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Compare Italy (2002) - China (2004)
Compare Italy (2002) z China (2004)
| Italy (2002) | China (2004) | |
 |  | |
| 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 | 23 provinces (sheng, singular and plural), 5 autonomous regions (zizhiqu, singular and plural), and 4 municipalities (shi, singular and plural)
provinces: Anhui, Fujian, Gansu, Guangdong, Guizhou, Hainan, Hebei, Heilongjiang, Henan, Hubei, Hunan, Jiangsu, Jiangxi, Jilin, Liaoning, Qinghai, Shaanxi, Shandong, Shanxi, Sichuan, Yunnan, Zhejiang autonomous regions: Guangxi, Nei Mongol, Ningxia, Xinjiang, Xizang (Tibet) municipalities: Beijing, Chongqing, Shanghai, Tianjin note: China considers Taiwan its 23rd province; see separate entries for the special administrative regions of Hong Kong and Macau |
| Age structure | 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.) |
0-14 years: 22.3% (male 153,401,051; female 135,812,993)
15-64 years: 70.3% (male 469,328,664; female 443,248,860) 65 years and over: 7.5% (male 46,308,923; female 50,747,133) (2004 est.) |
| Agriculture - products | fruits, vegetables, grapes, potatoes, sugar beets, soybeans, grain, olives; beef, dairy products; fish | rice, wheat, potatoes, sorghum, peanuts, tea, millet, barley, cotton, oilseed, pork, fish |
| Airports | 135 (2001) | 507 (2003 est.) |
| Airports - with paved runways | 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) |
total: 332
over 3,047 m: 49 2,438 to 3,047 m: 97 1,524 to 2,437 m: 129 914 to 1,523 m: 22 under 914 m: 35 (2003 est.) |
| Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 38
1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 18 under 914 m: 18 (2002) |
total: 175
over 3,047 m: 23 2,438 to 3,047 m: 10 1,524 to 2,437 m: 36 914 to 1,523 m: 40 under 914 m: 66 (2003 est.) |
| Area | total: 301,230 sq km
land: 294,020 sq km water: 7,210 sq km note: includes Sardinia and Sicily |
total: 9,596,960 sq km
land: 9,326,410 sq km water: 270,550 sq km |
| Area - comparative | slightly larger than Arizona | slightly smaller than the US |
| Background | 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. | For centuries China stood as a leading civilization, outpacing the rest of the world in the arts and sciences, but in the 19th and early 20th centuries, the country was beset by civil unrest, major famines, military defeats, and foreign occupation. After World War II, the Communists under MAO Zedong established an autocratic socialist system that, while ensuring China's sovereignty, imposed strict controls over everyday life and cost the lives of tens of millions of people. After 1978, his successor DENG Xiaoping and other leaders focused on market-oriented economic development and by 2000 output had quadrupled. For much of the population, living standards have improved dramatically and the room for personal choice has expanded, yet political controls remain tight. |
| Birth rate | 8.93 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 12.98 births/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
| Budget | revenues: $504 billion
expenditures: $517 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2001 est.) |
revenues: $265.8 billion
expenditures: $300.2 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2003) |
| Capital | Rome | Beijing |
| Climate | predominantly Mediterranean; Alpine in far north; hot, dry in south | extremely diverse; tropical in south to subarctic in north |
| Coastline | 7,600 km | 14,500 km |
| Constitution | 1 January 1948 | most recent promulgation 4 December 1982 |
| 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: People's Republic of China
conventional short form: China local long form: Zhonghua Renmin Gongheguo local short form: Zhong Guo abbreviation: PRC |
| 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 |
yuan (CNY)
note:: also referred to as the Renminbi (RMB) |
| Death rate | 10.13 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 6.92 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
| Debt - external | $NA | $197.8 billion (2003 est.) |
| Diplomatic representation from the US | 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 |
chief of mission: Ambassador Clark T. RANDT, Jr.
