Italy (2004) | Seychelles (2003) | |
Administrative divisions | 16 regions (regioni, singular - regione) and 4 autonomous regions* (regioni autonome, singular - regione autonoma); Abruzzo, 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 administrative districts; Anse aux Pins, Anse Boileau, Anse Etoile, Anse Louis, Anse Royale, Baie Lazare, Baie Sainte Anne, Beau Vallon, Bel Air, Bel Ombre, Cascade, Glacis, Grand' Anse (on Mahe), Grand' Anse (on Praslin), La Digue, La Riviere Anglaise, Mont Buxton, Mont Fleuri, Plaisance, Pointe La Rue, Port Glaud, Saint Louis, Takamaka |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 14% (male 4,181,946; female 3,935,565)
15-64 years: 66.9% (male 19,590,497; female 19,256,747) 65 years and over: 19.1% (male 4,608,479; female 6,484,243) (2004 est.) |
0-14 years: 27.3% (male 11,116; female 10,844)
15-64 years: 66.5% (male 26,068; female 27,425) 65 years and over: 6.2% (male 1,654; female 3,362) (2003 est.) |
Agriculture - products | fruits, vegetables, grapes, potatoes, sugar beets, soybeans, grain, olives; beef, dairy products; fish | coconuts, cinnamon, vanilla, sweet potatoes, cassava (tapioca), bananas; broiler chickens; tuna fish |
Airports | 134 (2003 est.) | 14 (2002) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 96
over 3,047 m: 6 2,438 to 3,047 m: 32 1,524 to 2,437 m: 16 914 to 1,523 m: 30 under 914 m: 12 (2004 est.) |
total: 7
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 4 under 914 m: 2 (2002) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 38
1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 18 under 914 m: 18 (2004 est.) |
total: 7
914 to 1,523 m: 3 under 914 m: 4 (2002) |
Area | total: 301,230 sq km
land: 294,020 sq km water: 7,210 sq km note: includes Sardinia and Sicily |
total: 455 sq km
land: 455 sq km water: 0 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly larger than Arizona | 2.5 times the size of Washington, DC |
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 II. An era of parliamentary government came to a close in the early 1920s when Benito MUSSOLINI established a Fascist dictatorship. His disastrous alliance with Nazi Germany led to Italy's defeat in World War II. A democratic republic replaced the monarchy in 1946 and economic revival followed. Italy was a charter member of NATO and the European Economic Community (EEC). It has been at the forefront of European economic and political unification, joining the European Monetary Union in 1999. Persistent problems include illegal immigration, organized crime, corruption, high unemployment, sluggish economic growth, and the low incomes and technical standards of southern Italy compared with the prosperous north. | A lengthy struggle between France and Great Britain for the islands ended in 1814, when they were ceded to the latter. Independence came in 1976. Socialist rule was brought to a close with a new constitution and free elections in 1993. The most recent presidential elections were held 31 August-2 September 2001. President RENE, who has served since 1977, was re-elected. |
Birth rate | 9.05 births/1,000 population (2004 est.) | 16.89 births/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $668 billion
expenditures: $703.1 billion, including capital expenditures of NA (2003) |
revenues: $249 million
expenditures: $262 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (1998 est.) |
Capital | Rome | Victoria |
Climate | predominantly Mediterranean; Alpine in far north; hot, dry in south | tropical marine; humid; cooler season during southeast monsoon (late May to September); warmer season during northwest monsoon (March to May) |
Coastline | 7,600 km | 491 km |
Constitution | passed 11 December 1947; effective 1 January 1948; amended many times | 18 June 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: Republic of Seychelles
conventional short form: Seychelles |
Currency | euro (EUR)
note: on 1 January 1999, the European Monetary Union introduced the euro as a common currency to be used by financial institutions of member countries; on 1 January 2002, the euro became the sole currency for everyday transactions within the member countries |
Seychelles rupee (SCR) |
Death rate | 10.21 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.) | 6.49 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Debt - external | $868.5 billion NA (2003) | $170 million (2002 est.) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Melvin F. SEMBLER
embassy: Via Vittorio Veneto 119/A, 00187-Rome mailing address: PSC 59, Box 100, APO AE 09624 telephone: [39] (06) 46741 FAX: [39] (06) 488-2672, 4674-2356 consulate(s) general: Florence, Milan, Naples |
