Italy (2002) | Russia (2005) | |
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 | 49 oblasts (oblastey, singular - oblast), 21 republics (respublik, singular - respublika), 10 autonomous okrugs (avtonomnykh okrugov, singular - avtonomnyy okrug), 6 krays (krayev, singular - kray), 2 federal cities (singular - gorod), and 1 autonomous oblast (avtonomnaya oblast')
oblasts: Amur (Blagoveshchensk), Arkhangel'sk, Astrakhan', Belgorod, Bryansk, Chelyabinsk, Chita, Irkutsk, Ivanovo, Kaliningrad, Kaluga, Kamchatka (Petropavlovsk-Kamchatskiy), Kemerovo, Kirov, Kostroma, Kurgan, Kursk, Leningrad, Lipetsk, Magadan, Moscow, Murmansk, Nizhniy Novgorod, Novgorod, Novosibirsk, Omsk, Orenburg, Orel, Penza, Perm', Pskov, Rostov, Ryazan', Sakhalin (Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk), Samara, Saratov, Smolensk, Sverdlovsk (Yekaterinburg), Tambov, Tomsk, Tula, Tver', Tyumen', Ul'yanovsk, Vladimir, Volgograd, Vologda, Voronezh, Yaroslavl' republics: Adygeya (Maykop), Altay (Gorno-Altaysk), Bashkortostan (Ufa), Buryatiya (Ulan-Ude), Chechnya (Groznyy), Chuvashiya (Cheboksary), Dagestan (Makhachkala), Ingushetiya (Magas), Kabardino-Balkariya (Nal'chik), Kalmykiya (Elista), Karachayevo-Cherkesiya (Cherkessk), Kareliya (Petrozavodsk), Khakasiya (Abakan), Komi (Syktyvkar), Mariy-El (Yoshkar-Ola), Mordoviya (Saransk), Sakha [Yakutiya] (Yakutsk), North Ossetia (Vladikavkaz), Tatarstan (Kazan'), Tyva (Kyzyl), Udmurtiya (Izhevsk) autonomous okrugs: Aga Buryat (Aginskoye), Chukotka (Anadyr'), Evenk (Tura), Khanty-Mansi, Komi-Permyak (Kudymkar), Koryak (Palana), Nenets (Nar'yan-Mar), Taymyr [Dolgano-Nenets] (Dudinka), Ust'-Orda Buryat (Ust'-Ordynskiy), Yamalo-Nenets (Salekhard) krays: Altay (Barnaul), Khabarovsk, Krasnodar, Krasnoyarsk, Primorskiy (Vladivostok), Stavropol' federal cities: Moscow (Moskva), Saint Petersburg (Sankt-Peterburg) autonomous oblast: Yevrey [Jewish] (Birobidzhan) note: administrative divisions have the same names as their administrative centers (exceptions have the administrative center name following in parentheses) |
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: 14.6% (male 10,704,617/female 10,173,313)
15-64 years: 71.3% (male 49,429,716/female 52,799,740) 65 years and over: 14.2% (male 6,405,027/female 13,907,896) (2005 est.) |
Agriculture - products | fruits, vegetables, grapes, potatoes, sugar beets, soybeans, grain, olives; beef, dairy products; fish | grain, sugar beets, sunflower seed, vegetables, fruits; beef, milk |
Airports | 135 (2001) | 2,586 (2004 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: 577
over 3,047 m: 55 2,438 to 3,047 m: 197 1,524 to 2,437 m: 128 914 to 1,523 m: 98 under 914 m: 99 (2004 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: 2,009
over 3,047 m: 14 2,438 to 3,047 m: 30 1,524 to 2,437 m: 111 914 to 1,523 m: 257 under 914 m: 1,597 (2004 est.) |
Area | total: 301,230 sq km
land: 294,020 sq km water: 7,210 sq km note: includes Sardinia and Sicily |
total: 17,075,200 sq km
land: 16,995,800 sq km water: 79,400 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly larger than Arizona | approximately 1.8 times the size of 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. | Founded in the 12th century, the Principality of Muscovy, was able to emerge from over 200 years of Mongol domination (13th-15th centuries) and to gradually conquer and absorb surrounding principalities. In the early 17th century, a new Romanov Dynasty continued this policy of expansion across Siberia to the Pacific. Under PETER I (ruled 1682-1725), hegemony was extended to the Baltic Sea and the country was renamed the Russian Empire. During the 19th century, more territorial acquisitions were made in Europe and Asia. Repeated devastating defeats of the Russian army in World War I led to widespread rioting in the major cities of the Russian Empire and to the overthrow in 1917 of the imperial household. The Communists under Vladimir LENIN seized power soon after and formed the USSR. The brutal rule of Josef STALIN (1928-53) strengthened Russian dominance of the Soviet Union at a cost of tens of millions of lives. The Soviet economy and society stagnated in the following decades until General Secretary Mikhail GORBACHEV (1985-91) introduced glasnost (openness) and perestroika (restructuring) in an attempt to modernize Communism, but his initiatives inadvertently released forces that by December 1991 splintered the USSR into 15 independent republics. Since then, Russia has struggled in its efforts to build a democratic political system and market economy to replace the strict social, political, and economic controls of the Communist period. While some progress has been made on the economic front, recent years have seen a recentralization of power under Vladimir PUTIN and an erosion in nascent democratic institutions. A determined guerrilla conflict still plagues Russia in Chechnya. |