embassy: Xiu Shui Bei Jie 3, 100600 Beijing mailing address: PSC 461, Box 50, FPO AP 96521-0002 telephone: [86] (10) 6532-3831 FAX: [86] (10) 6532-6929 consulate(s) general: Chengdu, Guangzhou, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Shenyang |
| 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) 518-2151 consulate(s) general: Boston, Chicago, Houston, Miami, New York, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, and San Francisco consulate(s): Detroit |
chief of mission: Ambassador YANG Jiechi
chancery: 2300 Connecticut Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 328-2500 FAX: [1] (202) 328-2582 consulate(s) general: Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, New York, and San Francisco |
| Disputes - international | Croatia and Italy are still trying to resolve bilateral property and ethnic minority rights dating from World War II | involved in complex dispute with Malaysia, Philippines, Taiwan, Vietnam, and possibly Brunei over the Spratly Islands; the 2002 "Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea" has eased tensions but falls short of a legally binding "code of conduct" desired by several of the disputants; most of the rugged, militarized boundary with India is in dispute, but the two sides are committed to begin resolution with discussions on the least disputed Middle Sector; Kashmir remains the world's largest and highly militarized territorial dispute with portions under the de facto administration of China (Aksai Chin), India (Jammu and Kashmir), and Pakistan (Azad Kashmir and Northern Areas), but recent discussion and confidence-building measures among parties are beginning to defuse tensions, India does not recognize Pakistan's ceding lands to China in a 1964 boundary agreement; China and Taiwan continue to assert their claims to the Japanese-administered Senkaku Islands (Diaoyu Tai) with increased media coverage and protest actions; certain islands in Yalu and Tumen rivers are in an uncontested dispute with North Korea and a section of boundary around Mount Paektu is indefinite - China has been attempting to manage illegal migration of North Koreans into northern China; China and Russia in 2004 resolved their last border dispute over islands in the Amur and Argun Rivers, but details on demarcation have not yet been worked-out; boundary delimitation agreements signed in 2002 with Tajikistan cedes 1,000 sq km of Pamir Mountain range to China in return for China's relinquishing claims to 28,000 sq km, but demarcation has not commenced; agreements with Vietnam demarcating maritime boundaries and fisheries cooperation in the Gulf of Tonkin were ratified in June, and demarcation of the land boundary continues; China occupies some of the Paracel Islands also claimed by Vietnam and Taiwan; in response to groups in Burma and Thailand expressing concern over China's plans to construct 13 hydroelectric dams on the Nu River in Yunnan Province (Salween River in Burma), Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao suspended the project to conduct an environmental impact assessment, a smaller scale version of only 4 dams is now scheduled to move forward |
| Economic aid - donor | ODA, $1 billion (2002 est.) | - |
| Economic aid - recipient | - | NA |
| 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 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. | In late 1978 the Chinese leadership began moving the economy from a sluggish, inefficient, Soviet-style centrally planned economy to a more market-oriented system. Whereas the system operates within a political framework of strict Communist control, the economic influence of non-state organizations and individual citizens has been steadily increasing. The authorities switched to a system of household and village responsibility in agriculture in place of the old collectivization, increased the authority of local officials and plant managers in industry, permitted a wide variety of small-scale enterprises in services and light manufacturing, and opened the economy to increased foreign trade and investment. The result has been a quadrupling of GDP since 1978. Measured on a purchasing power parity (PPP) basis, China in 2003 stood as the second-largest economy in the world after the US, although in per capita terms the country is still poor. Agriculture and industry have posted major gains especially in coastal areas near Hong Kong, opposite Taiwan, and in Shanghai, where foreign investment has helped spur output of both domestic and export goods. The leadership, however, often has experienced - as a result of its hybrid system - the worst results of socialism (bureaucracy and lassitude) and of capitalism (growing income disparities and rising unemployment). China thus has periodically backtracked, retightening central controls at intervals. The government has struggled to (a) sustain adequate jobs growth for tens of millions of workers laid off from state-owned enterprises, migrants, and new entrants to the work force; (b) reduce corruption and other economic crimes; and (c) keep afloat the large state-owned enterprises, many of which had been shielded from competition by subsidies and had been losing the ability to pay full wages and pensions. From 80 to 120 million surplus rural workers are adrift between the villages and the cities, many subsisting through part-time, low-paying jobs. Popular resistance, changes in central policy, and loss of authority by rural cadres have weakened China's population control program, which is essential to maintaining long-term growth in living standards. Another long-term threat to growth is the deterioration in the environment, notably air pollution, soil erosion, and the steady fall of the water table especially in the north. China continues to lose arable land because of erosion and economic development. Beijing says it will intensify efforts to stimulate growth through spending on infrastructure - such as water supply and power grids - and poverty relief and through rural tax reform. Accession to the World Trade Organization helps strengthen its ability to maintain strong growth rates but at the same time puts additional pressure on the hybrid system of strong political controls and growing market influences. China has benefited from a huge expansion in computer internet use. Foreign investment remains a strong element in China's remarkable economic growth. Growing shortages of electric power and raw materials will hold back the expansion of industrial output in 2004. |
| Electricity - consumption | 283.74 billion kWh (2000) | 1.312 trillion kWh (2001) |
| Electricity - exports | 484 million kWh (2000) | 10.3 billion kWh (2001) |
| Electricity - imports | 44.831 billion kWh (2000) | 1.8 billion kWh (2001) |
| Electricity - production | 257.41 billion kWh (2000) | 1.42 trillion kWh (2001) |
| Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel: 80%
hydro: 17% nuclear: 0% other: 3% (2000) |
- |
| Elevation extremes | lowest point: Mediterranean Sea 0 m
highest point: Mont Blanc (Monte Bianco) de Courmayeur 4,748 m (a secondary peak of Mont Blanc) |
lowest point: Turpan Pendi -154 m
highest point: Mount Everest 8,850 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 | air pollution (greenhouse gases, sulfur dioxide particulates) from reliance on coal produces acid rain; water shortages, particularly in the north; water pollution from untreated wastes; deforestation; estimated loss of one-fifth of agricultural land since 1949 to soil erosion and economic development; desertification; trade in endangered species |
| 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: Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling
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) | Han Chinese 91.9%, Zhuang, Uygur, Hui, Yi, Tibetan, Miao, Manchu, Mongol, Buyi, Korean, and other nationalities 8.1% |
| Exchange rates | 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) | yuan per US dollar - 8.277 (2003), 8.277 (2002), 8.2771 (2001), 8.2785 (2000), 8.2783 (1999) |
| 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 five-party government coalition includes Forza Italia, National Alliance, Northern League, Democratic Christian Center, United Christian Democrats |
chief of state: President HU Jintao (since 15 March 2003) and Vice President ZENG Qinghong (since 15 March 2003)
head of government: Premier WEN Jiabao (since 16 March 2003); Vice Premiers HUANG Ju (since 17 March 2003), WU Yi (17 March 2003), ZENG Peiyan (since 17 March 2003), and HUI Liangyu (since 17 March 2003) cabinet: State Council appointed by the National People's Congress (NPC) elections: president and vice president elected by the National People's Congress for five-year terms; elections last held 15-17 March 2003 (next to be held mid-March 2008); premier nominated by the president, confirmed by the National People's Congress election results: HU Jintao elected president by the Tenth National People's Congress with a total of 2,937 votes (4 delegates voted against him, 4 abstained, and 38 did not vote); ZENG Qinghong elected vice president by the Tenth National People's Congress with a total of 2,578 votes (177 delegates voted against him, 190 abstained, and 38 did not vote); 2 seats were vacant |
