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Compare Benin (2007) - Italy (2002)
Compare Benin (2007) z Italy (2002)
| Benin (2007) | Italy (2002) | |
 |  | |
| Administrative divisions | 12 departments; Alibori, Atakora, Atlantique, Borgou, Collines, Kouffo, Donga, Littoral, Mono, Oueme, Plateau, Zou | 20 regions (regioni, singular - regione); Abruzzi, Basilicata, Calabria, Campania, Emilia-Romagna, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Lazio, Liguria, Lombardia, Marche, Molise, Piemonte, Puglia, Sardegna, Sicilia, Toscana, Trentino-Alto Adige, Umbria, Valle d'Aosta, Veneto |
| Age structure | 0-14 years: 43.9% (male 1,788,248/female 1,754,940)
15-64 years: 53.7% (male 2,138,649/female 2,203,291) 65 years and over: 2.4% (male 77,844/female 115,342) (2007 est.) |
0-14 years: 14.1% (male 4,198,569; female 3,954,159)
15-64 years: 67.3% (male 19,334,208; female 19,492,048) 65 years and over: 18.6% (male 4,436,073; female 6,300,568) (2002 est.) |
| Agriculture - products | cotton, corn, cassava (tapioca), yams, beans, palm oil, peanuts, cashews; livestock | fruits, vegetables, grapes, potatoes, sugar beets, soybeans, grain, olives; beef, dairy products; fish |
| Airports | 5 (2007) | 135 (2001) |
| Airports - with paved runways | total: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2007) |
total: 96
over 3,047 m: 5 2,438 to 3,047 m: 34 1,524 to 2,437 m: 15 914 to 1,523 m: 30 under 914 m: 12 (2002) |
| Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 4
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 2 (2007) |
total: 38
1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 18 under 914 m: 18 (2002) |
| Area | total: 112,620 sq km
land: 110,620 sq km water: 2,000 sq km |
total: 301,230 sq km
land: 294,020 sq km water: 7,210 sq km note: includes Sardinia and Sicily |
| Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Pennsylvania | slightly larger than Arizona |
| Background | Present day Benin was the site of Dahomey, a prominent West African kingdom that rose in the 15th century. The territory became a French Colony in 1872 and achieved independence on 1 August 1960, as the Republic of Benin. A succession of military governments ended in 1972 with the rise to power of Mathieu KEREKOU and the establishment of a government based on Marxist-Leninist principles. A move to representative government began in 1989. Two years later, free elections ushered in former Prime Minister Nicephore SOGLO as president, marking the first successful transfer of power in Africa from a dictatorship to a democracy. KEREKOU was returned to power by elections held in 1996 and 2001, though some irregularities were alleged. KEREKOU stepped down at the end of his second term in 2006 and was succeeded by Thomas YAYI Boni, a political outsider and independent. | 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. Persistent problems include illegal immigration, the ravages of organized crime, corruption, high unemployment, and the low incomes and technical standards of southern Italy compared with the prosperous north. |
| Birth rate | 38.1 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 8.93 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
| Budget | revenues: $786 million
expenditures: $1.024 billion (2006 est.) |
revenues: $504 billion
expenditures: $517 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2001 est.) |
| Capital | name: Porto-Novo (official capital)
geographic coordinates: 6 29 N, 2 37 E time difference: UTC+1 (6 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) note: Cotonou (seat of government) |
Rome |
| Climate | tropical; hot, humid in south; semiarid in north | predominantly Mediterranean; Alpine in far north; hot, dry in south |
| Coastline | 121 km | 7,600 km |
| Constitution | adopted by referendum 2 December 1990 | 1 January 1948 |
| Country name | conventional long form: Republic of Benin
conventional short form: Benin local long form: Republique du Benin local short form: Benin former: Dahomey |
conventional long form: Italian Republic
conventional short form: Italy local long form: Repubblica Italiana local short form: Italia former: Kingdom of Italy |
| Currency | - | euro (EUR); Italian lira (ITL)
note: on 1 January 1999, the European Monetary Union introduced the euro as a common currency to be used by financial institutions of member countries; on 1 January 2002, the euro became the sole currency for everyday transactions within the member countries |
| Death rate | 11.94 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 10.13 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
| Debt - external | $1.6 billion (2000) | $NA |
| Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Gayleatha B. BROWN
