Italy (2005) | Israel (2004) | |
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 | 6 districts (mehozot, singular - mehoz); Central, Haifa, Jerusalem, Northern, Southern, Tel Aviv |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 13.9% (male 4,166,213/female 3,919,288)
15-64 years: 66.7% (male 19,554,416/female 19,174,629) 65 years and over: 19.4% (male 4,698,441/female 6,590,046) (2005 est.) |
0-14 years: 26.7% (male 847,591; female 808,399)
15-64 years: 63.4% (male 1,976,539; female 1,954,782) 65 years and over: 9.9% (male 262,781; female 348,916) (2004 est.) |
Agriculture - products | fruits, vegetables, grapes, potatoes, sugar beets, soybeans, grain, olives; beef, dairy products; fish | citrus, vegetables, cotton; beef, poultry, dairy products |
Airports | 134 (2004 est.) | 51 (2003 est.) |
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: 28
over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 4 1,524 to 2,437 m: 8 914 to 1,523 m: 10 under 914 m: 4 (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 (2004 est.) |
total: 23
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 2 under 914 m: 20 (2004 est.) |
Area | total: 301,230 sq km
land: 294,020 sq km water: 7,210 sq km note: includes Sardinia and Sicily |
total: 20,770 sq km
land: 20,330 sq km water: 440 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly larger than Arizona | slightly smaller than New Jersey |
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 Economic and 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. | Following World War II, the British withdrew from their mandate of Palestine, and the UN partitioned the area into Arab and Jewish states, an arrangement rejected by the Arabs. Subsequently, the Israelis defeated the Arabs in a series of wars without ending the deep tensions between the two sides. The territories occupied by Israel since the 1967 war are not included in the Israel country profile, unless otherwise noted. On 25 April 1982, Israel withdrew from the Sinai pursuant to the 1979 Israel-Egypt Peace Treaty. Israel and Palestinian officials signed on 13 September 1993 a Declaration of Principles (also known as the "Oslo accords") guiding an interim period of Palestinian self-rule. Outstanding territorial and other disputes with Jordan were resolved in the 26 October 1994 Israel-Jordan Treaty of Peace. In addition, on 25 May 2000, Israel withdrew unilaterally from southern Lebanon, which it had occupied since 1982. In keeping with the framework established at the Madrid Conference in October 1991, bilateral negotiations were conducted between Israel and Palestinian representatives and Syria to achieve a permanent settlement. On 24 June 2002, US President BUSH laid out a "road map" for resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, which envisions a two-state solution. However, progress toward a permanent status agreement has been undermined by Palestinian-Israeli violence ongoing since September 2000. The conflict may have reached a turning point with the election in January 2005 of Mahmud ABBAS as the new Palestinian leader following the November 2004 death of Yasir ARAFAT. |
Birth rate | 8.89 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) | 18.45 births/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $768.9 billion
expenditures: $820.1 billion, including capital expenditures of NA (2004 est.) |
revenues: $44.98 billion
expenditures: $51.07 billion, including capital expenditures of NA (2003) |
Capital | Rome | Jerusalem; note - Israel proclaimed Jerusalem as its capital in 1950, but the US, like nearly all other countries, maintains its Embassy in Tel Aviv |
Climate | predominantly Mediterranean; Alpine in far north; hot, dry in south | temperate; hot and dry in southern and eastern desert areas |
Coastline | 7,600 km | 273 km |
Constitution | passed 11 December 1947, effective 1 January 1948; amended many times | no formal constitution; some of the functions of a constitution are filled by the Declaration of Establishment (1948), the Basic Laws of the parliament (Knesset), and the Israeli citizenship law |
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: State of Israel
conventional short form: Israel local long form: Medinat Yisra'el local short form: Yisra'el |
Currency | - | new Israeli shekel (ILS); note - NIS is the currency abbreviation; ILS is the International Organization for Standarization (ISO) code for the NIS |
Death rate | 10.3 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) | 6.19 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Debt - external | $913.9 billion (2004 est.) | $70.97 billion (2003 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 |
chief of mission: Ambassador Daniel C. KURTZER