Birth rate | 8.93 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 9.8 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $504 billion
expenditures: $517 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2001 est.) |
revenues: $106.4 billion
expenditures: $93.33 billion, including capital expenditures of NA (2004 est.) |
Capital | Rome | Moscow |
Climate | predominantly Mediterranean; Alpine in far north; hot, dry in south | ranges from steppes in the south through humid continental in much of European Russia; subarctic in Siberia to tundra climate in the polar north; winters vary from cool along Black Sea coast to frigid in Siberia; summers vary from warm in the steppes to cool along Arctic coast |
Coastline | 7,600 km | 37,653 km |
Constitution | 1 January 1948 | adopted 12 December 1993 |
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: Russian Federation
conventional short form: Russia local long form: Rossiyskaya Federatsiya local short form: Rossiya former: Russian Empire, Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic |
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 |
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Death rate | 10.13 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 14.52 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Debt - external | $NA | $169.6 billion (2004 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 Alexander VERSHBOW
embassy: Bolshoy Devyatinskiy Pereulok No. 8, 121099 Moscow mailing address: PSC-77, APO AE 09721 telephone: [7] (095) 728-5000 FAX: [7] (095) 728-5090 consulate(s) general: Saint Petersburg, Vladivostok, Yekaterinburg |
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 Yuriy Viktorovich USHAKOV
chancery: 2650 Wisconsin Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20007 telephone: [1] (202) 298-5700, 5701, 5704, 5708 FAX: [1] (202) 298-5735 consulate(s) general: Houston, New York, San Francisco, and Seattle |
Disputes - international | Croatia and Italy are still trying to resolve bilateral property and ethnic minority rights dating from World War II | in 2004, China and Russia divided up the islands in the Amur, Ussuri, and Argun Rivers, ending a century-old border dispute; the sovereignty dispute over the islands of Etorofu, Kunashiri, Shikotan, and the Habomai group, known in Japan as the "Northern Territories" and in Russia as the "Southern Kurils," occupied by the Soviet Union in 1945, now administered by Russia, and claimed by Japan, remains the primary sticking point to signing a peace treaty formally ending World War II hostilities; Russia and Georgia agree on delimiting 80% of their common border, leaving certain small, strategic segments and the maritime boundary unresolved; OSCE observers monitor volatile areas such as the Pankisi Gorge in the Akhmeti region and the Kodori Gorge in Abkhazia; equidistant seabed treaties were signed and ratified with Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan in the Caspian Sea but no consensus exists on dividing the water column among the littoral states; Russia and Norway dispute their maritime limits in the Barents Sea and Russia's fishing rights beyond Svalbard's territorial limits within the Svalbard Treaty zone; various groups in Finland advocate restoration of Karelia and other areas ceded to the Soviet Union following the Second World War but the Finnish Government asserts no territorial demands; in 1996, the Estonia-Russia technical border agreement was initialed but both have been hesitant to sign and ratify it, with Russia asserting that Estonia needs to better assimilate Russian-speakers and Estonian groups advocating realignment of the boundary based more closely on the 1920 Tartu Peace Treaty that would bring the now divided ethnic Setu people and parts of the Narva region within Estonia; the Latvian-Russian boundary treaty of 1997 remains unsigned and unratified with Russia linking it to better Latvian treatment of ethnic Russians and Latvian politicians demanding Russian agreement to a declaration that admits Soviet aggression during the Second World War and other issues; in 2003, the Lithuania-Russia land and maritime boundary treaty was ratified and a transit regime established through Lithuania linking Russia and its Kaliningrad coastal exclave, leaving only improvements to the border demarcation in 2005; delimitation of land boundary with Ukraine is complete, but states have agreed to defer demarcation; Russia and Ukraine continue talks but still dispute the alignment of a maritime boundary through the Kerch Strait and Sea of Azov; Kazakhstan and Russia continue demarcation of their long border; Russian Duma has not yet ratified 1990 Maritime Boundary Agreement with the US in the Bering Sea |
Economic aid - donor | ODA, $1 billion (2002 est.) | - |
Economic aid - recipient | - | in FY01 from US, $979 million (including $750 million in non-proliferation subsidies); in 2001 from EU, $200 million (2000 est.) |