| Exports | $259.2 billion f.o.b. (2002 est.) | 151,200 bbl/day (2001) |
| Exports - commodities | engineering products, textiles and clothing, production machinery, motor vehicles, transport equipment, chemicals; food, beverages and tobacco; minerals and nonferrous metals | machinery and equipment, textiles and clothing, footwear, toys and sporting goods, mineral fuels |
| Exports - partners | EU 53.8% (Germany 14.5%, France 12.2%, UK 6.7%, Spain 6.1%), US 9.7% (2001) | US 21.1%, Hong Kong 17.4%, Japan 13.6%, South Korea 4.6%, Germany 4% (2003) |
| 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 |
red with a large yellow five-pointed star and four smaller yellow five-pointed stars (arranged in a vertical arc toward the middle of the flag) in the upper hoist-side corner |
| GDP | purchasing power parity - $1.438 trillion (2002 est.) | purchasing power parity - $6.449 trillion (2003 est.) |
| GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 2%
industry: 30% services: 68% (2001 est.) |
agriculture: 14.8%
industry and construction: 52.9% services: 32.3% (2003) |
| GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $25,000 (2002 est.) | purchasing power parity - $5,000 (2003 est.) |
| GDP - real growth rate | 0.4% (2002 est.) | 9.1% (official data) (2003 est.) |
| Geographic coordinates | 42 50 N, 12 50 E | 35 00 N, 105 00 E |
| Geography - note | strategic location dominating central Mediterranean as well as southern sea and air approaches to Western Europe | world's fourth largest country (after Russia, Canada, and US); Mount Everest on the border with Nepal is the world's tallest peak; |
| Heliports | 4 (2002) | 15 (2003 est.) |
| Highways | total: 668,669 km
paved: 668,669 km (including 6,460 km of expressways) unpaved: 0 km (2001) |
total: 1,402,698 km
paved: 314,204 km (with at least 16,314 km of expressways) unpaved: 1,088,494 km (2000) |
| Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: 2%
highest 10%: 27% (2000) |
lowest 10%: 2.4%
highest 10%: 30.4% (1998) |
| Illicit drugs | 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 | major transshipment point for heroin produced in the Golden Triangle; growing domestic drug abuse problem; source country for chemical precursors and methamphetamine |
| Imports | $238.2 billion f.o.b. (2002 est.) | 1.207 million bbl/day (2001) |
| Imports - commodities | engineering products, chemicals, transport equipment, energy products, minerals and nonferrous metals, textiles and clothing; food, beverages and tobacco | machinery and equipment, mineral fuels, plastics, iron and steel, chemicals |
| Imports - partners | EU 56.5% (Germany 17.7%, France 11.1%, Netherlands 6.2%, UK 5.1%), US 4.9% (2001) | Japan 18%, Taiwan 11.9%, South Korea 10.4%, US 8.2%, Germany 5.9% (2003) |
| Independence | 17 March 1861 (Kingdom of Italy proclaimed; Italy was not finally unified until 1870) | 221 BC (unification under the Qin or Ch'in Dynasty); 1 January 1912 (Manchu Dynasty replaced by a Republic); 1 October 1949 (People's Republic established) |
| Industrial production growth rate | -2.8% (2002) | 30.4% (2003 est.) |
| Industries | tourism, machinery, iron and steel, chemicals, food processing, textiles, motor vehicles, clothing, footwear, ceramics | iron and steel, coal, machine building, armaments, textiles and apparel, petroleum, cement, chemical fertilizers, footwear, toys, food processing, automobiles, consumer electronics, telecommunications |
| Infant mortality rate | 5.76 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) | total: 25.28 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 21.84 deaths/1,000 live births female: 29.14 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.) |
| Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 2.4% (2002) | 1.2% (2003 est.) |
| International organization participation | 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 | AfDB, APEC, ARF, AsDB, ASEAN (dialogue partner), BIS, CDB, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU, LAIA (observer), MIGA, MONUC, NAM (observer), NSG, OAS (observer), ONUB, OPCW, PCA, SCO, UN, UN Security Council, UNAMSIL, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNITAR, UNMEE, UNMIL, UNMOVIC, UNOCI, UNTSO, UPU, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO, ZC |
| Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 93 (Italy and Holy See) (2000) | - |
| Irrigated land | 26,980 sq km (1998 est.) | 525,800 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 People's Court (judges appointed by the National People's Congress); Local Peoples Courts (comprise higher, intermediate and local courts); Special Peoples Courts (primarily military, maritime, and railway transport courts) |
