the Carabinieri, the Guardia di Finanza, the Penitentiary Police, or the National Fire Brigade; recruits can also volunteer for 4 years military service; conscription abolished 2004 (2023)
Note: women may serve in any military branch; as of 2020, women made up about 6% of the military's full-time personnel

Space program
Overview: has one of the largest space programs in Europe; is a key member of the European Space Agency (ESA) and one of its largest contributors; designs, builds, launches, and operates communications, remote sensing (RS), and scientific satellites; designs and manufacturers sounding (research) rockets and orbital satellite launch vehicles (SLVs); hosts the ESA Center for Earth Observation; has astronaut cadre in the ESA astronaut corps; researches, develops, and builds a range of other space-related technologies and participates in a wide array of international programs with astronauts, cargo containers, construction, expertise, modules, scientific experiments, and technology; outside of the ESA/EU and their individual member states, has cooperated with a variety of foreign space agencies and industries, including those of Argentina, Brazil, Canada, China, Israel, Japan, Kenya, Mexico, Russia, South Korea, Thailand, the UAE, and the US; participates in international space projects such as the International Space Station (ISS); has a considerable commercial space industrial sector with more than 200 companies encompassing a wide range of capabilities, including manufacturing satellites, satellite payloads, launch vehicles, propulsion systems, cargo containers, and their sub-components (2023)
Overview note: further details about the key activities, programs, and milestones of the country’s space program, as well as government spending estimates on the space sector, appear in space programs

Terrorist groups
Terrorist groups: Islamic State of Iraq and ash-Sham (ISIS)
Note: details about the history, aims, leadership, organization, areas of operation, tactics, targets, weapons, size, and sources of support of the group(s) appear(s) in terrorist organizations


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National air transport system
Number of registered air carriers: 9 (2020)
Inventory of registered aircraft operated by air carriers: 180
Annual passenger traffic on registered air carriers: 27,630,435 (2018)
Annual freight traffic on registered air carriers: 1.418 billion (2018) mt-km

Civil aircraft registration country code prefix: I

Airports: 129 (2021)
With paved runways: 98
With paved runways note: paved runways have a concrete or asphalt surface but not all have facilities for refueling, maintenance, or air traffic control; the length of a runway required for aircraft to safely operate depends on a number of factors including the type of aircraft, the takeoff weight (including passengers, cargo, and fuel), engine types, flap settings, landing speed, elevation of the airport, and average maximum daily air temperature; paved runways can reach a length of 5,000 m (16,000 ft.), but the “typical” length of a commercial airline runway is between 2,500-4,000 m (8,000-13,000 ft.)
With unpaved runways: 31
With unpaved runways note: unpaved runways have a surface composition such as grass or packed earth and are most suited to the operation of light aircraft; unpaved runways are usually short, often less than 1,000 m (3,280 ft.) in length; airports with unpaved runways often lack facilities for refueling, maintenance, or air traffic control

Heliports: 5 (2021)

Pipelines: 20,223 km gas, 1,393 km oil, 1,574 km refined products (2013)

Railways
Total:

Roadways
Total: 487,700 km (2007)
Paved: 487,700 km (2007) (includes 6,700 km of expressways)

Waterways: 2,400 km (2012) (used for commercial traffic; of limited overall value compared to road and rail)

Merchant marine
Total: 1,266 (2022)
By type: bulk carrier 20, container ship 6, general cargo 107, oil tanker 102, other 1,031

Ports and terminals
Major seaports: Augusta, Cagliari, Genoa, Livorno, Taranto, Trieste, Venice
Oil terminals: Melilli (Santa Panagia) oil terminal, Sarroch oil terminal
Container ports teus: Genoa (2,557,847), Gioia Tauro (3,146,553) (2021)
Lng terminals import: Panigaglia (La Spezia), Adriatic (Porto Levante), Oristano (Sardinia), Ravenna, Toscana (Livorno)


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Disputes international: Italy-Austria-Switzerland: borders are shifting because glacier peaks that had served as a natural boundary are melting

Refugees and internally displaced persons
Refugees country of origin: 21,441 (Nigeria), 17,706 (Afghanistan), 17,619 (Pakistan), 11,193 (Mali), 8,405 (Somalia), 6,324 (Gambia), 5,768 (Bangladesh), 5,463 (Iraq) (mid-year 2022); 168,725 (Ukraine) (as of 10 November 2023)
Stateless persons: 3,000 (2022)
Note: 840,958 estimated refugee and migrant arrivals (January 2015-November 2023)

Illicit drugs: important gateway for drug trafficking; organized crime groups allied with Colombian and Spanish groups trafficking cocaine to Europe