embassy: 71 Hayarkon Street, Tel Aviv 63903 mailing address: PSC 98, Box 29, APO AE 09830 telephone: [972] (3) 519-7369/7453/7454/7457/7458/7551/7575 FAX: [972] (3) 516-4390 consulate(s) general: Jerusalem; note - an independent US mission, established in 1928, whose members are not accredited to a foreign government |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Giovanni CASTELLANETA
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 and San Francisco |
chief of mission: Ambassador Daniel AYALON
chancery: 3514 International Drive NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 364-5578 FAX: [1] (202) 364-5560 consulate(s) general: Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, Philadelphia, and San Francisco |
Disputes - international | Italy's long coastline and developed economy entices tens of thousands of illegal immigrants from southeastern Europe and northern Africa | West Bank and Gaza Strip are Israeli-occupied with current status subject to the Israeli-Palestinian Interim Agreement - permanent status to be determined through further negotiation; Golan Heights is Israeli-occupied (Lebanon claims the Shab'a Farms area of Golan Heights) |
Economic aid - donor | ODA, $1 billion (2002 est.) | - |
Economic aid - recipient | - | $662 million from US (2003 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, 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. But the leadership faces a severe economic constraint: the budget has breached the 3% EU deficit ceiling. | Israel has a technologically advanced market economy with substantial government participation. It depends on imports of crude oil, grains, raw materials, and military equipment. Despite limited natural resources, Israel has intensively developed its agricultural and industrial sectors over the past 20 years. Israel imports substantial quantities of grain but is largely self-sufficient in other agricultural products. Cut diamonds, high-technology equipment, and agricultural products (fruits and vegetables) are the leading exports. Israel usually posts sizable current account deficits, which are covered by large transfer payments from abroad and by foreign loans. Roughly half of the government's external debt is owed to the US, which is its major source of economic and military aid. The bitter Israeli-Palestinian conflict; difficulties in the high-technology, construction, and tourist sectors; and fiscal austerity in the face of growing inflation led to small declines in GDP in 2001 and 2002. The economy grew at 1% in 2003, with improvements in tourism and foreign direct investment. In 2004, rising business and consumer confidence - as well as higher demand for Israeli exports - boosted GDP by 2.7%. |
Electricity - consumption | 293.9 billion kWh (2002) | 37.82 billion kWh (2001) |
Electricity - exports | 900 million kWh (2002) | 1.457 billion kWh (2001) |
Electricity - imports | 51.5 billion kWh (2002) | 0 kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production | 261.6 billion kWh (2002) | 42.24 billion kWh (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: Dead Sea -408 m
highest point: Har Meron 1,208 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 | limited arable land and natural fresh water resources pose serious constraints; desertification; air pollution from industrial and vehicle emissions; groundwater pollution from industrial and domestic waste, chemical fertilizers, and pesticides |
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, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Marine Life Conservation |
Ethnic groups | Italian (includes small clusters of German-, French-, and Slovene-Italians in the north and Albanian-Italians and Greek-Italians in the south) | Jewish 80.1% (Europe/America-born 32.1%, Israel-born 20.8%, Africa-born 14.6%, Asia-born 12.6%), non-Jewish 19.9% (mostly Arab) (1996 est.) |
Exchange rates | euros per US dollar - 0.8054 (2004), 0.886 (2003), 1.0626 (2002), 1.1175 (2001), 1.0854 (2000) | new Israeli shekels per US dollar - 4.5541 (2003), 4.7378 (2002), 4.2057 (2001), 4.0773 (2000), 4.1397 (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 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 Center Democrats |
chief of state: President Moshe KATZAV (since 31 July 2000)
