Italy (2001) | Gabon (2003) | |
Administrative divisions | 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 | 9 provinces; Estuaire, Haut-Ogooue, Moyen-Ogooue, Ngounie, Nyanga, Ogooue-Ivindo, Ogooue-Lolo, Ogooue-Maritime, Woleu-Ntem |
Age structure | 0-14 years:
14.17% (male 4,209,102; female 3,964,765) 15-64 years: 67.48% (male 19,375,742; female 19,546,332) 65 years and over: 18.35% (male 4,368,264; female 6,215,620) (2001 est.) |
0-14 years: 42.3% (male 280,218; female 278,808)
15-64 years: 53.5% (male 352,363; female 355,315) 65 years and over: 4.2% (male 22,786; female 32,070) (2003 est.) |
Agriculture - products | fruits, vegetables, grapes, potatoes, sugar beets, soybeans, grain, olives; beef, dairy products; fish | cocoa, coffee, sugar, palm oil, rubber; cattle; okoume (a tropical softwood); fish |
Airports | 135 (2000 est.) | 57 (2002) |
Airports - with paved runways | total:
97 over 3,047 m: 5 2,438 to 3,047 m: 32 1,524 to 2,437 m: 17 914 to 1,523 m: 31 under 914 m: 12 (2000 est.) |
total: 10
over 3,047 m: 1 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 7 914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2002) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total:
38 1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 18 under 914 m: 18 (2000 est.) |
total: 47
1,524 to 2,437 m: 8 914 to 1,523 m: 15 under 914 m: 24 (2002) |
Area | total:
301,230 sq km land: 294,020 sq km water: 7,210 sq km note: includes Sardinia and Sicily |
total: 267,667 sq km
land: 257,667 sq km water: 10,000 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly larger than Arizona | slightly smaller than Colorado |
Background | Italy became a nation-state belatedly - 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 more prosperous north. | Ruled by autocratic presidents since independence from France in 1960, Gabon introduced a multiparty system and a new constitution in the early 1990s that allowed for a more transparent electoral process and for reforms of governmental institutions. A small population, abundant natural resources, and considerable foreign support have helped make Gabon one of the more prosperous black African countries. |
Birth rate | 9.05 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 36.54 births/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Budget | revenues:
$488 billion expenditures: $501 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2000 est.) |
revenues: $1.8 billion
expenditures: $1.8 billion, including capital expenditures of $310 million (2002 est.) |
Capital | Rome | Libreville |
Climate | predominantly Mediterranean; Alpine in far north; hot, dry in south | tropical; always hot, humid |
Coastline | 7,600 km | 885 km |
Constitution | 1 January 1948 | adopted 14 March 1991 |
Country name | conventional long form:
Italian Republic conventional short form: Italy local long form: Repubblica Italiana local short form: Italia former: Kingdom of Italy |
conventional long form: Gabonese Republic
conventional short form: Gabon local long form: Republique Gabonaise local short form: Gabon |
Currency | Italian lira (ITL); euro (EUR)
note: on 1 January 1999, the EU introduced the euro as a common currency that is now being used by financial institutions in Italy at a fixed rate of 1,936.27 Italian lire per euro and will replace the local currency for all transactions in 2002 |
Communaute Financiere Africaine franc (XAF); note - responsible authority is the Bank of the Central African States |
Death rate | 10.07 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 11.17 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Debt - external | $NA | $3.8 billion (2002 est.) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission:
Ambassador (vacant) embassy: Via Veneto 119/A, 00187-Rome mailing address: PSC 59, Box 100, APO AE 09624 telephone: [39] (06) 46741 FAX: [39] (06) 488-2672 consulate(s) general: Florence, Milan, Naples |
chief of mission: Ambassador Kenneth P. MOOREFIELD
embassy: Boulevard de la Mer, Libreville mailing address: Centre Ville, B. P. 4000, Libreville telephone: [241] 76 20 03 through 76 20 04, after hours - 74 34 92 FAX: [241] 74 55 07 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission:
Ambassador Ferdinando SALLEO chancery: 3000 Whitehaven Street NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 612-4400 FAX: [1] (202) 518-2154 consulate(s) general: Boston, Chicago, Houston, Miami, New York, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, and San Francisco consulate(s): Detroit |
chief of mission: Ambassador Jules Marius OGOUEBANDJA
chancery: Suite 200, 2034 20th Street NW, Washington, DC 20009 telephone: [1] (202) 797-1000 FAX: [1] (202) 332-0668 consulate(s): New York |