the US does not have an embassy in Seychelles; the ambassador to Mauritius is accredited to the Seychelles |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Sergio VENTO
chancery: 3000 Whitehaven Street NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 612-4400 FAX: [1] (202) 518-2151 consulate(s) general: Boston, Chicago, Houston, Miami, New York, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, and San Francisco consulate(s): Detroit |
chief of mission: Ambassador Claude Sylvestre MOREL
chancery: 800 Second Avenue, Suite 400C, New York, NY 10017 telephone: [1] (212) 972-1785 FAX: [1] (212) 972-1786 |
Disputes - international | none | claims the Chagos Archipelago (UK-administered British Indian Ocean Territory) |
Economic aid - donor | ODA, $1 billion (2002 est.) | - |
Economic aid - recipient | - | $16.4 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, welfare-dependent agricultural south, with 20% unemployment. Most raw materials needed by industry and more than 75% of energy requirements are imported. Over the past decade, Italy has pursued a tight fiscal policy in order to meet the requirements of the Economic and Monetary Unions and has benefited from lower interest and inflation rates. The current government has enacted numerous short-term reforms aimed at improving competitiveness and long-term growth. Italy has moved slowly, however, on implementing needed structural reforms, such as lightening the high tax burden and overhauling Italy's rigid labor market and over-generous pension system, because of the current economic slowdown and opposition from labor unions. | Since independence in 1976, per capita output in this Indian Ocean archipelago has expanded to roughly seven times the old near-subsistence level. Growth has been led by the tourist sector, which employs about 30% of the labor force and provides more than 70% of hard currency earnings, and by tuna fishing. In recent years the government has encouraged foreign investment in order to upgrade hotels and other services. At the same time, the government has moved to reduce the dependence on tourism by promoting the development of farming, fishing, and small-scale manufacturing. A sharp drop illustrated the vulnerability of the tourist sector in 1991-92 due largely to the Gulf war, and once again following the 11 September 2001 terrorist attacks on the US. Other issues facing the government are the curbing of the budget deficit, including the containment of social welfare costs, and further privatization of public enterprises. Growth slowed in 1998-2002, due to sluggish tourist and tuna sectors. Also, tight controls on exchange rates and the scarcity of foreign exchange have impaired short-term economic prospects. The black market value of the Seychelles rupee is half the official exchange rate; without a devaluation of the currency the tourist sector should remain sluggish as vacationers seek cheaper destinations such as Comoros, Mauritius, and Madagascar. |
Electricity - consumption | 289.1 billion kWh (2001) | 148.8 million kWh (2001) |
Electricity - exports | 556 million kWh (2001) | 0 kWh (2001) |
Electricity - imports | 48.93 billion kWh (2001) | 0 kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production | 258.8 billion kWh (2001) | 160 million kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production by source | - | fossil fuel: 100%
hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2001) |
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: Indian Ocean 0 m
highest point: Morne Seychellois 905 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 | water supply depends on catchments to collect rainwater |
Environment - international agreements | party to: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Sulfur 85, Air Pollution-Sulfur 94, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Seals, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, 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: Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants |
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution
signed, but not ratified: Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol |
Ethnic groups | Italian (includes small clusters of German-, French-, and Slovene-Italians in the north and Albanian-Italians and Greek-Italians in the south) | mixed French, African, Indian, Chinese, and Arab |
Exchange rates | euros per US dollar - 0.886 (2003), 1.0626 (2002), 1.1175 (2001), 1.0854 (2000), 0.9386 (1999) | Seychelles rupees per US dollar - 5.48 (2002), 5.86 (2001), 5.71 (2000), 5.34 (1999), 5.26 (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 four-party government coalition includes Forza Italia, National Alliance, Northern League, and Union of Christian Democrats and Democrats of the Center |