head of government: Prime Minister Ariel SHARON (since 7 March 2001) cabinet: Cabinet selected by prime minister and approved by the Knesset elections: president is largely a ceremonial role and is elected by the Knesset for a seven-year term; election last held 31 July 2000 (next to be held mid-2007); following legislative elections, the president assigns a Knesset member - traditionally the leader of the largest party - the task of forming a governing coalition; election last held 28 January 2003 (next schedulde to be held fall of 2006) election results: Moshe KATZAV elected president by the 120-member Knesset with a total of 60 votes, other candidate, Shimon PERES, received 57 votes (there were three abstentions); Ariel SHARON continues as prime minister after Likud Party victory in January 2003 Knesset elections; Likud won 38 seats and then formed coalition government with Shinui, the National Religious Party, and the National Union |
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 | machinery and equipment, software, cut diamonds, agricultural products, chemicals, textiles and apparel |
Exports - partners | Germany 13.6%, France 12.3%, US 8%, Spain 7.2%, UK 6.9%, Switzerland 4.2% (2004) | US 38.4%, Belgium 7.4%, Hong Kong 4.8% (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 |
white with a blue hexagram (six-pointed linear star) known as the Magen David (Shield of David) centered between two equal horizontal blue bands near the top and bottom edges of the flag |
GDP | - | purchasing power parity - $120.9 billion (2003 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 2.3%
industry: 28.8% services: 68.9% (2004 est.) |
agriculture: 2.8%
industry: 37.7% services: 59.5% (2003 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $27,700 (2004 est.) | purchasing power parity - $19,800 (2003 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 1.3% (2004 est.) | 1.3% (2003 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 42 50 N, 12 50 E | 31 30 N, 34 45 E |
Geography - note | strategic location dominating central Mediterranean as well as southern sea and air approaches to Western Europe | there are 242 Israeli settlements and civilian land use sites in the West Bank, 42 in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, 25 in the Gaza Strip, and 29 in East Jerusalem (February 2002 est.); Sea of Galilee is an important freshwater source |
Heliports | 4 (2004 est.) | 3 (2003 est.) |
Highways | total: 479,688 km
paved: 479,688 km (including 6,621 km of expressways) unpaved: 0 km (1999) |
total: 16,281 km
paved: 16,281 km (including 56 km of expressways) unpaved: NA (2000) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: 2.1%
highest 10%: 26.6% (2000) |
lowest 10%: 2.4%
highest 10%: 28.3% (1997) |
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 | increasingly concerned about cocaine and heroin abuse; drugs arrive in country from Lebanon and, increasingly, from Jordan; money-laundering center |
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 | raw materials, military equipment, investment goods, rough diamonds, fuels, grain, consumer goods |
Imports - partners | Germany 18%, France 10.9%, Netherlands 5.9%, Spain 4.6%, Belgium 4.4%, UK 4.3%, China 4.2% (2004) | US 15.6%, Belgium 9.3%, Germany 8%, UK 6.7%, Switzerland 6.1%, Italy 4.1% (2003) |
Independence | 17 March 1861 (Kingdom of Italy proclaimed; Italy was not finally unified until 1870) | 14 May 1948 (from League of Nations mandate under British administration) |
Industrial production growth rate | 0.7% (2004 est.) | -0.6% (2003 est.) |
Industries | tourism, machinery, iron and steel, chemicals, food processing, textiles, motor vehicles, clothing, footwear, ceramics | high-technology projects (including aviation, communications, computer-aided design and manufactures, medical electronics), wood and paper products, potash and phosphates, food, beverages, and tobacco, caustic soda, cement, diamond cutting |
Infant mortality rate | total: 5.94 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 6.55 deaths/1,000 live births female: 5.29 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.) |
total: 7.21 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 7.96 deaths/1,000 live births female: 6.42 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 2.3% (2004 est.) | 0.7% (2003 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 | BIS, BSEC (observer), CE (observer), CERN (observer), EBRD, FAO, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt (signatory), ICFTU, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS (observer), ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, MIGA, OAS (observer), OPCW (signatory), OSCE (partner), PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UPU, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO |
Irrigated land | 26,980 sq km (1998 est.) | 1,990 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | Constitutional Court or Corte Costituzionale (composed of 15 judges: one-third appointed by the president, one-third elected by parliament, one-third elected by the ordinary and administrative Supreme Courts) | Supreme Court (justices appointed for life by the president) |