Disputes - international | Croatia and Italy made progress toward resolving a bilateral issue dating from World War II over property and ethnic minority rights | creation of a maritime boundary in hydrocarbon-rich Corisco Bay with Equatorial Guinea is hampered by dispute over small islets on Mbane/Mbagne bank, administered and occupied by Gabon since the 1970s |
Economic aid - donor | ODA, $1.3 billion (1997) | - |
Economic aid - recipient | - | $331 million (1995) |
Economy - overview | Italy has a diversified industrial economy with roughly the same total and per capita output as France and the UK. This capitalistic economy remains divided into a developed industrial north, dominated by private companies, and a less developed agricultural south, with more than 20% unemployment. Most raw materials needed by industry and more than 75% of energy requirements are imported. Since 1992, Italy has adopted budgets compliant with the requirements of the European Monetary Union (EMU); wage moderation agreements by representatives of government, labor, and employers have helped to bring Italy's inflation into conformity with EMU requirements. Italy's economic performance, however, has lagged behind that of its EU partners and it must work to stimulate employment, promote labor flexibility, reform its expensive pension system, and tackle the informal economy. | Gabon enjoys a per capita income four times that of most nations of sub-Saharan Africa. This has supported a sharp decline in extreme poverty; yet because of high income inequality a large proportion of the population remains poor. Gabon depended on timber and manganese until oil was discovered offshore in the early 1970s. The oil sector now accounts for 50% of GDP. Gabon continues to face fluctuating prices for its oil, timber, and manganese exports. Despite the abundance of natural wealth, poor fiscal management hobbles the economy. Devaluation of its Francophone currency by 50% on 12 January 1994 sparked a one-time inflationary surge, to 35%; the rate dropped to 6% in 1996. The IMF provided a one-year standby arrangement in 1994-95, a three-year Enhanced Financing Facility (EFF) at near commercial rates beginning in late 1995, and stand-by credit of $119 million in October 2000. Those agreements mandate progress in privatization and fiscal discipline. France provided additional financial support in January 1997 after Gabon had met IMF targets for mid-1996. In 1997, an IMF mission to Gabon criticized the government for overspending on off-budget items, overborrowing from the central bank, and slipping on its schedule for privatization and administrative reform. The rebound of oil prices in 1999-2000 helped growth, but drops in production hampered Gabon from fully realizing potential gains. In December 2000, Gabon signed a new agreement with the Paris Club to reschedule its official debt. A follow-up bilateral repayment agreement with the US was signed in December 2001. Short-term progress depends on an upbeat world economy and fiscal and other adjustments in line with IMF policies. |
Electricity - consumption | 272.35 billion kWh (1999) | 742.5 million kWh (2001) |
Electricity - exports | 530 million kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2001) |
Electricity - imports | 42.539 billion kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production | 247.679 billion kWh (1999) | 798.4 million kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
79.09% hydro: 18.08% nuclear: 0% other: 2.83% (1999) |
fossil fuel: 34.5%
hydro: 65.5% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2001) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Mediterranean Sea 0 m highest point: Mont Blanc (Monte Bianco) 4,807 m |
lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Mont Iboundji 1,575 m |
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 | deforestation; poaching |
Environment - international 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 |
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
Ethnic groups | Italian (includes small clusters of German-, French-, and Slovene-Italians in the north and Albanian-Italians and Greek-Italians in the south) | Bantu tribes including four major tribal groupings (Fang, Bapounou, Nzebi, Obamba), other Africans and Europeans 154,000, including 10,700 French and 11,000 persons of dual nationality |
Exchange rates | euros per US dollar - 1.0659 (January 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), 1,542.9 (1996) | Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (XAF) per US dollar - 696.99 (2002), 733.04 (2001), 711.98 (2000), 615.7 (1999), 589.95 (1998) |
Executive branch | 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 12-party government coalition; note - BERLUSCONI's coalition includes Forza Italian, National Alliance, Christian Democratic Center, Christian Northern League |