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. | Russia ended 2004 with its sixth straight year of growth, averaging 6.5% annually since the financial crisis of 1998. Although high oil prices and a relatively cheap ruble are important drivers of this economic rebound, since 2000 investment and consumer-driven demand have played a noticeably increasing role. Real fixed capital investments have averaged gains greater than 10% over the last five years, and real personal incomes have realized average increases over 12%. Russia has also improved its international financial position since the 1998 financial crisis, with its foreign debt declining from 90% of GDP to around 28%. Strong oil export earnings have allowed Russia to increase its foreign reserves from only $12 billion to some $120 billion at yearend 2004. These achievements, along with a renewed government effort to advance structural reforms, have raised business and investor confidence in Russia's economic prospects. Nevertheless, serious problems persist. Economic growth slowed down in the second half of 2004 and the Russian government forecasts growth of only 4.5% to 6.2% for 2005. Oil, natural gas, metals, and timber account for more than 80% of exports, leaving the country vulnerable to swings in world prices. Russia's manufacturing base is dilapidated and must be replaced or modernized if the country is to achieve broad-based economic growth. Other problems include a weak banking system, a poor business climate that discourages both domestic and foreign investors, corruption, and widespread lack of trust in institutions. In addition, a string of investigations launched against a major Russian oil company, culminating with the arrest of its CEO in the fall of 2003, have raised concerns by some observers that President PUTIN is granting more influence to forces within his government that desire to reassert state control over the economy. |
Electricity - consumption | 283.74 billion kWh (2000) | 894.3 billion kWh (2003) |
Electricity - exports | 484 million kWh (2000) | 20.7 billion kWh (2003) |
Electricity - imports | 44.831 billion kWh (2000) | 12.65 billion kWh (2002) |
Electricity - production | 257.41 billion kWh (2000) | 915 billion kWh (2003) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel: 80%
hydro: 17% nuclear: 0% other: 3% (2000) |
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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: Caspian Sea -28 m
highest point: Gora El'brus 5,633 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 from heavy industry, emissions of coal-fired electric plants, and transportation in major cities; industrial, municipal, and agricultural pollution of inland waterways and seacoasts; deforestation; soil erosion; soil contamination from improper application of agricultural chemicals; scattered areas of sometimes intense radioactive contamination; groundwater contamination from toxic waste; urban solid waste management; abandoned stocks of obsolete pesticides |
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: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Sulfur 85, Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Seals, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Wetlands, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: Air Pollution-Sulfur 94 |
Ethnic groups | Italian (includes small clusters of German-, French-, and Slovene-Italians in the north and Albanian-Italians and Greek-Italians in the south) | Russian 79.8%, Tatar 3.8%, Ukrainian 2%, Bashkir 1.2%, Chuvash 1.1%, other or unspecified 12.1% (2002 census) |
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) | Russian rubles per US dollar - 28.814 (2004), 30.692 (2003), 31.349 (2002), 29.169 (2001), 28.129 (2000) |
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 Vladimir Vladimirovich PUTIN (acting president since 31 December 1999, president since 7 May 2000)
head of government: Premier Mikhail Yefimovich FRADKOV (since 5 March 2004); Deputy Premier Aleksandr Dmitriyevich ZHUKOV (since 9 March 2004) cabinet: Ministries of the Government or "Government" composed of the premier and his deputy, ministers, and selected other individuals; all are appointed by the president note: there is also a Presidential Administration (PA) that provides staff and policy support to the president, drafts presidential decrees, and coordinates policy among government agencies; a Security Council also reports directly to the president elections: president elected by popular vote for a four-year term; election last held 14 March 2004 (next to be held March 2008); note - no vice president; if the president dies in office, cannot exercise his powers because of ill health, is impeached, or resigns, the premier succeeds him; the premier serves as acting president until a new presidential election is held, which must be within three months; premier appointed by the president with the approval of the Duma election results: Vladimir Vladimirovich PUTIN reelected president; percent of vote - Vladimir Vladimirovich PUTIN 71.2%, Nikolay KHARITONOV 13.7%, other (no candidate above 5%) 15.1% |
