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Compare Costa Rica (2003) - Italy (2003)
Compare Costa Rica (2003) z Italy (2003)
| Costa Rica (2003) | Italy (2003) | |
 |  | |
| Administrative divisions | 7 provinces (provincias, singular - provincia); Alajuela, Cartago, Guanacaste, Heredia, Limon, Puntarenas, San Jose | 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: 30.1% (male 600,812; female 573,375)
15-64 years: 64.4% (male 1,269,667; female 1,241,097) 65 years and over: 5.4% (male 98,156; female 112,985) (2003 est.) |
0-14 years: 14% (male 4,193,412; female 3,947,679)
15-64 years: 67.2% (male 19,625,428; female 19,337,861) 65 years and over: 18.8% (male 4,516,995; female 6,376,978) (2003 est.) |
| Agriculture - products | coffee, pineapples, bananas, sugar, corn, rice, beans, potatoes; beef; timber | fruits, vegetables, grapes, potatoes, sugar beets, soybeans, grain, olives; beef, dairy products; fish |
| Airports | 151 (2002) | 134 (2002) |
| Airports - with paved runways | total: 30
2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 19 under 914 m: 8 (2002) |
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: 121
914 to 1,523 m: 28 under 914 m: 93 (2002) |
total: 38
1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 18 under 914 m: 18 (2002) |
| Area | total: 51,100 sq km
land: 50,660 sq km water: 440 sq km note: includes Isla del Coco |
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 West Virginia | slightly larger than Arizona |
| Background | Costa Rica is a Central American success story: since the late 19th century, only two brief periods of violence have marred its democratic development. Although still a largely agricultural country, it has expanded its economy to include strong technology and tourism sectors. The standard of living is relatively high. Land ownership is widespread. | 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, organized crime, corruption, high unemployment, and the low incomes and technical standards of southern Italy compared with the prosperous north. |
| Birth rate | 19.4 births/1,000 population (2003 est.) | 9.18 births/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
| Budget | revenues: $1.91 billion
expenditures: $2.35 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2000 est.) |
revenues: $504 billion
expenditures: $517 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2001 est.) |
| Capital | San Jose | Rome |
| Climate | tropical and subtropical; dry season (December to April); rainy season (May to November); cooler in highlands | predominantly Mediterranean; Alpine in far north; hot, dry in south |
| Coastline | 1,290 km | 7,600 km |
| Constitution | 7 November 1949 | 1 January 1948 |
| Country name | conventional long form: Republic of Costa Rica
conventional short form: Costa Rica local long form: Republica de Costa Rica local short form: Costa Rica |
conventional long form: Italian Republic
conventional short form: Italy local long form: Repubblica Italiana local short form: Italia former: Kingdom of Italy |
| Currency | Costa Rican colon (CRC) | euro (EUR)
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 | 4.31 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.) | 10.12 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
| Debt - external | $4.8 billion (2002 est.) | NA |
| Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador John J. DANILOVICH
embassy: Calle 120 Avenida O, Pavas, San Jose mailing address: APO AA 34020 telephone: [506] 220-3939 FAX: [506] 220-2305 |
chief of mission: Ambassador Melvin F. 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 Jaime DAREMBLUM Rosenstein
chancery: 2114 S Street NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 234-2945 FAX: [1] (202) 265-4795 consulate(s) general: Atlanta, Chicago, Denver, Durham (North Carolina), Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New Orleans, New York, Phoenix, San Antonio, San Francisco, St. Paul, and Tampa consulate(s): Austin |
chief of mission: Ambassador Sergio VENTO
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 | legal dispute over navigational rights of Rio San Juan on border with Nicaragua | Croatia and Italy continue to debate bilateral property and ethnic minority rights issues stemming from border changes after the Second World War |
| Economic aid - donor | - | ODA, $1 billion (2002 est.) |
| Economy - overview | Costa Rica's basically stable economy depends on tourism, agriculture, and electronics exports. Poverty has been substantially reduced over the past 15 years, and a strong social safety net has been put into place. At the same time, distribution of income remains severely unequal. Foreign investors remain attracted by the country's political stability and high education levels, and tourism continues to bring in foreign exchange. However, traditional export sectors have not kept pace. Low coffee prices and an overabundance of bananas have hurt the agricultural sector. The government continues to grapple with its large deficit and massive internal debt, with the need to modernize the state-owned electricity and telecommunications sector, and with the problem of bringing down inflation. | 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, welfare-dependent 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. Italy 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 | 6.109 billion kWh (2001) | 289.1 billion kWh (2001) |