chief of state: President El Hadj Omar BONGO (since 2 December 1967)
head of government: Prime Minister Jean-Francois NTOUTOUME-EMANE (since 23 January 1999) cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the prime minister in consultation with the president elections: president elected by popular vote for a seven-year term; election last held 6 December 1998 (next to be held NA 2005); prime minister appointed by the president election results: President El Hadj Omar BONGO reelected; percent of vote - El Hadj Omar BONGO 66.6%, Pierre MAMBOUNDOU 16.5%, Fr. Paul M'BA-ABESSOLE 13.4% |
Exports | $241.1 billion (f.o.b., 2000) | NA (2001) |
Exports - commodities | engineering products, textiles and clothing, production machinery, motor vehicles, transport equipment, chemicals; food, beverages and tobacco; minerals and nonferrous metals | crude oil 77%, timber, manganese, uranium (2001) |
Exports - partners | EU 56.8% (Germany 16.4%, France 12.9%, Netherlands 7.1%, Spain 6.3%, Netherlands 2.9%), US 9.5% (1999) | US 46.5%, France 11.6%, China 6.5%, Netherlands Antilles 5.8% (2002) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | calendar year |
Flag description | 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 |
three equal horizontal bands of green (top), yellow, and blue |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $1.273 trillion (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $8.354 billion (2002 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
2.5% industry: 30.4% services: 67.1% (2000 est.) |
agriculture: 15%
industry: 60% services: 25% (2001 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $22,100 (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $6,500 (2002 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 2.7% (2000 est.) | 0.2% (2002 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 42 50 N, 12 50 E | 1 00 S, 11 45 E |
Geography - note | strategic location dominating central Mediterranean as well as southern sea and air approaches to Western Europe | a small population and oil and mineral reserves have helped Gabon become one of Africa's wealthier countries; in general, these circumstances have allowed the country to maintain and conserve its pristine rain forest and rich biodiversity |
Heliports | 4 (2000 est.) | - |
Highways | total:
654,676 km paved: 654,676 km (including 6460 km of expressways) unpaved: 0 km (1997) |
total: 8,464 km
paved: 838 km unpaved: 7,626 km (2000 est.) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%:
3.5% highest 10%: 21.8% (1995) |
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
Illicit drugs | important gateway for and consumer of Latin American cocaine and Southwest Asian heroin entering the European market | - |
Imports | $231.4 billion (f.o.b., 2000) | NA (2001) |
Imports - commodities | engineering products, chemicals, transport equipment, energy products, minerals and nonferrous metals, textiles and clothing; food, beverages and tobacco | machinery and equipment, foodstuffs, chemicals, construction materials |
Imports - partners | EU 61% (Germany 19.3%, France 12.6%, Netherlands 6.3%, Spain 4.4%), US 5.0% (1999) | France 50.7%, US 6.3%, Netherlands 3.6% (2002) |
Independence | 17 March 1861 (Kingdom of Italy proclaimed; Italy was not finally unified until 1870) | 17 August 1960 (from France) |
Industrial production growth rate | 1.9% (2000) | 1.6% (2002 est.) |
Industries | tourism, machinery, iron and steel, chemicals, food processing, textiles, motor vehicles, clothing, footwear, ceramics | petroleum extraction and refining; manganese, and gold mining; chemicals; ship repair; food and beverage; textile; lumbering and plywood; cement. |
Infant mortality rate | 5.84 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | total: 55.05 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 65.12 deaths/1,000 live births female: 44.68 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 2.5% (2000) | 2.3% (2002 est.) |
International organization participation | AfDB, AsDB, Australia Group, BIS, BSEC (observer), CCC, CDB (non-regional), CE, CEI, CERN, EAPC, EBRD, ECE, ECLAC, EIB, EMU, ESA, EU, FAO, G- 7, G-10, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, LAIA (observer), MINURSO, 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 | ACCT, ACP, AfDB, BDEAC, CEEAC, CEMAC, ECA, FAO, FZ, G-24, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICFTU, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, ITU, NAM, OAU, OIC, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 93 (Italy and Holy See) (2000) | 1 (2001) |
Irrigated land | 27,100 sq km (1993 est.) | 150 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | 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) | Supreme Court or Cour Supreme consisting of three chambers - Judicial, Administrative, and Accounts; Constitutional Court; Courts of Appeal; Court of State Security; County Courts |
