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.

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: 39,500 km² (2012)

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: 9.488 billion cubic meters (2017 est.)
Industrial: 7.7 billion cubic meters (2017 est.)
Agricultural: 17 billion cubic meters (2017 est.)

Total renewable water resources: 191.3 billion cubic meters (2017 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

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: 62,390,364 (July 2021 est.)
Growth rate: 0.09% (2021 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.)

Age structure
0-14 years: 13.45% (male 4,292,431/female 4,097,732)
15-24 years: 9.61% (male 3,005,402/female 2,989,764)
25-54 years: 40.86% (male 12,577,764/female 12,921,614)
55-64 years: 14% (male 4,243,735/female 4,493,581)
65 years and over: 22.08% (male 5,949,560/female 7,831,076) (2020 est.)

Dependency ratios
Total dependency ratio: 57
Youth dependency ratio: 20.4
Elderly dependency ratio: 36.6
Potential support ratio: 2.7 (2020 est.)

Median age
Total: 46.5 years
Male: 45.4 years
Female: 47.5 years (2020 est.)

Population growth rate: 0.09% (2021 est.)

Birth rate: 8.37 births/1000 population (2021 est.)

Death rate: 10.7 deaths/1000 population (2021 est.)

Net migration rate: 3.21 migrant(s)/1000 population (2021 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: 71.3% of total population (2021)
Rate of urbanization: 0.27% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)

Major urban areas
Population: 4.278 million ROME (capital), 3.144 million Milan, 2.183 million Naples, 1.795 million Turin, 900,000 Bergamo, 850,000 Palermo (2021)

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: 15.28 micrograms per cubic meter (2016 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
15-24 years: 1.01 male(s)/female
25-54 years: 0.97 male(s)/female
55-64 years: 0.94 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.76 male(s)/female
Total population: 0.93 male(s)/female (2020 est.)

Mothers mean age at first birth: 31.3 years (2019 est.)

Maternal mortality ratio: 2 deaths/100,000 live births (2017 est.)

Infant mortality rate
Total: 3.14 deaths/1000 live births
Male: 3.4 deaths/1000 live births
Female: 2.87 deaths/1000 live births (2021 est.)

Life expectancy at birth
Total population: 82.67 years
Male: 80.01 years
Female: 85.49 years (2021 est.)

Total fertility rate: 1.47 children born/woman (2021 est.)

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

Drinking water source
Improved urban: 100% of population
Improved rural: 100% of population
Improved total: 100% of population
Unimproved urban: 0% of population
Unimproved rural: 0% of population
Unimproved total: 0% of population (2017 est.)

Current health expenditure: 8.7% (2018)

Physicians density: 3.98 physicians/1000 population (2018)

Hospital bed density: 3.1 beds/1000 population (2018)

Sanitation facility access
Improved urban: 98.8% of population
Improved rural: 98.6% of population
Improved total: 98.8% of population
Unimproved urban: 1.2% of population
Unimproved rural: 1.4% of population
Unimproved total: 1.2% of population (2017 est.)

Hivaids
Adult prevalence rate: 0.2% (2020 est.)
People living with hivaids: 140,000 (2020 est.)
Deaths: <1000 (2020 est.)

Major infectious diseases
Respiratorydiseases: Covid-19 (see note) (2020)
Note: a new coronavirus is causing  respiratory illness (COVID-19) in Italy; illness with this virus has ranged from mild to severe with fatalities reported; as of 6 October 2021, Italy has reported a total of 4,686,109 cases of COVID-19 or 7,857.13 cumulative cases of COVID-19 per 100,000 population with 219.84 cumulative deaths per 100,000 population; as of 5 October 2021, 75.36% of the population has received at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine; the US Department of Homeland Security has issued instructions requiring US passengers who have been in Italy to travel through select airports where the US Government has implemented enhanced screening procedures

Obesity adult prevalence rate: 19.9% (2016)

Children under the age of 5 years underweight: NA

Education expenditures: 4.3% of GDP (2018)

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 (2019)

Youth unemployment
Rate ages 15-24 total: 29.4%
Rate ages 15-24 male: 27.9%
Rate ages 15-24 female: 31.8% (2020 est.)