| Electricity - exports | 379 million kWh (2001) | 556 million kWh (2001) |
| Electricity - imports | 128 million kWh (2001) | 48.93 billion kWh (2001) |
| Electricity - production | 6.839 billion kWh (2001) | 258.8 billion kWh (2001) |
| Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel: 1.5%
hydro: 81.9% nuclear: 0% other: 16.6% (2001) |
fossil fuel: 78.6%
hydro: 18.4% nuclear: 0% other: 3% (2001) |
| Elevation extremes | lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: Cerro Chirripo 3,810 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 | deforestation and land use change, largely a result of the clearing of land for cattle ranching and agriculture; soil erosion; coastal marine pollution; fisheries protection; solid waste management; air pollution | 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, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Marine Life Conservation |
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 | white (including mestizo) 94%, black 3%, Amerindian 1%, Chinese 1%, other 1% | Italian (includes small clusters of German-, French-, and Slovene-Italians in the north and Albanian-Italians and Greek-Italians in the south) |
| Exchange rates | Costa Rican colones per US dollar - 359.82 (2002), 328.87 (2001), 308.19 (2000), 285.69 (1999), 257.23 (1998) | euros per US dollar - 1.06 (2002), 1.12 (2001), 1.09 (2000), 0.94 (1999) |
| Executive branch | chief of state: President Abel PACHECO (since 8 May 2002); First Vice President Lineth SABORIO (since NA May 2002); Second Vice President Luis FISHMAN (since NA May 2002); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government
head of government: President Abel PACHECO (since 8 May 2002); First Vice President Lineth SABORIO (since NA May 2002); Second Vice President Luis FISHMAN (since NA May 2002); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government cabinet: Cabinet selected by the president elections: president and vice presidents elected on the same ticket by popular vote for four-year terms; election last held 3 February 2002; run-off election held 7 April 2002 (next to be held NA February 2006) election results: Abel PACHECO elected president; percent of vote - Abel PACHECO (PUSC) 58%; Rolando ARAYA (PLN) 42% |
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 (2001) | 456,600 bbl/day (2001) |
| Exports - commodities | coffee, bananas, sugar; pineapples; textiles, electronic components, medical equipment | engineering products, textiles and clothing, production machinery, motor vehicles, transport equipment, chemicals; food, beverages and tobacco; minerals and nonferrous metals |
| Exports - partners | US 31.5%, Netherlands 8.9%, UK 4.5% (2002) | Germany 13.7%, France 12.2%, US 9.8%, UK 6.9%, Spain 6.4% (2002) |
| Fiscal year | calendar year | calendar year |
| Flag description | five horizontal bands of blue (top), white, red (double width), white, and blue, with the coat of arms in a white elliptical disk on the hoist side of the red band; above the coat of arms a light blue ribbon contains the words, AMERICA CENTRAL, and just below it near the top of the coat of arms is a white ribbon with the words, REPUBLICA COSTA RICA | 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 - $32 billion (2002 est.) | purchasing power parity - $1.455 trillion (2002 est.) |
| GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 9%
industry: 30% services: 61% (2002 est.) |
agriculture: 2.4%
industry: 30% services: 67.6% (2001 est.) |
| GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $8,300 (2002 est.) | purchasing power parity - $25,100 (2002 est.) |
| GDP - real growth rate | 2.8% (2002 est.) | 0.4% (2002 est.) |
| Geographic coordinates | 10 00 N, 84 00 W | 42 50 N, 12 50 E |
| Geography - note | four volcanoes, two of them active, rise near the capital of San Jose in the center of the country; one of the volcanoes, Irazu, erupted destructively in 1963-65 | strategic location dominating central Mediterranean as well as southern sea and air approaches to Western Europe |
| Heliports | - | 4 (2002) |
| Highways | total: 35,892 km
paved: 7,896 km unpaved: 27,996 km (2000) |
total: 479,688 km
paved: 479,688 km (including 6,621 km of expressways) unpaved: 0 km (1999) |
| Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: 1.7%
highest 10%: 34.6% (2001) |
lowest 10%: 2.1%
highest 10%: 26.6% (2000) |
| Illicit drugs | transshipment country for cocaine and heroin from South America; illicit production of cannabis on small, scattered plots; domestic cocaine consumption is rising, particularly crack cocaine | 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 (2001) | 2.158 million bbl/day (2001) |
| Imports - commodities | raw materials, consumer goods, capital equipment, petroleum | engineering products, chemicals, transport equipment, energy products, minerals and nonferrous metals, textiles and clothing; food, beverages and tobacco |