embassy: Rue Caporal Bernard Anani, Cotonou mailing address: 01 B. P. 2012, Cotonou telephone: [229] 21-30-06-50 FAX: [229] 21-30-06-70 |
chief of mission: Ambassador Melvin SEMBLER
embassy: Via Vittorio Veneto 119/A, 00187-Rome mailing address: PSC 59, Box 100, APO AE 09624 telephone: [39] (06) 46741 FAX: [39] (06) 488-2672, 4674-2356 consulate(s) general: Florence, Milan, Naples |
| Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Cyrille Segbe OGUIN
chancery: 2124 Kalorama Road NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 232-6656 FAX: [1] (202) 265-1996 |
chief of mission: Ambassador Ferdinando SALLEO
chancery: 3000 Whitehaven Street NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 612-4400 FAX: [1] (202) 518-2151 consulate(s) general: Boston, Chicago, Houston, Miami, New York, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, and San Francisco consulate(s): Detroit |
| Disputes - international | two villages remain in dispute along the border with Burkina Faso; Benin accused Burkina Faso of moving boundary pillars; much of Benin-Niger boundary, including tripoint with Nigeria, remains undemarcated; in 2005, Nigeria ceded thirteen villages to Benin, but border relations remain strained by rival gang clashes; Benin and Togo announced plans in 2006 to construct a joint hydroelectric dam on the Mona River at the southern end of the border | Croatia and Italy are still trying to resolve bilateral property and ethnic minority rights dating from World War II |
| Economic aid - donor | - | ODA, $1 billion (2002 est.) |
| Economic aid - recipient | $349.1 million (2005) | - |
| Economy - overview | The economy of Benin remains underdeveloped and dependent on subsistence agriculture, cotton production, and regional trade. Growth in real output has averaged around 5% in the past six years, but rapid population growth has offset much of this increase. Inflation has subsided over the past several years. In order to raise growth still further, Benin plans to attract more foreign investment, place more emphasis on tourism, facilitate the development of new food processing systems and agricultural products, and encourage new information and communication technology. Specific projects to improve the business climate by reforms to the land tenure system, the commercial justice system, and the financial sector were included in Benin's $307 million Millennium Challenge Account grant signed in February 2006. The 2001 privatization policy continues in telecommunications, water, electricity, and agriculture in spite of government reluctance. The Paris Club and bilateral creditors have eased the external debt situation, with Benin benefiting from a G8 debt reduction announced in July 2005, while pressing for more rapid structural reforms. Benin continues to be hurt by Nigerian trade protection that bans imports of a growing list of products from Benin and elsewhere, which has resulted in increased smuggling and criminality in the border region. | 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. The current government has enacted numerous short-term reforms aimed at improving competitiveness and long-term growth. Rome has moved slowly, however, on implementing needed structural reforms, such as lightening the high tax burden and overhauling Italy's rigid labor market and over-generous pension system, because of the current economic slowdown and opposition from labor unions. |
| Electricity - consumption | 587 million kWh (2005) | 283.74 billion kWh (2000) |
| Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2005) | 484 million kWh (2000) |
| Electricity - imports | 595 million kWh (2005) | 44.831 billion kWh (2000) |
| Electricity - production | 105 million kWh (2005) | 257.41 billion kWh (2000) |
| Electricity - production by source | - | fossil fuel: 80%
hydro: 17% nuclear: 0% other: 3% (2000) |
| Elevation extremes | lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Mont Sokbaro 658 m |
lowest point: Mediterranean Sea 0 m
highest point: Mont Blanc (Monte Bianco) de Courmayeur 4,748 m (a secondary peak of Mont Blanc) |
| Environment - current issues | inadequate supplies of potable water; poaching threatens wildlife populations; deforestation; desertification | 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 |
| Environment - international agreements | party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
party to: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Sulphur 85, Air Pollution-Sulphur 94, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Seals, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol |
| Ethnic groups | Fon and related 39.2%, Adja and related 15.2%, Yoruba and related 12.3%, Bariba and related 9.2%, Peulh and related 7%, Ottamari and related 6.1%, Yoa-Lokpa and related 4%, Dendi and related 2.5%, other 1.6% (includes Europeans), unspecified 2.9% (2002 census) | Italian (includes small clusters of German-, French-, and Slovene-Italians in the north and Albanian-Italians and Greek-Italians in the south) |
| Exchange rates | Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (XOF) per US dollar - 522.59 (2006), 527.47 (2005), 528.29 (2004), 581.2 (2003), 696.99 (2002) | euros per US dollar - 1.1324 (January 2002), 1.1175 (2001), 1.0854 (2000), 0.9386 (1999); Italian lire per US dollar - 1,688.7 (January 1999), 1,736.2 (1998), 1,703.1 (1997) |
| Executive branch | chief of state: President Thomas YAYI Boni (since 6 April 2006); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government
head of government: President Thomas YAYI Boni (since 6 April 2006) cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term (eligible for a second term); runoff election held 19 March 2006 (next to be held in March 2011) election results: Thomas YAYI Boni elected president; percent of vote - Thomas YAYI Boni 74.5%, Adrien HOUNGBEDJI 25.5% |
chief of state: President Carlo Azeglio CIAMPI (since 13 May 1999)
head of government: Prime Minister (referred to in Italy as the president of the Council of Ministers) Silvio BERLUSCONI (since 10 June 2001) cabinet: Council of Ministers nominated by the prime minister and approved by the president elections: president elected by an electoral college consisting of both houses of Parliament and 58 regional representatives for a seven-year term; election last held 13 May 1999 (next to be held NA May 2006); prime minister appointed by the president and confirmed by Parliament election results: Carlo Azeglio CIAMPI elected president; percent of electoral college vote - 70% note: a five-party government coalition includes Forza Italia, National Alliance, Northern League, Democratic Christian Center, United Christian Democrats |
| Exports | NA bbl/day | $259.2 billion f.o.b. (2002 est.) |
| Exports - commodities | cotton, cashews, shea butter, textiles, palm products, seafood | engineering products, textiles and clothing, production machinery, motor vehicles, transport equipment, chemicals; food, beverages and tobacco; minerals and nonferrous metals |
| Exports - partners | China 20.9%, Indonesia 7.7%, India 7%, Netherlands 6.2%, Niger 5.7%, Togo 4.6%, Nigeria 4.3% (2006) | EU 53.8% (Germany 14.5%, France 12.2%, UK 6.7%, Spain 6.1%), US 9.7% (2001) |
| Fiscal year | calendar year | calendar year |
| Flag description | two equal horizontal bands of yellow (top) and red (bottom) with a vertical green band on the hoist side | three equal vertical bands of green (hoist side), white, and red; similar to the flag of 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
note: inspired by the French flag brought to Italy by Napoleon in 1797 |
| GDP | - | purchasing power parity - $1.438 trillion (2002 est.) |
| GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 32.8%
industry: 13.7% services: 53.5% (2006 est.) |
agriculture: 2%
industry: 30% services: 68% (2001 est.) |
| GDP - per capita | - | purchasing power parity - $25,000 (2002 est.) |
| GDP - real growth rate | 4% (2006 est.) | 0.4% (2002 est.) |
| Geographic coordinates | 9 30 N, 2 15 E | 42 50 N, 12 50 E |
| Geography - note | sandbanks create difficult access to a coast with no natural harbors, river mouths, or islands | strategic location dominating central Mediterranean as well as southern sea and air approaches to Western Europe |
| Heliports | - | 4 (2002) |
| Highways | - | total: 668,669 km
paved: 668,669 km (including 6,460 km of expressways) unpaved: 0 km (2001) |
| Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% (2003) |
lowest 10%: 2%
highest 10%: 27% (2000) |
| Illicit drugs | transshipment point used by Nigerian traffickers for narcotics destined for Western Europe; vulnerable to money laundering due to poorly enforced financial regulations | important gateway for and consumer of Latin American cocaine and Southwest Asian heroin entering the European market; money laundering by organized crime and from smuggling |
| Imports | NA bbl/day | $238.2 billion f.o.b. (2002 est.) |
| Imports - commodities | foodstuffs, capital goods, petroleum products | engineering products, chemicals, transport equipment, energy products, minerals and nonferrous metals, textiles and clothing; food, beverages and tobacco |
| Imports - partners | China 46.6%, France 7.5%, Thailand 6% (2006) | EU 56.5% (Germany 17.7%, France 11.1%, Netherlands 6.2%, UK 5.1%), US 4.9% (2001) |
| Independence | 1 August 1960 (from France) | 17 March 1861 (Kingdom of Italy proclaimed; Italy was not finally unified until 1870) |