chief of state: President France Albert RENE (since 5 June 1977); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government
head of government: President France Albert RENE (since 5 June 1977); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; election last held 31 August-2 September 2001 (next to be held NA 2006) election results: France Albert RENE reelected president; percent of vote - France Albert RENE (SPPF) 54.19%, Wavel RAMKALAWAN (UO) 44.95%, Philippe BOULLE 0.86%; note - the first time that presidential elections have been held separately from legislative elections |
Exports | 456,600 bbl/day (2001) | NA (2001) |
Exports - commodities | engineering products, textiles and clothing, production machinery, motor vehicles, transport equipment, chemicals; food, beverages and tobacco; minerals and nonferrous metals | canned tuna, frozen fish, cinnamon bark, copra, petroleum products (reexports) |
Exports - partners | Germany 13.8%, France 12.3%, US 8.5%, Spain 7%, UK 6.9% (2003) | UK 28.6%, France 20%, Italy 8.7%, US 8.4%, Spain 6.7%, Japan 6.7%, Netherlands 6.6%, Thailand 6.4% (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 |
five oblique bands of blue (hoist side), yellow, red, white, and green (bottom) radiating from the bottom of the hoist side |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $1.55 trillion (2003 est.) | purchasing power parity - $626 million (2002 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 2.2%
industry: 28.9% services: 68.9% (2003 est.) |
agriculture: 2.4%
industry: 24.4% services: 73.2% (2000) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $26,700 (2003 est.) | purchasing power parity - $7,800 (2002 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 0.4% (2003 est.) | 1.5% (2002 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 42 50 N, 12 50 E | 4 35 S, 55 40 E |
Geography - note | strategic location dominating central Mediterranean as well as southern sea and air approaches to Western Europe | 40 granitic and about 50 coralline islands |
Heliports | 4 (2003 est.) | - |
Highways | total: 479,688 km
paved: 479,688 km (including 6,621 km of expressways) unpaved: 0 km (1999) |
total: 373 km
paved: 315 km unpaved: 58 km (1997 est.) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: 2.1%
highest 10%: 26.6% (2000) |
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; money laundering by organized crime and from smuggling | - |
Imports | 2.158 million bbl/day (2001) | 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, petroleum products, chemicals |
Imports - partners | Germany 17.9%, France 11.2%, Netherlands 5.8%, Spain 4.8%, UK 4.7%, Belgium 4.3%, US 4% (2003) | Saudi Arabia 15.6%, France 12.8%, Spain 9.9%, Italy 9.7%, South Africa 8.4%, Singapore 7.3%, UK 6.1%, Taiwan 4.2% (2002) |
Independence | 17 March 1861 (Kingdom of Italy proclaimed; Italy was not finally unified until 1870) | 29 June 1976 (from UK) |
Industrial production growth rate | -0.5% (2003) | NA% |
Industries | tourism, machinery, iron and steel, chemicals, food processing, textiles, motor vehicles, clothing, footwear, ceramics | fishing; tourism; processing of coconuts and vanilla, coir (coconut fiber) rope, boat building, printing, furniture; beverages |
Infant mortality rate | total: 6.07 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 6.68 deaths/1,000 live births female: 5.41 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.) |
total: 16.41 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 20.75 deaths/1,000 live births female: 11.94 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 2.7% (2003 est.) | 0.5% (2002 est.) |
International organization participation | AfDB, AsDB, Australia Group, BIS, BSEC (observer), CDB, CE, CEI, CERN, EAPC, EBRD, EIB, EMU, ESA, EU, FAO, G- 7, G- 8, G-10, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, LAIA (observer), MIGA, MINURSO, NAM (guest), NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OPCW, OSCE, Paris Club, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIFIL, UNMEE, UNMIK, UNMOGIP, UNTSO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WEU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO, ZC | ACCT, ACP, AfDB, C, ECA, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt (signatory), ICFTU, ICRM, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, InOC, Interpol, IOC, ISO (correspondent), ITU, NAM, OAU, OPCW, SADC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO (observer) |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | - | 1 (2000) |
Irrigated land | 26,980 sq km (1998 est.) | NA sq km |
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) | Court of Appeal; Supreme Court; judges for both courts are appointed by the president |