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)

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 five 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 descentonly: 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 Mario DRAGHI (since 13 February 2021); the prime minister's official title is President of the Council of Ministers; note - Prime Minister Giuseppe CONTE resigned on 26 January 2021
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 Luigi Di Maio (M5S) (since 1 June 2018)
Elections and 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 31 January 2015 (next to be held in 2022); prime minister appointed by the president, confirmed by parliament
Election results: Sergio MATTARELLA (independent) elected president; electoral college vote count in fourth round - 665 out of 1,009 (505-vote threshold)

Legislative branch
Description: bicameral Parliament or Parlamento consists of:
Senate or Senato della Repubblica (320 seats; 116 members directly elected in single-seat constituencies by simple majority vote, 193 members in multi-seat constituencies and 6 members in multi-seat constituencies abroad directly elected by party-list proportional representation vote to serve 5-year terms and 5 ex-officio members appointed by the president of the Republic to serve for life)
Chamber of Deputies or Camera dei Deputati (630 seats; 629 members directly elected in single- and multi-seat constituencies by proportional representation vote and 1 member from Valle d'Aosta elected by simple majority vote; members serve 5-year terms)
Elections: Senate - last held on 4 March 2018 (next to be held in March 2023)
Chamber of Deputies - last held on 4 March 2018 (next to be held in March 2023)
Election results:

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: Article One or Art.1-MDP [Roberto SPERANZA]
Associative Movement of Italians Abroad or MAIE [Ricardo Antonio MERIO]
Brothers of Italy or FdI [Giorgi MELONI]
Democratic Party or PD [Enrico LETTA]
Five Star Movement or M5S [Giuseppe CONTE]
Forza Italia or FI [Silvio BERLUSCONI]
Free and Equal (Liberi e Uguali) or LeU [Pietro GRASSO]
League or Lega [Matteo SALVINI]
More Europe or +EU [Emma BONINO]
Popular Civic List or CP [Beatrice LORENZIN]
Possible [Beatrice BRIGNONE]
South American Union Italian Emigrants or USEI [Eugenion SANGREGORIO]
South Tyrolean People's Party or SVP [Philipp ACHAMMER]
Trentino Tyrolean Autonomist Party (Partito Autonomista Trentino Tirolese) or PATT [Franco PANIZZA, secretary]
Us with Italy [Raffaele FITTO]

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, MINUSMA, 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, UNRWA, UNTSO, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO, ZC

Diplomatic representation
In the us chief of mission: Ambassador Mariangela 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 (vacant); Charge d'Affaires Thomas D. SMITHAM (since 4 January 2021); 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 and 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)

Real gdp purchasing power parity:
Note: data are in 2010 dollars

Real gdp growth rate: 0.34% (2019 est.)

0.83% (2018 est.)

1.73% (2017 est.)

Real gdp per capita:
Note: data are in 2010 dollars

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 beet, oranges, rice

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

Industrial production growth rate: 2.1% (2017 est.)

Labor force: 22.92 million (2020 est.)
By occupation agriculture: 3.9%
By occupation industry: 28.3%
By occupation services: 67.8% (2011)

Unemployment rate: 9.88% (2019 est.)

10.63% (2018 est.)

Youth unemployment
Rate ages 15-24 total: 29.4%
Rate ages 15-24 male: 27.9%
Rate ages 15-24 female: 31.8% (2020 est.)

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

Gini index
Coefficient distribution of family income: 35.9 (2017 est.)

27.3 (1995)

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

Budget
Revenues: $903.3 billion (2017 est.)
Expenditures: $948.1 billion (2017 est.)
Surplus or deficit: $-2.3% (of GDP) (2017 est.)

Taxes and other revenues: 46.6% (of GDP) (2017 est.)

Public debt: 131.8% of GDP (2017 est.)
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 forest revenues: 0.01% of GDP (2018 est.)
From coal coal revenues: 0% of GDP (2018 est.)

Fiscal year: calendar year

Inflation rate consumer prices: 0.6% (2019 est.)

1.1% (2018 est.)

1.2% (2017 est.)

Current account balance: $59.517 billion (2019 est.)

$51.735 billion (2018 est.)

Exports: $558.26 billion note: data are in current year dollars (2020 est.)

$636.01 billion note: data are in current year dollars (2019 est.)

$656.06 billion note: data are in current year dollars (2018 est.)
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, valves, trunks/cases, wine (2019)

Imports: $486.35 billion note: data are in current year dollars (2020 est.)

$569.7 billion note: data are in current year dollars (2019 est.)

$605.44 billion note: data are in current year dollars (2018 est.)
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: $151.2 billion (31 December 2017 est.)

$130.6 billion (31 December 2015 est.)

Debt external: $2,463,208,000,000 (2019 est.)

$2,533,153,000,000 (2018 est.)