| Industrial production growth rate | 8.3% (2001 est.) | -2.8% (2002) |
| Industries | textiles, food processing, construction materials, cement | tourism, machinery, iron and steel, chemicals, food processing, textiles, motor vehicles, clothing, footwear, ceramics |
| Infant mortality rate | total: 77.85 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 82.32 deaths/1,000 live births female: 73.26 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) |
5.76 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) |
| Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 3.8% (2006 est.) | 2.4% (2002) |
| International organization participation | ACCT, ACP, AfDB, AU, ECOWAS, Entente, FAO, FZ, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO (correspondent), ITSO, ITU, ITUC, MIGA, MONUC, NAM, OIC, OIF, ONUB, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMIL, UNMIS, UNOCI, UNWTO, UPU, WADB (regional), WAEMU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO | AfDB, AsDB, Australia Group, BIS, BSEC (observer), CCC, CDB, CE, CEI, CERN, EAPC, EBRD, ECE, ECLAC, EIB, EMU, ESA, EU, FAO, G- 7, G- 8, G-10, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, LAIA (observer), MINURSO, MONUC, NAM (guest), NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIFIL, UNIKOM, UNMEE, UNMIBH, UNMIK, UNMOGIP, UNTSO, UPU, WCL, WEU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO, ZC |
| Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | - | 93 (Italy and Holy See) (2000) |
| Irrigated land | 120 sq km (2003) | 26,980 sq km (1998 est.) |
| Judicial branch | Constitutional Court or Cour Constitutionnelle; Supreme Court or Cour Supreme; High Court of Justice | Constitutional Court or Corte Costituzionale (composed of 15 judges: one-third appointed by the president, one-third elected by Parliament, one-third elected by the ordinary and administrative Supreme Courts) |
| Labor force | 3.211 million (1996) | 23.6 million (2001 est.) |
| Labor force - by occupation | - | services 63%, industry 32%, agriculture 5% (2001) |
| Land boundaries | total: 1,989 km
border countries: Burkina Faso 306 km, Niger 266 km, Nigeria 773 km, Togo 644 km |
total: 1,932.2 km
border countries: Austria 430 km, France 488 km, Holy See (Vatican City) 3.2 km, San Marino 39 km, Slovenia 232 km, Switzerland 740 km |
| Land use | arable land: 23.53%
permanent crops: 2.37% other: 74.1% (2005) |
arable land: 28.07%
permanent crops: 9.25% other: 62.68% (1998 est.) |
| Languages | French (official), Fon and Yoruba (most common vernaculars in south), tribal languages (at least six major ones in north) | 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) |
| Legal system | based on French civil law and customary law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | based on civil law system; appeals treated as new trials; judicial review under certain conditions in Constitutional Court; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
| Legislative branch | unicameral National Assembly or Assemblee Nationale (83 seats; members are elected by direct popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 31 March 2007 (next to be held by March 2011) election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - FCBE 35, ADD 20, PRD 10, other and independents 18 |
bicameral Parliament or Parlamento consists of the Senate or Senato della Repubblica (315 seats elected by popular vote of which 232 are directly elected and 83 are elected by regional proportional representation; in addition, there are a small number of senators-for-life including former presidents of the republic; members serve five-year terms) and the Chamber of Deputies or Camera dei Deputati (630 seats; 475 are directly elected, 155 by regional proportional representation; members serve five-year terms)
elections: Senate - last held 13 May 2001 (next to be held NA 2006); Chamber of Deputies - last held 13 May 2001 (next to be held NA 2006) election results: Senate - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - House of Liberties 177 (Forza Italia 82, National Alliance 46, CCD-CDU 29, Northern League 17, others 3), Olive Tree 128 (Democrats of the Left 62, Daisy Alliance 42, Sunflower Alliance 16, Italian Communist Party 3, independents 5), non-affiliated with either coalition 10, senators for life 9; Chamber of Deputies - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - House of Liberties 367 (Forza Italia 189, National Alliance 96, CCD-CDU 40, Northern League 30, others 12), Olive Tree 248 (Democrats of the Left 138, Daisy Alliance 76, Sunflower Alliance 18, Italian Communist Party 9, independents 7), non-affiliated with either coalition 15 |
| Life expectancy at birth | total population: 53.44 years