Exports | $259.2 billion f.o.b. (2002 est.) | 6.11 million bbl/day (2003) |
Exports - commodities | engineering products, textiles and clothing, production machinery, motor vehicles, transport equipment, chemicals; food, beverages and tobacco; minerals and nonferrous metals | petroleum and petroleum products, natural gas, wood and wood products, metals, chemicals, and a wide variety of civilian and military manufactures |
Exports - partners | EU 53.8% (Germany 14.5%, France 12.2%, UK 6.7%, Spain 6.1%), US 9.7% (2001) | Netherlands 9.1%, Germany 8%, Ukraine 6.4%, Italy 6.2%, China 6%, US 5%, Switzerland 4.7%, Turkey 4.3% (2004) |
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 white (top), blue, and red |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $1.438 trillion (2002 est.) | - |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 2%
industry: 30% services: 68% (2001 est.) |
agriculture: 4.9%
industry: 33.9% services: 61.2% (2004 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $25,000 (2002 est.) | purchasing power parity - $9,800 (2004 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 0.4% (2002 est.) | 6.7% (2004 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 42 50 N, 12 50 E | 60 00 N, 100 00 E |
Geography - note | strategic location dominating central Mediterranean as well as southern sea and air approaches to Western Europe | largest country in the world in terms of area but unfavorably located in relation to major sea lanes of the world; despite its size, much of the country lacks proper soils and climates (either too cold or too dry) for agriculture; Mount El'brus is Europe's tallest peak |
Heliports | 4 (2002) | 36 (2004 est.) |
Highways | total: 668,669 km
paved: 668,669 km (including 6,460 km of expressways) unpaved: 0 km (2001) |
total: 537,289 km
paved: 362,133 km unpaved: 175,156 km (2001) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: 2%
highest 10%: 27% (2000) |
lowest 10%: 5.9%
highest 10%: 47% (2001) |
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 | limited cultivation of illicit cannabis and opium poppy and producer of methamphetamine, mostly for domestic consumption; government has active illicit crop eradication program; used as transshipment point for Asian opiates, cannabis, and Latin American cocaine bound for growing domestic markets, to a lesser extent Western and Central Europe, and occasionally to the US; major source of heroin precursor chemicals; corruption and organized crime are key concerns; heroin increasingly popular in domestic market |
Imports | $238.2 billion f.o.b. (2002 est.) | NA |
Imports - commodities | engineering products, chemicals, transport equipment, energy products, minerals and nonferrous metals, textiles and clothing; food, beverages and tobacco | machinery and equipment, consumer goods, medicines, meat, sugar, semifinished metal products |
Imports - partners | EU 56.5% (Germany 17.7%, France 11.1%, Netherlands 6.2%, UK 5.1%), US 4.9% (2001) | Germany 15.3%, Ukraine 8.8%, China 6.9%, Japan 5.7%, Kazakhstan 5%, US 4.6%, Italy 4.6%, France 4.4% (2004) |
Independence | 17 March 1861 (Kingdom of Italy proclaimed; Italy was not finally unified until 1870) | 24 August 1991 (from Soviet Union) |
Industrial production growth rate | -2.8% (2002) | 6.4% (2004 est.) |
Industries | tourism, machinery, iron and steel, chemicals, food processing, textiles, motor vehicles, clothing, footwear, ceramics | complete range of mining and extractive industries producing coal, oil, gas, chemicals, and metals; all forms of machine building from rolling mills to high-performance aircraft and space vehicles; defense industries including radar, missile production, and advanced electronic components, shipbuilding; road and rail transportation equipment; communications equipment; agricultural machinery, tractors, and construction equipment; electric power generating and transmitting equipment; medical and scientific instruments; consumer durables, textiles, foodstuffs, handicrafts |
Infant mortality rate | 5.76 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) | total: 15.39 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 17.7 deaths/1,000 live births female: 12.94 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 2.4% (2002) | 11.5% (2004 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 | APEC, ARF, ASEAN (dialogue partner), BIS, BSEC, CBSS, CE, CERN (observer), CIS, EAPC, EBRD, G- 8, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt (signatory), ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU, LAIA (observer), MIGA, MINURSO, MONUC, NAM (guest), NSG, OAS (observer), ONUB, OPCW, OSCE, Paris Club, PCA, PFP, SCO, UN, UN Security Council, UNAMSIL, UNCTAD, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNITAR, UNMEE, UNMIK, UNMIL, UNMISET, UNMOVIC, UNOCI, UNOMIG, UNTSO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO (observer), ZC |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 93 (Italy and Holy See) (2000) | - |