| Labor force | 23.6 million (2001 est.) | 778.1 million (2003 est.) |
| Labor force - by occupation | services 63%, industry 32%, agriculture 5% (2001) | agriculture 50%, industry 22%, services 28% (2001 est.) |
| 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: 22,117 km
border countries: Afghanistan 76 km, Bhutan 470 km, Burma 2,185 km, India 3,380 km, Kazakhstan 1,533 km, North Korea 1,416 km, Kyrgyzstan 858 km, Laos 423 km, Mongolia 4,677 km, Nepal 1,236 km, Pakistan 523 km, Russia (northeast) 3,605 km, Russia (northwest) 40 km, Tajikistan 414 km, Vietnam 1,281 km regional borders: Hong Kong 30 km, Macau 0.34 km |
| Land use | arable land: 28.07%
permanent crops: 9.25% other: 62.68% (1998 est.) |
arable land: 15.4%
permanent crops: 1.25% other: 83.36% (2001) |
| 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) | Standard Chinese or Mandarin (Putonghua, based on the Beijing dialect), Yue (Cantonese), Wu (Shanghaiese), Minbei (Fuzhou), Minnan (Hokkien-Taiwanese), Xiang, Gan, Hakka dialects, minority languages (see Ethnic groups entry) |
| 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 | a complex amalgam of custom and statute, largely criminal law; rudimentary civil code in effect since 1 January 1987; new legal codes in effect since 1 January 1980; continuing efforts are being made to improve civil, administrative, criminal, and commercial law |
| 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; 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 |
unicameral National People's Congress or Quanguo Renmin Daibiao Dahui (2,985 seats; members elected by municipal, regional, and provincial people's congresses to serve five-year terms)
elections: last held December 2002-February 2003 (next to be held late 2007-February 2008) election results: percent of vote - NA; seats - NA |
| Life expectancy at birth | total population: 79.25 years
male: 76.08 years female: 82.63 years (2002 est.) |
total population: 71.96 years
male: 70.4 years female: 73.72 years (2004 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: 90.9% male: 95.1% female: 86.5% (2002) |
| Location | Southern Europe, a peninsula extending into the central Mediterranean Sea, northeast of Tunisia | Eastern Asia, bordering the East China Sea, Korea Bay, Yellow Sea, and South China Sea, between North Korea and Vietnam |
| Map references | Europe | Asia |
| Maritime claims | continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation
territorial sea: 12 NM |
territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin |
| 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.) |
total: 1,850 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 18,724,653 GRT/27,749,784 DWT
by type: barge carrier 2, bulk 355, cargo 822, chemical tanker 28, combination bulk 10, combination ore/oil 2, container 165, liquefied gas 28, multi-functional large load carrier 8, passenger 6, passenger/cargo 46, petroleum tanker 272, rail car carrier 1, refrigerated cargo 27, roll on/roll off 25, short-sea/passenger 39, specialized tanker 10, vehicle carrier 4 foreign-owned: Cambodia 1, Greece 2, Hong Kong 12, Japan 1, South Korea 2, Liberia 1, Malaysia 1, Panama 1, Taiwan 2, Tanzania 1 registered in other countries: 790 (2004 est.) |
| Military branches | Army, Navy, Air Force, Carabinieri | People's Liberation Army (PLA): comprises ground forces, Navy (including naval infantry and naval aviation), Air Force, and II Artillery Corps (strategic missile force), People's Armed Police Force (internal security troops, nominally a state security body but included by the Chinese as part of the "armed forces" and considered to be an adjunct to the PLA), militia |
| Military expenditures - dollar figure | $20.2 billion (2002) | $60 billion (2003 est.) |
| Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 1.64% (2002) | 3.5-5.0% (FY03 est.) |
| Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49: 14,184,307 (2002 est.) | males age 15-49: 379,524,688 (2004 est.) |
| Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49: 12,157,753 (2002 est.) | males age 15-49: 208,143,352 (2004 est.) |
| Military manpower - military age | 18 years of age (2002 est.) | - |
| Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males: 304,369 (2002 est.) | males: 12,494,201 (2004 est.) |
| National holiday | Republic Day, 2 June (1946) | Anniversary of the Founding of the People's Republic of China, 1 October (1949) |
| Nationality | noun: Italian(s)
adjective: Italian |
noun: Chinese (singular and plural)
adjective: Chinese |