Labor force | 24.15 million (2003 est.) | 30,900 (1996) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 5%, industry 32%, services 63% (2001) | industry 19%, services 71%, agriculture 10% (1989) |
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 |
0 km |
Land use | arable land: 27.79%
permanent crops: 9.53% other: 62.68% (2001) |
arable land: 2.22%
permanent crops: 13.33% other: 84.45% (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) | English (official), French (official), Creole |
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 English common law, French civil law, and customary 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 2006); Chamber of Deputies - last held 13 May 2001 (next to be held May 2006) election results: Senate - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - House of Liberties 172 (Forza Italia 77, National Alliance 47, UDC 31, Lega Padana 17), Olive Tree 108 (Democrats of the Left 63, Daisy Alliance 35, Greens 10), Per le Autonomie 10, other 25; Chamber of Deputies - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - House of Liberties 337 (Forza Italia 176, National Alliance 97, UDC 36, Northern League 28), Olive Tree 214 (Democrats of the Left 135, Daisy Alliance 79), Rifondazione Communista 11, other 68 |
unicameral National Assembly or Assemblee Nationale (34 seats - 25 elected by popular vote, 9 allocated on a proportional basis to parties winning at least 10% of the vote; members serve five-year terms)
elections: last held 4-6 December 2002 (next held by 2007) election results: percent of vote by party - SPPF 54.3%, SNP 42.6%, DP 3.1%; seats by party - SPPF 23, SNP 11 note: the 9 awarded seats are apportioned according to the percentage that each party won of the total vote |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 79.54 years
male: 76.61 years female: 82.66 years (2004 est.) |
total population: 71.25 years
male: 65.78 years female: 76.88 years (2003 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 98.6% male: 99% female: 98.3% (2003 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 58% male: 56% female: 60% (1971 est.) |
Location | Southern Europe, a peninsula extending into the central Mediterranean Sea, northeast of Tunisia | Eastern Africa, group of islands in the Indian Ocean, northeast of Madagascar |
Map references | Europe | Africa |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 nm
continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation |
contiguous zone: 24 NM
continental shelf: 200 NM or to the edge of the continental margin exclusive economic zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
Merchant marine | total: 475 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 8,970,017 GRT/10,354,685 DWT
by type: bulk 39, cargo 40, chemical tanker 106, combination ore/oil 2, container 23, liquefied gas 43, livestock carrier 2, multi-functional large load carrier 1, passenger 13, passenger/cargo 1, petroleum tanker 74, refrigerated cargo 4, roll on/roll off 62, short-sea/passenger 31, specialized tanker 11, vehicle carrier 23 foreign-owned: Denmark 4, France 3, Greece 5, Japan 1, Isle of Man 1, Monaco 22, Netherlands 4, Panama 2, Switzerland 2, Taiwan 10, United Kingdom 5, United States 13 registered in other countries: 144 (2004 est.) |
total: 5 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 37,281 GRT/55,702 DWT
ships by type: cargo 3, chemical tanker 1, container 1 note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: South Africa 2 (2002 est.) |
Military branches | Army, Navy, Air Force (Aeronautica Militare Italiana, AMI), Carabinieri | Army, Coast Guard (includes Air Wing), Presidential Protection Unit (includes Presidential Guard), Police Force (includes Police Mobile Unit, a special weapons and tactics unit capable of assisting the Army in maintaining internal stability) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $28,182.8 million (2003) | $12.8 million (FY02) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 1.9% (2003) | 1.8% (FY02) |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49: 14,408,392 (2004 est.) | males age 15-49: 23,444 (2003 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49: 12,279,516 (2004 est.) | males age 15-49: 11,639 (2003 est.) |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males: 285,601 (2004 est.) | - |
National holiday | Republic Day, 2 June (1946) | Constitution Day (National Day), 18 June (1993) |
Nationality | noun: Italian(s)
adjective: Italian |
noun: Seychellois (singular and plural)
adjective: Seychellois |
Natural hazards | regional risks include landslides, mudflows, avalanches, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, flooding; land subsidence in Venice | lies outside the cyclone belt, so severe storms are rare; short droughts possible |