Irrigated land | 26,980 sq km (1998 est.) | 46,630 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) | Constitutional Court; Supreme Court; Superior Court of Arbitration; judges for all courts are appointed for life by the Federation Council on the recommendation of the president |
Labor force | 23.6 million (2001 est.) | 71.83 million (2004 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | services 63%, industry 32%, agriculture 5% (2001) | agriculture 12.3%, industry 22.7%, services 65% (2002 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: 20,017 km
border countries: Azerbaijan 284 km, Belarus 959 km, China (southeast) 3,605 km, China (south) 40 km, Estonia 294 km, Finland 1,340 km, Georgia 723 km, Kazakhstan 6,846 km, North Korea 19 km, Latvia 217 km, Lithuania (Kaliningrad Oblast) 227 km, Mongolia 3,485 km, Norway 196 km, Poland (Kaliningrad Oblast) 206 km, Ukraine 1,576 km |
Land use | arable land: 28.07%
permanent crops: 9.25% other: 62.68% (1998 est.) |
arable land: 7.33%
permanent crops: 0.11% other: 92.56% (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) | Russian, many minority languages |
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 civil law system; judicial review of legislative acts |
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 |
bicameral Federal Assembly or Federalnoye Sobraniye consists of the Federation Council or Sovet Federatsii (178 seats; as of July 2000, members appointed by the top executive and legislative officials in each of the 89 federal administrative units - oblasts, krays, republics, autonomous okrugs and oblasts, and the federal cities of Moscow and Saint Petersburg; members serve four-year terms) and the State Duma or Gosudarstvennaya Duma (450 seats; currently 225 seats elected by proportional representation from party lists winning at least 5% of the vote, and 225 seats from single-member constituencies; members are elected by direct, popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: State Duma - last held 7 December 2003 (next to be held NA December 2007) election results: State Duma - percent of vote received by parties clearing the 5% threshold entitling them to a proportional share of the 225 party list seats - United Russia 37.1%, CPRF 12.7%, LDPR 11.6%, Motherland 9.1%; seats by party - United Russia 222, CPRF 53, LDPR 38, Motherland 37, People's Party 19, Yabloko 4, SPS 2, other 7, independents 65, repeat election required 3 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 79.25 years
male: 76.08 years female: 82.63 years (2002 est.) |
total population: 67.1 years
male: 60.55 years female: 74.04 years (2005 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: 99.6% male: 99.7% female: 99.5% (2003 est.) |
Location | Southern Europe, a peninsula extending into the central Mediterranean Sea, northeast of Tunisia | Northern Asia (that part west of the Urals is included with Europe), bordering the Arctic Ocean, between Europe and the North Pacific Ocean |
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
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation |
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: 1,194 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 4,521,472 GRT/5,505,118 DWT
by type: barge carrier 1, bulk carrier 45, cargo 767, chemical tanker 20, combination ore/oil 48, container 21, passenger 11, passenger/cargo 8, petroleum tanker 213, refrigerated cargo 46, roll on/roll off 12, specialized tanker 2 foreign-owned: 56 (Belgium 2, Cyprus 1, Estonia 2, Germany 1, Hong Kong 1, Latvia 3, Norway 1, Sweden 1, Turkey 28, Ukraine 10, United Kingdom 2, United States 4) registered in other countries: 326 (2005) |
Military branches | Army, Navy, Air Force, Carabinieri | Ground Forces (SV), Navy (VMF), Air Forces (VVS); Airborne Troops (VDV), Strategic Rocket Troops (RVSN), and Space Troops (KV) are independent "combat arms," not subordinate to any of the three branches |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $20.2 billion (2002) | NA |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 1.64% (2002) | NA |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49: 14,184,307 (2002 est.) | - |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49: 12,157,753 (2002 est.) | - |
Military manpower - military age | 18 years of age (2002 est.) | - |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males: 304,369 (2002 est.) | - |
National holiday | Republic Day, 2 June (1946) | Russia Day, 12 June (1990) |
Nationality | noun: Italian(s)
adjective: Italian |