Labor force | 23.4 million (2000) | 600,000 |
Labor force - by occupation | services 61.9%, industry 32.6%, agriculture 5.5% (1999) | agriculture 60%, services 25%, industry 15% |
Land boundaries | 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 |
total: 2,551 km
border countries: Cameroon 298 km, Republic of the Congo 1,903 km, Equatorial Guinea 350 km |
Land use | arable land:
31% permanent crops: 10% permanent pastures: 15% forests and woodland: 23% other: 21% (1993 est.) |
arable land: 1.26%
permanent crops: 0.66% other: 98.08% (1998 est.) |
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) | French (official), Fang, Myene, Nzebi, Bapounou/Eschira, Bandjabi |
Legal system | based on civil law system; appeals treated as new trials; judicial review under certain conditions in Constitutional Court; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | based on French civil law system and customary law; judicial review of legislative acts in Constitutional Chamber of the Supreme Court; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
Legislative branch | 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 plus, 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 |
bicameral legislature consists of the Senate (91 seats; members elected by members of municipal councils and departmental assemblies) and the National Assembly or Assemblee Nationale (120 seats; members are elected by direct, popular vote to serve five-year terms)
elections: National Assembly - last held 9 and 23 December 2001 (next to be held NA December 2006); Senate - last held 26 January and 9 February 1997 (next to be held in January 2004) election results: National Assembly - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - PDG 86, RNB-RPG 8, PGP 3, ADERE 3, CLR 2, PUP 1, PSD 1, independents 13, others 3; Senate - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - PDG 53, RNB 20, PGP 4, ADERE 3, RDP 1, CLR 1, independents 9 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population:
79.14 years male: 75.97 years female: 82.52 years (2001 est.) |
total population: 57.12 years
male: 55.45 years female: 58.84 years (2003 est.) |
Literacy | definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 98% (1998) male: NA% female: NA% |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 63.2% male: 73.7% female: 53.3% (1995 est.) |
Location | Southern Europe, a peninsula extending into the central Mediterranean Sea, northeast of Tunisia | Western Africa, bordering the Atlantic Ocean at the Equator, between Republic of the Congo and Equatorial Guinea |
Map references | Europe | Africa |
Maritime claims | continental shelf:
200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation territorial sea: 12 NM |
contiguous zone: 24 NM
exclusive economic zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
Merchant marine | total:
445 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 8,005,136 GRT/10,556,244 DWT ships by type: bulk 44, cargo 41, chemical tanker 77, combination ore/oil 4, container 24, liquefied gas 38, multi-functional large-load carrier 1, passenger 11, petroleum tanker 85, refrigerated cargo 1, roll on/roll off 64, short-sea passenger 26, specialized tanker 14, vehicle carrier 15 (2000 est.) |
- |
Military branches | Army, Navy, Air Force, Carabinieri | Army, Navy, Air Force, Presidential (Republican) Guard (charged with protecting the president and other senior officials), National Gendarmerie, National Police |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $20.7 billion (FY00/01) | $81.9 million (FY02) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 1.7% (FY00/01) | 2% (FY02) |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49:
14,248,674 (2001 est.) |
males age 15-49: 305,603 (2003 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49:
12,244,166 (2001 est.) |
males age 15-49: 158,226 (2003 est.) |
Military manpower - military age | 18 years of age | 20 years of age (2003 est.) |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males:
304,369 (2001 est.) |
males: 12,853 (2003 est.) |
National holiday | Republic Day, 2 June (1946) | Founding of the Gabonese Democratic Party (PDG), 12 March (1968) |
Nationality | noun:
Italian(s) adjective: Italian |
noun: Gabonese (singular and plural)
adjective: Gabonese |
Natural hazards | regional risks include landslides, mudflows, avalanches, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, flooding; land subsidence in Venice | NA |
Natural resources | mercury, potash, marble, sulfur, natural gas and crude oil reserves, fish, coal, arable land | petroleum, manganese, uranium, gold, timber, iron ore, hydropower |