Labor force | 24.27 million (2004 est.) | 2.61 million (2003 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 5%, industry 32%, services 63% (2001) | agriculture, forestry, and fishing 2.6%, manufacturing 20.2%, construction 7.5%, commerce 12.8%, transport, storage, and communications 6.2%, finance and business 13.1%, personal and other services 6.4%, public services 31.2% (1996) |
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: 1,017 km
border countries: Egypt 266 km, Gaza Strip 51 km, Jordan 238 km, Lebanon 79 km, Syria 76 km, West Bank 307 km |
Land use | arable land: 27.79%
permanent crops: 9.53% other: 62.68% (2001) |
arable land: 16.39%
permanent crops: 4.17% other: 79.44% (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) | Hebrew (official), Arabic used officially for Arab minority, English most commonly used foreign language |
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 | mixture of English common law, British Mandate regulations, and, in personal matters, Jewish, Christian, and Muslim legal systems; in December 1985, Israel informed the UN Secretariat that it would no longer accept compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
Legislative branch | bicameral Parliament or Parlamento consists of the Senate or Senato della Repubblica (315 seats elected by popular vote of which 232 are directly elected and 83 are elected by regional proportional representation; 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 (Italian Communist Party) 11, other 68 |
unicameral Knesset or parliament (120 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 28 January 2003 (next scheduled to be held fall of 2006) election results: percent of vote by party - Likud Party 29.4%, Labor 14.5%, Shinui 12.3%, Shas 8.2%, National Union 5.5%, Meretz 5.2%, United Torah Judaism 4.3%, National Religious Party 4.2%, Democratic Front for Peace and Equality 3.0%, One Nation 2.8%, National Democratic Assembly 2.3%, Yisra'el Ba'Aliya (YBA) 2.2%, United Arab List 2.1%, Green Leaf Party 1.2%, Herut 1.2%, other 1.6%; seats by party - Likud 38, Labor 19, Shinui 15, Shas 11, National Union 7, Meretz 6, National Religious Party 6, United Torah Judaism 5, Democratic Front for Peace and Equality 3, One Nation 3, National Democratic Assembly 3, YBA 2, United Arab List 2 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 79.68 years
male: 76.75 years female: 82.81 years (2005 est.) |
total population: 79.17 years
male: 77.08 years female: 81.37 years (2004 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: 95.4% male: 97.3% female: 93.6% (2003 est.) |
Location | Southern Europe, a peninsula extending into the central Mediterranean Sea, northeast of Tunisia | Middle East, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Egypt and Lebanon |
Map references | Europe | Middle East |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 nm
continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation |
territorial sea: 12 nm
continental shelf: to depth of exploitation |
Merchant marine | total: 565 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 8,970,017 GRT/10,354,685 DWT
by type: bulk carrier 38, cargo 43, chemical tanker 128, combination ore/oil 1, container 19, liquefied gas 38, livestock carrier 2, passenger 16, passenger/cargo 152, petroleum tanker 53, refrigerated cargo 4, roll on/roll off 34, specialized tanker 11, vehicle carrier 26 foreign-owned: 47 (France 3, Greece 7, Monaco 2, Switzerland 5, Taiwan 8, Turkey 2, United Kingdom 5, United States 15) registered in other countries: 125 (2005) |
total: 18 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 752,873 GRT/881,711 DWT
by type: container 18 registered in other countries: 40 (2004 est.) |
Military branches | Army (Esercito Italiano, EI), Navy (Marina Militare Italiana, MMI), Air Force (Aeronautica Militare Italiana, AMI), Carabinieri Corps (Corpo dei Carabinieri, CC) (2005) | Israel Defense Forces (IDF): Ground Corps (including Pioneer Fighting Youth (Nahal)), Navy, Air Force(including Air Defense Forces); note - historically there have been no separate Israeli military services |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $28,182.8 million (2003) | $9.11 billion (FY03) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 1.8% (2004) | 8.7% (FY02) |
Military manpower - availability | - | males age 15-49: 1,581,883
females age 15-49: 1,532,234 (2004 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | - | males age 15-49: 1,294,742
females age 15-49: 1,250,969 (2004 est.) |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | - | males: 51,054
females: 53,515 (2004 est.) |