| Natural hazards | regional risks include landslides, mudflows, avalanches, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, flooding; land subsidence in Venice | frequent typhoons (about five per year along southern and eastern coasts); damaging floods; tsunamis; earthquakes; droughts; land subsidence |
| Natural resources | mercury, potash, marble, sulfur, natural gas and crude oil reserves, fish, coal, arable land | coal, iron ore, petroleum, natural gas, mercury, tin, tungsten, antimony, manganese, molybdenum, vanadium, magnetite, aluminum, lead, zinc, uranium, hydropower potential (world's largest) |
| Net migration rate | 1.73 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) | -0.4 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
| Pipelines | crude oil 1,703 km; petroleum products 2,148 km; natural gas 19,400 km | gas 15,890 km; oil 14,478 km; refined products 3,280 km (2004) |
| 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; 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] | Chinese Communist Party or CCP [HU Jintao, General Secretary of the Central Committee]; eight registered small parties controlled by CCP |
| 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 [Savino PEZZOTTA] which is Roman Catholic centrist, and Unione Italiana del Lavoro or UIL [Pietro LARIZZA] which is lay centrist) | no substantial political opposition groups exist, although the government has identified the Falungong spiritual movement and the China Democracy Party as subversive groups |
| Population | 57,715,625 (July 2002 est.) | 1,298,847,624 (July 2004 est.) |
| Population below poverty line | NA% | 10% (2001 est.) |
| Population growth rate | 0.05% (2002 est.) | 0.57% (2004 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) | Dalian, Fuzhou, Guangzhou, Haikou, Huangpu, Lianyungang, Nanjing, Nantong, Ningbo, Qingdao, Qinhuangdao, Shanghai, Shantou, Shenzhen, Tianjin, Wenzhou, Xiamen, Xingang, Yantai, Zhanjiang (2001) |
| Radio broadcast stations | AM about 100, FM about 4,600, shortwave 9 (1998) | AM 369, FM 259, shortwave 45 (1998) |
| Radios | 50.5 million (1997) | - |
| Railways | 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) |
total: 70,058 km
standard gauge: 68,000 km 1.435-m gauge (18,668 km electrified) narrow gauge: 3,600 km 1.000-m and 0.750-m gauge local industrial lines dual gauge: 22,640 km (not included in total) (2003) |
| Religions | predominately Roman Catholic with mature Protestant and Jewish communities and a growing Muslim immigrant community | Daoist (Taoist), Buddhist, Muslim 1%-2%, Christian 3%-4%
note: officially atheist (2002 est.) |
| 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 (2002 est.) |
at birth: 1.12 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.13 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.06 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.91 male(s)/female total population: 1.06 male(s)/female (2004 est.) |
| Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal (except in senatorial elections, where minimum age is 25) | 18 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: domestic and international services are increasingly available for private use; unevenly distributed domestic system serves principal cities, industrial centers, and many towns
domestic: interprovincial fiber-optic trunk lines and cellular telephone systems have been installed; a domestic satellite system with 55 earth stations is in place international: country code - 86; satellite earth stations - 5 Intelsat (4 Pacific Ocean and 1 Indian Ocean), 1 Intersputnik (Indian Ocean region) and 1 Inmarsat (Pacific and Indian Ocean regions); several international fiber-optic links to Japan, South Korea, Hong Kong, Russia, and Germany (2000) |
| Telephones - main lines in use | 25 million (1999) | 263 million (2003) |
| Telephones - mobile cellular | 20.5 million (1999) | 269 million (2003) |
| Television broadcast stations | 358 (plus 4,728 repeaters) (1995) | 3,240 (of which 209 are operated by China Central Television, 31 are provincial TV stations and nearly 3,000 are local city stations) (1997) |
| Terrain | mostly rugged and mountainous; some plains, coastal lowlands | mostly mountains, high plateaus, deserts in west; plains, deltas, and hills in east |
| Total fertility rate | 1.19 children born/woman (2002 est.) | 1.69 children born/woman (2004 est.) |
| Unemployment rate | 9.1% (2002 est.) | 10.1% urban unemployment roughly 10%; substantial unemployment and underemployment in rural areas (2003 est.) |
| Waterways | 2,400 km
note: serves various types of commercial traffic, although of limited overall value (2002) |
121,557 km (2002) |
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