male: 52.28 years female: 54.63 years (2007 est.) |
total population: 79.25 years
male: 76.08 years female: 82.63 years (2002 est.) |
| Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 34.7% male: 47.9% female: 23.3% (2002 census) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 98% (1998) male: NA% female: NA% |
| Location | Western Africa, bordering the Bight of Benin, between Nigeria and Togo | Southern Europe, a peninsula extending into the central Mediterranean Sea, northeast of Tunisia |
| Map references | Africa | Europe |
| Maritime claims | territorial sea: 200 nm | continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation
territorial sea: 12 NM |
| Merchant marine | - | total: 467 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 8,499,248 GRT/10,383,988 DWT
ships by type: bulk 45, cargo 41, chemical tanker 91, combination ore/oil 4, container 24, liquefied gas 37, multi-functional large-load carrier 1, passenger 15, petroleum tanker 80, refrigerated cargo 4, roll on/roll off 70, short-sea passenger 27, specialized tanker 12, vehicle carrier 16 note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: Croatia 1, Denmark 4, France 1, Greece 3, Man, Isle of 1, Monaco 7, Netherlands 6, Norway 1, Panama 2, Spain 1, Switzerland 1, Taiwan 15, Turkey 1, United Kingdom 6, United States 12 (2002 est.) |
| Military branches | Benin Armed Forces: Ground Forces Command, Benin Navy, Benin People's Air Force (Force Aerienne Populaire de Benin, FAPB) (2007) | Army, Navy, Air Force, Carabinieri |
| Military expenditures - dollar figure | - | $20.2 billion (2002) |
| Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 1.7% (2006) | 1.64% (2002) |
| Military manpower - availability | - | males age 15-49: 14,184,307 (2002 est.) |
| Military manpower - fit for military service | - | males age 15-49: 12,157,753 (2002 est.) |
| Military manpower - military age | - | 18 years of age (2002 est.) |
| Military manpower - reaching military age annually | - | males: 304,369 (2002 est.) |
| National holiday | National Day, 1 August (1960) | Republic Day, 2 June (1946) |
| Nationality | noun: Beninese (singular and plural)
adjective: Beninese |
noun: Italian(s)
adjective: Italian |
| Natural hazards | hot, dry, dusty harmattan wind may affect north from December to March | regional risks include landslides, mudflows, avalanches, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, flooding; land subsidence in Venice |
| Natural resources | small offshore oil deposits, limestone, marble, timber | mercury, potash, marble, sulfur, natural gas and crude oil reserves, fish, coal, arable land |
| Net migration rate | 0.58 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 1.73 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
| Pipelines | - | crude oil 1,703 km; petroleum products 2,148 km; natural gas 19,400 km |
| Political parties and leaders | Alliance for Dynamic Democracy or ADD [Nicephore SOGLO]; Alliance of Progress Forces or AFP; African Movement for Democracy and Progress or MADEP [Sefou FAGBOHOUN]; Democratic Renewal Party or PRD [Adrien HOUNGBEDJI]; Force Cowrie for an Emerging Benin or FCBE; Impulse for Progress and Democracy or IPD; Key Force or FC; Movement for Development and Solidarity or MDS; Movement for Development by the Culture-Salute Party-Congress of People for Progress Alliance or Alliance MDC-PS-CPP; New Alliance or NA; Rally for Democracy and Progress or RDP; The Star Alliance (Alliance E'toile) [Sacca LAFIA]; Union of Tomorrow's Benin or UBF [Bruno AMOUSSOU]
note: approximately 20 additional minor parties |
Center-Left Olive Tree Coalition [Francesco RUTELLI] - Democrats of the Left, Daisy Alliance (including Italian Popular Party, Italian Renewal, Union of Democrats for Europe, The Democrats), Sunflower Alliance (including Green Federation, Italian Democratic Socialists), Italian Communist Party; Center-Right Freedom House Coalition [Silvio BERLUSCONI] (formerly House of Liberties and Freedom Alliance) - Forza Italia, National Alliance, The Whiteflower Alliance (includes Christian Democratic Center, United Christian Democrats), Northern League; Christian Democratic Center or CCD [Marco FOLLINI]; Communist Party or PdCI [Oliviero DILIBERTO]; Democrats of the Left or DS [Piero FASSINO]; Forza Italia or FI [Silvio BERLUSCONI]; Green Federation [Alfonso Pecoraro SCANIO]; Italian Communist Party or PdCI [Oliviero DILIBERTO]; Italian Popular Party or PPI [Pierluigi CASTAGNETTI]; Italian Renewal or RI [Lamberto DINI]; Italian Social Democrats or SDI [Enrico BOSELLI]; Socialist Movement-Tricolor Flame or MS-Fiamma [Pino RAUTI]; National Alliance or AN [Gianfranco FINI]; Northern League or NL [Umberto BOSSI]; Southern Tyrols People's Party or SVP (German speakers) [Siegfried BRUGGER]; Sunflower Alliance (includes Green Federation, Italian Social Democrats); The Daisy Alliance (includes Italian Popular Party, Italian Renewal, Union of Democrats for Europe, The Democrats); The Democrats [Arturo PARISI]; The Radicals (formerly Pannella Reformers and Autonomous List) [Marco PANNELLA]; The Whiteflower Alliance (includes Christian Democratic Center, United Christian Democrats); Union of Democrats for Europe or UDEUR [Clemente MASTELLA]; United Christian Democrats or CDU [Rocco BUTTIGLIONE] |
| Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | Italian manufacturers and merchants associations (Confindustria, Confcommercio); organized farm groups (Confcoltivatori, Confagricoltura); Roman Catholic Church; three major trade union confederations (Confederazione Generale Italiana del Lavoro or CGIL [Sergio COFFERATI] which is left wing, Confederazione Italiana dei Sindacati Lavoratori or CISL [Savino PEZZOTTA] which is Roman Catholic centrist, and Unione Italiana del Lavoro or UIL [Pietro LARIZZA] which is lay centrist) |
| Population | 8,078,314
note: estimates for this country explicitly take into account the effects of excess mortality due to AIDS; this can result in lower life expectancy, higher infant mortality and death rates, lower population and growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected (July 2007 est.) |
57,715,625 (July 2002 est.) |
| Population below poverty line | 33% (2001 est.) | NA% |
| Population growth rate | 2.674% (2007 est.) | 0.05% (2002 est.) |
| Ports and harbors | - | Augusta (Sicily), Bagnoli, Bari, Brindisi, Gela, Genoa, La Spezia, Livorno, Milazzo, Naples, Porto Foxi, Porto Torres (Sardinia), Salerno, Savona, Taranto, Trieste, Venice (2001) |
| Radio broadcast stations | AM 2, FM 9, shortwave 4 (2000) | AM about 100, FM about 4,600, shortwave 9 (1998) |
| Radios | - | 50.5 million (1997) |
| Railways | total: 758 km
narrow gauge: 758 km 1.000-m gauge (2006) |
total: 19,786 km
standard gauge: 18,761 km 1.435-m gauge (11,251 km electrified) narrow gauge: 113 km 1.000-m gauge (113 km electrified); 912 km 0.950-m gauge (192 km electrified) (2001) |
| Religions | Christian 42.8% (Catholic 27.1%, Celestial 5%, Methodist 3.2%, other Protestant 2.2%, other 5.3%), Muslim 24.4%, Vodoun 17.3%, other 15.5% (2002 census) | predominately Roman Catholic with mature Protestant and Jewish communities and a growing Muslim immigrant community |
| Sex ratio | at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.019 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.971 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.675 male(s)/female total population: 0.983 male(s)/female (2007 est.) |
at birth: 1.07 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.06 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.99 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.7 male(s)/female total population: 0.94 male(s)/female (2002 est.) |
| Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal (except in senatorial elections, where minimum age is 25) |
| Telephone system | general assessment: inadequate; fixed-line network is almost saturated with fixed-line teledensity stuck at a meager 1 per 100 persons; mobile-cellular telephone density of roughly 10 per 100 persons
domestic: fair system of open-wire, microwave radio relay, and cellular connections; four mobile-cellular providers international: country code - 229; landing point for the SAT-3/WASC fiber-optic submarine cable that provides connectivity to Europe and Asia; satellite earth station - 7 (Intelsat-Atlantic Ocean) (2007) |
general assessment: modern, well developed, fast; fully automated telephone, telex, and data services
domestic: high-capacity cable and microwave radio relay trunks international: satellite earth stations - 3 Intelsat (with a total of 5 antennas - 3 for Atlantic Ocean and 2 for Indian Ocean), 1 Inmarsat (Atlantic Ocean region), and NA Eutelsat; 21 submarine cables |
| Telephones - main lines in use | 76,300 (2005) | 25 million (1999) |
| Telephones - mobile cellular | 750,000 (2005) | 20.5 million (1999) |
| Television broadcast stations | 1 (2001) | 358 (plus 4,728 repeaters) (1995) |
| Terrain | mostly flat to undulating plain; some hills and low mountains | mostly rugged and mountainous; some plains, coastal lowlands |
| Total fertility rate | 5.08 children born/woman (2007 est.) | 1.19 children born/woman (2002 est.) |
| Unemployment rate | NA% | 9.1% (2002 est.) |
| Waterways | 150 km (on River Niger along northern border) (2005) | 2,400 km
note: serves various types of commercial traffic, although of limited overall value (2002) |
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