Natural resources | coal, mercury, zinc, potash, marble, barite, asbestos, pumice, fluorospar, feldspar, pyrite (sulfur), natural gas and crude oil reserves, fish, arable land | fish, copra, cinnamon trees |
Net migration rate | 2.07 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.) | -5.84 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Pipelines | gas 17,335 km; oil 1,136 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; Democrats of the Left or DS [Piero FASSINO]; Forza Italia or FI [Silvio BERLUSCONI]; Green Federation [Alfonso Pecoraro SCANIO]; Italian Communist Party or PdCI [Armando COSSUTTA]; Italian Renewal or RI [Lamberto DINI]; merged with PPI and I Democratici to form La Margherita (or The Daisy Alliance); Italian Social Democrats or SDI [Enrico BOSELLI]; Lega Padana [Roberto BERNARDELLI]; National Alliance or AN [Gianfranco FINI]; Northern League or NL [Umberto BOSSI]; Socialist Movement-Tricolor Flame or MS-Fiamma [Luca ROMAGNOLI]; South Tyrol People's Party or SVP (German speakers) [Elmar Pichler ROLLE]; Sunflower Alliance (includes Green Federation, Italian Social Democrats); The Daisy Alliance (includes Italian Popular Party, Italian Renewal, Union of Democrats for Europe, The Democrats) [Francesco RUTELLI]; The Democrats [Arturo PARISI]; The Radicals (formerly Pannella Reformers and Autonomous List) [Marco PANNELLA]; Union of Democrats for Europe or UDEUR [Clemente MASTELLA]; Union of Christian and Center Democrats or UDC [Marco FOLLINI] | Democratic Party or DP [James MANCHAM, Daniel BELLE]; Mouvement Seychellois pour la Democratie [Jacques HODOUL]; Seychelles National Party or SNP (formerly the United Opposition or UO) [Wavel RAMKALAWAN]; Seychelles People's Progressive Front or SPPF [France Albert RENE, James MICHEL] - the governing party |
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 [Guglielmo EPIFANI] 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 [Luigi ANGELETTI] which is lay centrist) | Roman Catholic Church; trade unions |
Population | 58,057,477 (July 2004 est.) | 80,469 (July 2003 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA | NA% |
Population growth rate | 0.09% (2004 est.) | 0.46% (2003 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Augusta (Sicily), Bagnoli, Bari, Brindisi, Gela (Sicily), Genoa, La Spezia, Livorno, Milazzo (Sicily), Naples, Porto Foxi, Porto Torres (Sardinia), Salerno, Savona, Taranto, Trieste, Venice | Victoria |
Radio broadcast stations | AM about 100, FM about 4,600, shortwave 9 (1998) | AM 1, FM 1, shortwave 2 (1998) |
Railways | total: 19,507 km (11,651 km electrified)
standard gauge: 18,070 km 1.435-m gauge (11,375 km electrified) narrow gauge: 123 km 1.000-m gauge (88 km electrified); 1,314 km 0.950-m gauge (188 km electrified) (2003) |
0 km |
Religions | predominately Roman Catholic with mature Protestant and Jewish communities and a growing Muslim immigrant community | Roman Catholic 86.6%, Anglican 6.8%, other Christian 2.5%, other 4.1% |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.07 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.06 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.02 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.71 male(s)/female total population: 0.96 male(s)/female (2004 est.) |
at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.03 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.95 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.49 male(s)/female total population: 0.93 male(s)/female (2003 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal (except in senatorial elections, where minimum age is 25) | 17 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: country code - 39; 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: effective system
domestic: radiotelephone communications between islands in the archipelago international: direct radiotelephone communications with adjacent island countries and African coastal countries; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Indian Ocean) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 26.596 million (2003) | 19,635 (1997) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 55.918 million (2003) | 16,316 (1999) |
Television broadcast stations | 358 (plus 4,728 repeaters) (1995) | 2 (plus 9 repeaters) (1997) |
Terrain | mostly rugged and mountainous; some plains, coastal lowlands | Mahe Group is granitic, narrow coastal strip, rocky, hilly; others are coral, flat, elevated reefs |
Total fertility rate | 1.27 children born/woman (2004 est.) | 1.79 children born/woman (2003 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 8.6% (2003 est.) | NA% |
Waterways | 2,400 km
note: used for commercial traffic; of limited overall value compared to road and rail (2004) |
none |