noun: Russian(s)
adjective: Russian |
Natural hazards | regional risks include landslides, mudflows, avalanches, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, flooding; land subsidence in Venice | permafrost over much of Siberia is a major impediment to development; volcanic activity in the Kuril Islands; volcanoes and earthquakes on the Kamchatka Peninsula; spring floods and summer/autumn forest fires throughout Siberia and parts of European Russia |
Natural resources | mercury, potash, marble, sulfur, natural gas and crude oil reserves, fish, coal, arable land | wide natural resource base including major deposits of oil, natural gas, coal, and many strategic minerals, timber
note: formidable obstacles of climate, terrain, and distance hinder exploitation of natural resources |
Net migration rate | 1.73 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 1.03 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Pipelines | crude oil 1,703 km; petroleum products 2,148 km; natural gas 19,400 km | condensate 122 km; gas 150,007 km; oil 75,539 km; refined products 13,771 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] | Communist Party of the Russian Federation or CPRF [Gennadiy Andreyevich ZYUGANOV]; Liberal Democratic Party of Russia or LDPR [Vladimir Volfovich ZHIRINOVSKIY]; Motherland Bloc (Rodina) [Dmitriy ROGOZIN]; People's Party [Gennadiy RAYKOV]; Union of Right Forces or SPS [Anatoliy Borisovich CHUBAYS, Yegor Timurovich GAYDAR, Irina Mutsuovna KHAKAMADA, Boris Yefimovich NEMTSOV]; United Russia [Boris Vyacheslavovich GRYZLOV]; Yabloko Party [Grigoriy Alekseyevich YAVLINSKIY] |
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) | NA |
Population | 57,715,625 (July 2002 est.) | 143,420,309 (July 2005 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | 25% (January 2003 est.) |
Population growth rate | 0.05% (2002 est.) | -0.37% (2005 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) | Anapa, Kaliningrad, Murmansk, Nakhodka, Novorossiysk, Rostov-na-Donu, Saint Petersburg, Taganrog, Vanino, Vostochnyy |
Radio broadcast stations | AM about 100, FM about 4,600, shortwave 9 (1998) | AM 420, FM 447, shortwave 56 (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: 87,157 km
broad gauge: 86,200 km 1.520-m gauge (40,300 km electrified) narrow gauge: 957 km 1.067-m gauge (on Sakhalin Island) note: an additional 30,000 km of non-common carrier lines serve industries (2004) |
Religions | predominately Roman Catholic with mature Protestant and Jewish communities and a growing Muslim immigrant community | Russian Orthodox, Muslim, other |
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: 1.06 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.94 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.46 male(s)/female total population: 0.86 male(s)/female (2005 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: the telephone system underwent significant changes in the 1990s; there are more than 1,000 companies licensed to offer communication services; access to digital lines has improved, particularly in urban centers; Internet and e-mail services are improving; Russia has made progress toward building the telecommunications infrastructure necessary for a market economy; however, a large demand for main line service remains unsatisfied
domestic: cross-country digital trunk lines run from Saint Petersburg to Khabarovsk, and from Moscow to Novorossiysk; the telephone systems in 60 regional capitals have modern digital infrastructures; cellular services, both analog and digital, are available in many areas; in rural areas, the telephone services are still outdated, inadequate, and low density international: country code - 7; Russia is connected internationally by three undersea fiber-optic cables; digital switches in several cities provide more than 50,000 lines for international calls; satellite earth stations provide access to Intelsat, Intersputnik, Eutelsat, Inmarsat, and Orbita systems |
Telephones - main lines in use | 25 million (1999) | 35.5 million (2002) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 20.5 million (1999) | 17,608,800 (2002) |
Television broadcast stations | 358 (plus 4,728 repeaters) (1995) | 7,306 (1998) |
Terrain | mostly rugged and mountainous; some plains, coastal lowlands | broad plain with low hills west of Urals; vast coniferous forest and tundra in Siberia; uplands and mountains along southern border regions |
Total fertility rate | 1.19 children born/woman (2002 est.) | 1.27 children born/woman (2005 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 9.1% (2002 est.) | 8.3% plus considerable underemployment (2004 est.) |
Waterways | 2,400 km
note: serves various types of commercial traffic, although of limited overall value (2002) |
96,000 km
note: 72,000 km system in European Russia links Baltic Sea, White Sea, Caspian Sea, Sea of Azov, and Black Sea (2004) |