| Imports - partners | US 36.7%, Japan 4.4%, Mexico 4.2% (2002) | Germany 17.8%, France 11.3%, Netherlands 5.9%, UK 5%, US 4.9%, Spain 4.6%, Belgium 4.4% (2002) |
| Independence | 15 September 1821 (from Spain) | 17 March 1861 (Kingdom of Italy proclaimed; Italy was not finally unified until 1870) |
| Industrial production growth rate | 2.9% (2002 est.) | -2.8% (2002) |
| Industries | microprocessors, food processing, textiles and clothing, construction materials, fertilizer, plastic products | tourism, machinery, iron and steel, chemicals, food processing, textiles, motor vehicles, clothing, footwear, ceramics |
| Infant mortality rate | total: 10.56 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 11.49 deaths/1,000 live births female: 9.59 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.) |
total: 6.19 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 6.82 deaths/1,000 live births female: 5.53 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.) |
| Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 9.1% (2002 est.) | 2.4% (2002 est.) |
| International organization participation | BCIE, CACM, ECLAC, FAO, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, LAES, LAIA (observer), NAM (observer), OAS, OPANAL, OPCW, PCA, RG, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNU, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO | AfDB, AsDB, Australia Group, BIS, BSEC (observer), CDB, CE, CEI, CERN, EAPC, EBRD, ECE, ECLAC, EIB, EMU, ESA, EU, FAO, G- 7, G- 8, G-10, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, 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, WCO, WEU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO, ZC |
| Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 3 (of which only one is legal) (2000) | 93 (Italy and Holy See) (2000) |
| Irrigated land | 1,260 sq km (1998 est.) | 26,980 sq km (1998 est.) |
| Judicial branch | Supreme Court or Corte Suprema (22 justices are elected for eight-year terms by the Legislative Assembly) | 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 | 1.9 million (1999) | 23.6 million (2001 est.) |
| Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 20%, industry 22%, services 58% (1999 est.) | services 63%, industry 32%, agriculture 5% (2001) |
| Land boundaries | total: 639 km
border countries: Nicaragua 309 km, Panama 330 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: 4.41%
permanent crops: 5.48% other: 90.11% (1998 est.) |
arable land: 28.07%
permanent crops: 9.25% other: 62.68% (1998 est.) |
| Languages | Spanish (official), English | 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 Spanish civil law system; judicial review of legislative acts in the Supreme Court; has 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 Legislative Assembly or Asamblea Legislativa (57 seats; members are elected by direct, popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 3 February 2002 (next to be held 3 February 2006) election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - PUSC 19, PLN 17, PAC 14, PML 6, PRC 1 |
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: 76.43 years
male: 73.87 years female: 79.11 years (2003 est.) |
total population: 79.4 years
male: 76.47 years female: 82.52 years (2003 est.) |
| Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 96% male: 95.9% female: 96.1% (2003 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 98.6% male: 99% female: 98.3% (2003 est.) |
| Location | Middle America, bordering both the Caribbean Sea and the North Pacific Ocean, between Nicaragua and Panama | Southern Europe, a peninsula extending into the central Mediterranean Sea, northeast of Tunisia |
| Map references | Central America and the Caribbean | Europe |
| Maritime claims | continental shelf: 200 NM
exclusive economic zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation
territorial sea: 12 NM |
| Merchant marine | total: 1 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 1,716 GRT/ DWT
ships by type: passenger 1 (2002 est.) |
total: 462 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 8,518,900 GRT/9,963,040 DWT
ships by type: bulk 43, cargo 39, chemical tanker 98, combination ore/oil 5, container 28, liquefied gas 39, multi-functional large-load carrier 1, passenger 14, petroleum tanker 67, refrigerated cargo 3, roll on/roll off 60, short-sea passenger 32, specialized tanker 11, vehicle carrier 22 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, UK 6, US 12 (2002 est.) |
| Military branches | no regular indigenous military forces; Air Section, Ministry of Public Forces (Fuerza Publica) | Army, Navy, Air Force, Carabinieri |
| Military expenditures - dollar figure | $69 million (FY99) | $20.2 billion (2002) |
| Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 1.6% (FY99) | 1.64% (2002) |
| Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49: 1,080,254 (2003 est.) | males age 15-49: 14,450,147 (2003 est.) |
| Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49: 722,043 (2003 est.) | males age 15-49: 12,349,356 (2003 est.) |
| Military manpower - military age | 18 years of age (2003 est.) | 18 years of age (2003 est.) |
| Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males: 41,453 (2003 est.) | males: 291,529 (2003 est.) |