Exchange rates:

Electricity
Access electrification total population: 100% (2020)
Production: 275.3 billion kWh (2016 est.)
Consumption: 293.5 billion kWh (2016 est.)
Exports: $6.155 billion kWh (2016 est.)
Imports: 43.18 billion kWh (2016 est.)
Installed generating capacity: 114.2 million kW (2016 est.)
Generation sources fossil fuels: 54% of total installed capacity (2016 est.)
Generation sources nuclear: 0% of total installed capacity (2017 est.)
Generation sources hydroelectricity: 14% of total installed capacity (2017 est.)
Generation sources other renewable sources: 32% of total installed capacity (2017 est.)

Petroleum
Petroleum total petroleum production: 90,000 bbl/day (2018 est.)
Crude oil exports: 13,790 bbl/day (2017 est.)
Crude oil imports: 1.341 million bbl/day (2017 est.)
Crude oil proven reserves: 487.8 million bbl (1 January 2018 est.)

Refined petroleum
Products production: 1.607 million bbl/day (2017 est.)
Products consumption: 1.236 million bbl/day (2017 est.)
Products exports: 615,900 bbl/day (2017 est.)
Products imports: 422,500 bbl/day (2017 est.)

Natural gas
Production: 5.55 billion m³ (2017 est.)
Consumption: 75.15 billion m³ (2017 est.)
Exports: 271.8 million m³ (2017 est.)
Imports: 69.66 billion m³ (2017 est.)
Proven reserves: 38.11 billion m³ (1 January 2018 est.)

Telephones
Fixed lines total subscriptions: 19,430,559 (2020)
Fixed lines subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 32.14 (2020 est.)
Mobile cellular total subscriptions: 77,796,840 (2020)
Mobile cellular subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 128.7 (2020 est.)

Broadcast media: two Italian media giants dominate - the publicly owned Radiotelevisione Italiana (RAI) with 3 national terrestrial stations and privately owned Mediaset with 3 national terrestrial stations; a large number of private stations and Sky Italia - a satellite TV network; RAI operates 3 AM/FM nationwide radio stations; about 1,300 commercial radio stations

Internet
Country code: .it
Users total: 50.54 million (2021 est.)
Users percent of population: 63.08% (2019 est.)

Broadband fixed subscriptions
Total: 17,855,620 (2020)
Subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 29.53 (2020 est.)

Military expenditures: 1.39% of GDP (2020 est.)

1.18% of GDP (2019)

1.23% of GDP (2018)

1.2% of GDP (2017)

1.18% of GDP (2016)

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) (2021)

note(s) - the Carabinieri is the national gendarmerie; for its civil police functions, the Carabinieri falls under the control of the Ministry of the Interior; 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: 18-25 years of age for voluntary military service; women may serve in any military branch; Italian citizenship required; 1-year service obligation; conscription abolished 2004 (2021)

Terrorist groups: Islamic State of Iraq and ash-Sham (ISIS)

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 mt-km (2018)

Civil aircraft registration country code prefix: I

Airports
Total: 129 (2013)
With paved runways total: 98
With paved runways over 3047 m: 9
With paved runways 2438 to 3047 m: 31
With paved runways 15-24 to 2437 m: 18
With paved runways 914 to 1523 m: 29
With paved runways under 914 m: 11 (2017)
With unpaved runways total: 31
With unpaved runways 15-24 to 2437 m: 1
With unpaved runways 914 to 1523 m: 10
With unpaved runways under 914 m: 20 (2013)

Heliports: 5 (2013)

Pipelines: 20,223 km gas, 1393 km oil, 1574 km refined products (2013)

Railways
Total: 20,182 km (2014)
Standard gauge: 18,770.1 km 1.435-m gauge (12,893.6 km electrified) (2014)
Narrowgauge: 122.3 km 1.000-m gauge (122.3 km electrified) (2014)

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

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

Merchant marine
Total: 1,296
By type: bulk carrier 36, container ship 7, general cargo 111, oil tanker 103, other 1,039 (2021)

Ports and terminals
Major seaport: Augusta, Cagliari, Genoa, Livorno, Taranto, Trieste, Venice
Oil terminals: Melilli (Santa Panagia) oil terminal, Sarroch oil terminal
Container ports teus: Genoa (2,621,472), Gioia Tauro (2,523,000) (2019)
Lng terminals import: La Spezia, Panigaglia, Porto Levante

Disputes international: Italy's long coastline and developed economy entices tens of thousands of illegal immigrants from southeastern Europe and northern Africa

Refugees and internally displaced persons
Refugees country of origin: 18,473 (Nigeria), 14,484 (Pakistan), 12,096 (Afghanistan), 10,063 (Mali), 7,704 (Somalia), 5,740 (Gambia) (2020)
Stateless persons: 3,000 (2020)
Note: 590,074 estimated refugee and migrant arrivals (January 2015-December 2021)

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