Net migration rate | 1.73 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Pipelines | crude oil 1,703 km; petroleum products 2,148 km; natural gas 19,400 km | gas 210 km; oil 1,426 km; water 3 km (2003) |
Political parties and leaders | 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; Christian Democratic Center or CDC [Pier Ferdinando CASINI]; Christian Democratic Union or CDU [Rocco BUTTIGLIONE]; Communist Renewal or RC [Fausto BERTINOTTI]; Forza Italia or FI [Silvio BERLUSCONI]; Green Federation [Grazia FRANCESCATO]; House of Liberties (formerly Freedom Alliance, a center-right coalition) [leader Silvio BERLUSCONI] - Forza Italian, National Alliance, Christian Democratic Center, Christian Democratic Union, Northern League; Italian Communist Party or PdCI [Oliviero DILIBERTO]; Italian Democratic Socialists [Enrico BOSELLI]; Italian Popular Party [Pierluigi CASTAGNETTI]; Italian Renewal [Lamberto DINI]; Italian Social Movement-Tricolored Flame or MSI-FI [Pino RAUTI]; National Alliance or AN [Gianfranco FINI]; Northern League or NL [Umberto BOSSI]; Radical Party (formerly Panella Reformers and Autonomous List) [Marco PANNELLA]; Southern Tyrols People's Party or SVP (German speakers) [Siegfried BRUGGER]; Union of Democrats for Europe [Clemente MASTELLA]; The Democrats [Arturo PARISI] | Circle of Liberal Reformers or CLR [General Jean Boniface ASSELE]; Democratic and Republican Alliance or ADERE [Divungui-di-Ndinge DIDJOB]; Gabonese Democratic Party or PDG, former sole party [Simplice Nguedet MANZELA]; Gabonese Party for Progress or PGP [Pierre-Louis AGONDJO-OKAWE,]; National Rally of Woodcutters-Rally for Gabon or RNB-RPG (Bucherons) [Fr. Paul M'BA-ABESSOLE]; People's Unity Party or PUP [Louis Gaston MAYILA]; Rally for Democracy and Progress or RDP [Pierre EMBONI]; Social Democratic Party or PSD [Pierre Claver MAGANGA-MOUSSAVOU] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | 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 [Sergio D'ANTONI] which is Catholic centrist, and Unione Italiana del Lavoro or UIL [Pietro LARIZZA] which is lay centrist) | NA |
Population | 57,679,825 (July 2001 est.) | 1,321,560
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 2003 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | NA% |
Population growth rate | 0.07% (2001 est.) | 2.54% (2003 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) | Cap Lopez, Kango, Lambarene, Libreville, Mayumba, Owendo, Port-Gentil |
Radio broadcast stations | AM about 100, FM about 4,600, shortwave 9 (1998) | AM 6, FM 7 (and 11 repeaters), shortwave 4 (2001) |
Radios | 50.5 million (1997) | - |
Railways | total:
19,394 km standard gauge: 18,071 km 1.435-m gauge; Italian Railways (FS) operates 16,014 km of the total standard gauge routes (11,322 km electrified) narrow gauge: 112 km 1.000-m gauge (112 km electrified); 1,211 km 0.950-m gauge (153 km electrified) (1998) |
total: 814 km
standard gauge: 814 km 1.435-m gauge (2002) |
Religions | predominately Roman Catholic with mature Protestant and Jewish communities and a growing Muslim immigrant community | Christian 55%-75%, animist, Muslim less than 1% |
Sex ratio | 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 (2001 est.) |
at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.99 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.71 male(s)/female total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2003 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal (except in senatorial elections, where minimum age is 25) | 21 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | 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 |
general assessment: adequate service by African standards and improving with the help of the growing mobile cell system
domestic: adequate system of cable, microwave radio relay, tropospheric scatter, radiotelephone communication stations, and a domestic satellite system with 12 earth stations international: satellite earth stations - 3 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean); fiber optic submarine cable to be in service in 2002 |
Telephones - main lines in use | 25 million (1999) | 39,000 (1998) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 20.5 million (1999) | 120,000 (2000) |
Television broadcast stations | 358 (plus 4,728 repeaters) (1995) | 4 (plus four low-power repeaters) (2001) |
Terrain | mostly rugged and mountainous; some plains, coastal lowlands | narrow coastal plain; hilly interior; savanna in east and south |
Total fertility rate | 1.18 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 4.83 children born/woman (2003 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 10.4% (2000 est.) | 21% (1997 est.) |
Waterways | 2,400 km
note: for various types of commercial traffic, although of limited overall value |
1,600 km (perennially navigable) |