| National holiday | Independence Day, 15 September (1821) | Republic Day, 2 June (1946) |
| Nationality | noun: Costa Rican(s)
adjective: Costa Rican |
noun: Italian(s)
adjective: Italian |
| Natural hazards | occasional earthquakes, hurricanes along Atlantic coast; frequent flooding of lowlands at onset of rainy season and landslides; active volcanoes | regional risks include landslides, mudflows, avalanches, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, flooding; land subsidence in Venice |
| Natural resources | hydropower | mercury, potash, marble, sulfur, natural gas and crude oil reserves, fish, coal, arable land |
| Net migration rate | 0.51 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.) | 2.07 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
| Pipelines | refined products 421 km (2003) | gas 17,448 km; oil 1,245 km (2003) |
| Political parties and leaders | Agricultural Labor Action or PALA [Carlos Alberto SOLIS Blanco]; Citizen Action Party or PAC [Otton SOLIS]; Costa Rican Renovation Party or PRC [Justo OROZCO]; Democratic Force Party or PFD [Jose M. NUNEZ]; Libertarian Movement Party or PML [Otto GUEVARA Guth]; National Christian Alliance Party or ANC [Alejandro MADRIGAL]; National Independent Party or PNI [Jorge GONZALEZ Marten]; National Integration Party or PIN [Walter MUNOZ Cespedes]; National Liberation Party or PLN [Sonia PICADO]; Social Christian Unity Party or PUSC [Luis Manuel CHACON]
note: mainly a two-party system - PUSC and PLN - until the 3 February 2002 election in which the PAC captured a significant percentage, forcing a run-off in April 2002 |
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]; Democrats of the Left or DS [Piero FASSINO]; Forza Italia or FI [Silvio BERLUSCONI]; Green Federation [Alfonso Pecoraro SCANIO]; Italian Communist Party or PdCI [Armando COSSUTTA]; 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 | Authentic Confederation of Democratic Workers or CATD (Communist Party affiliate); Chamber of Coffee Growers; Confederated Union of Workers or CUT (Communist Party affiliate); Costa Rican Confederation of Democratic Workers or CCTD (Liberation Party affiliate); Federation of Public Service Workers or FTSP; National Association for Economic Development or ANFE; National Association of Educators or ANDE; Rerum Novarum or CTRN (PLN affiliate) [Gilbert Brown] | 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 | 3,896,092 (July 2003 est.) | 57,998,353 (July 2003 est.) |
| Population below poverty line | 20.6% (1999 est.) | NA% |
| Population growth rate | 1.56% (2003 est.) | 0.11% (2003 est.) |
| Ports and harbors | Caldera, Golfito, Moin, Puerto Limon, Puerto Quepos, Puntarenas | 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 50, FM 43, shortwave 19 (1998) | AM about 100, FM about 4,600, shortwave 9 (1998) |
| Railways | total: 950 km
narrow gauge: 950 km 1.067-m gauge (260 km electrified) (2002) |
total: 19,493 km
standard gauge: 18,090 km 1.435-m gauge (11,375 km electrified) narrow gauge: 88 km 1.000-m gauge (88 km electrified); 1,315 km 0.950-m gauge (189 km electrified) (2002) |
| Religions | Roman Catholic 76.3%, Evangelical 13.7%, Jehovah's Witnesses 1.3%, other Protestant 0.7%, other 4.8%, none 3.2% | predominately Roman Catholic with mature Protestant and Jewish communities and a growing Muslim immigrant community |
| Sex ratio | at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.02 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.87 male(s)/female total population: 1.02 male(s)/female (2003 est.) |
at birth: 1.07 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.06 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.02 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.71 male(s)/female total population: 0.96 male(s)/female (2003 est.) |
| Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal and compulsory | 18 years of age; universal (except in senatorial elections, where minimum age is 25) |
| Telephone system | general assessment: very good domestic telephone service
domestic: point-to-point and point-to-multi-point microwave, fiber-optic, and coaxial cable link rural areas; Internet service is available international: connected to Central American Microwave System; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean); two submarine cables (1999) |
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 | 450,000 (1998)
note: 584,000 installed in 1997, but only about 450,000 were in use in 1998 |
25 million (1999) |
| Telephones - mobile cellular | 143,000 (2000) | 20.5 million (1999) |
| Television broadcast stations | 6 (plus 11 repeaters) (1997) | 358 (plus 4,728 repeaters) (1995) |
| Terrain | coastal plains separated by rugged mountains including over 100 volcanic cones, of which several are major volcanoes | mostly rugged and mountainous; some plains, coastal lowlands |
| Total fertility rate | 2.38 children born/woman (2003 est.) | 1.26 children born/woman (2003 est.) |
| Unemployment rate | 6.3% (2002 est.) | 9.1% (2002 est.) |
| Waterways | 730 km (seasonally navigable) | 2,400 km
note: serves various types of commercial traffic, although of limited overall value (2002) |
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