National holiday | Republic Day, 2 June (1946) | Independence Day, 14 May (1948); note - Israel declared independence on 14 May 1948, but the Jewish calendar is lunar and the holiday may occur in April or May |
Nationality | noun: Italian(s)
adjective: Italian |
noun: Israeli(s)
adjective: Israeli |
Natural hazards | regional risks include landslides, mudflows, avalanches, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, flooding; land subsidence in Venice | sandstorms may occur during spring and summer; droughts; periodic earthquakes |
Natural resources | coal, mercury, zinc, potash, marble, barite, asbestos, pumice, fluorospar, feldspar, pyrite (sulfur), natural gas and crude oil reserves, fish, arable land | timber, potash, copper ore, natural gas, phosphate rock, magnesium bromide, clays, sand |
Net migration rate | 2.07 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.) | 0.68 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Pipelines | gas 17,335 km; oil 1,136 km (2004) | gas 140 km; oil 1,509 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]; Per le Autonomie [leader NA]; 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 Front for Peace and Equality (Hadash) [Muhammad BARAKA]; Green Leaf Party (no longer active) [Boaz WACHTEL and Shlomi SANDAK]; Herut (no longer active) [Michael KLEINER]; Labor Party [Shimon PERES]; Likud Party [Ariel SHARON]; Meretz (merged with YAHAD) [Zahava GALON]; National Democratic Assembly (Balad) [Azmi BISHARA]; National Religious Party [Ephraim "Efie" EITAM]; National Union (Haichud Haleumi) [Avigdor LIBERMAN] (includes Tekuma Moledet and Yisra'el Beiteinu); One Nation [David TAL]; Shas [Eliyahu YISHAI]; Shinui [Yosef "Tommy" LAPID]; United Arab List [Abd al-Malik DAHAMSHAH]; United Torah Judaism [Yaakov LITZMAN]; YAHAD [Yossi BEILIN]; Yisra'el Ba'Aliya or YBA (merged with Likud) [Natan SHARANSKY] |
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) | Israeli nationalists advocating Jewish settlement on the West Bank and Gaza Strip; Peace Now supports territorial concessions in the West Bank and Gaza Strip; Yesha (settler) Council promotes settler interests and opposes territorial compromise; B'Tselem monitors human rights abuses |
Population | 58,103,033 (July 2005 est.) | 6,199,008
note: includes about 187,000 Israeli settlers in the West Bank, about 20,000 in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, more than 5,000 in the Gaza Strip, and fewer than 177,000 in East Jerusalem (July 2004 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA | 18% (2001 est.) |
Population growth rate | 0.07% (2005 est.) | 1.29% (2004 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Augusta, Genoa, Livorno, Melilli Oil Terminal, Ravenna, Taranto, Trieste, Venice | Ashdod, Ashqelon, Elat (Eilat), Hadera, Haifa, Tel Aviv-Yafo |
Radio broadcast stations | AM about 100, FM about 4,600, shortwave 9 (1998) | AM 23, FM 15, shortwave 2 (1998) |
Railways | total: 19,319 km (11,613 km electrified)
standard gauge: 18,001 km 1.435-m gauge (11,333 km electrified) narrow gauge: 123 km 1.000-m gauge (122 km electrified); 1,195 km 0.950-m gauge (158 km electrified) (2004) |
total: 640 km
standard gauge: 640 km 1.435-m gauge (2003) |
Religions | predominately Roman Catholic with mature Protestant and Jewish communities and a growing Muslim immigrant community | Jewish 80.1%, Muslim 14.6% (mostly Sunni Muslim), Christian 2.1%, other 3.2% (1996 est.) |
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 (2005 est.) |
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.75 male(s)/female total population: 0.99 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: 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: most highly developed system in the Middle East although not the largest
domestic: good system of coaxial cable and microwave radio relay; all systems are digital international: country code - 972; 3 submarine cables; satellite earth stations - 3 Intelsat (2 Atlantic Ocean and 1 Indian Ocean) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 26.596 million (2003) | 3.006 million (2002) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 55.918 million (2003) | 6.334 million (2002) |
Television broadcast stations | 358 (plus 4,728 repeaters) (1995) | 17 (plus 36 low-power repeaters) (1995) |
Terrain | mostly rugged and mountainous; some plains, coastal lowlands | Negev desert in the south; low coastal plain; central mountains; Jordan Rift Valley |
Total fertility rate | 1.28 children born/woman (2005 est.) | 2.47 children born/woman (2004 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 8.6% (2004 est.) | 10.7% (2003 est.) |
Waterways | 2,400 km
note: used for commercial traffic; of limited overall value compared to road and rail (2004) |
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