Italy (2005) | Lithuania (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 | 10 counties (apskritys, singular - apskritis); Alytaus, Kauno, Klaipedos, Marijampoles, Panevezio, Siauliu, Taurages, Telsiu, Utenos, Vilniaus |
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: 16.7% (male 309,736; female 294,129)
15-64 years: 68.4% (male 1,202,603; female 1,262,784) 65 years and over: 14.9% (male 184,145; female 354,502) (2004 est.) |
Agriculture - products | fruits, vegetables, grapes, potatoes, sugar beets, soybeans, grain, olives; beef, dairy products; fish | grain, potatoes, sugar beets, flax, vegetables; beef, milk, eggs; fish |
Airports | 134 (2004 est.) | 102 (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: 4 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 7 914 to 1,523 m: 2 under 914 m: 14 (2003 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 38
1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 18 under 914 m: 18 (2004 est.) |
total: 74
1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 5 under 914 m: 67 (2003 est.) |
Area | total: 301,230 sq km
land: 294,020 sq km water: 7,210 sq km note: includes Sardinia and Sicily |
total: 65,200 sq km
land: NA sq km water: NA sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly larger than Arizona | slightly larger than West Virginia |
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. | Independent between the two World Wars, Lithuania was annexed by the USSR in 1940. On 11 March 1990, Lithuania became the first of the Soviet republics to declare its independence, but Moscow did not recognize this proclamation until September of 1991 (following the abortive coup in Moscow). The last Russian troops withdrew in 1993. Lithuania subsequently restructured its economy for integration into Western European institutions; it joined both NATO and the EU in the spring of 2004. |
Birth rate | 8.89 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) | 8.49 births/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $768.9 billion
expenditures: $820.1 billion, including capital expenditures of NA (2004 est.) |
revenues: $5.427 billion
expenditures: $5.742 billion, including capital expenditures of NA (2003 est.) |
Capital | Rome | Vilnius |
Climate | predominantly Mediterranean; Alpine in far north; hot, dry in south | transitional, between maritime and continental; wet, moderate winters and summers |
Coastline | 7,600 km | 99 km |
Constitution | passed 11 December 1947, effective 1 January 1948; amended many times | adopted 25 October 1992 |
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 Lithuania
conventional short form: Lithuania local long form: Lietuvos Respublika local short form: Lietuva former: Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic |
Currency | - | litas (LTL) |
Death rate | 10.3 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) | 11.03 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Debt - external | $913.9 billion (2004 est.) | $7.671 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 Stephen D. MULL
embassy: 2600 Akmenu 6, Vilnius mailing address: American Embassy, Vilnius, PSC 78, Box V, APO AE 09723 telephone: [370] (5) 266 5500 FAX: [370] (5) 266 5510 |
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 Vygaudas USACKAS
chancery: 2622 16th Street NW, Washington, DC 20009 telephone: [1] (202) 234-5860 FAX: [1] (202) 328-0466 consulate(s) general: Chicago and New York |
Disputes - international | Italy's long coastline and developed economy entices tens of thousands of illegal immigrants from southeastern Europe and northern Africa | in May 2003, the Russian Parliament ratified the 1997 land and maritime boundary treaty with Lithuania, which ratified the treaty in 1999, legalizing limits of former Soviet republic borders; both states also implement a simplified transit regime for Russian nationals transiting Lithuania to and from the Russian Kaliningrad coastal enclave; the Latvian Parliament has not ratified its 1998 maritime boundary treaty with Lithuania, primarily due to concerns over oil exploration rights |
Economic aid - donor | ODA, $1 billion (2002 est.) | - |
Economic aid - recipient | - | $228.5 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. But the leadership faces a severe economic constraint: the budget has breached the 3% EU deficit ceiling. | Lithuania, the Baltic state that has conducted the most trade with Russia, has slowly rebounded from the 1998 Russian financial crisis. Unemployment remains high, still 10.7% in 2003, but is improving. Growing domestic consumption and increased investment have furthered recovery. Trade has been increasingly oriented toward the West. Lithuania has gained membership in the World Trade Organization and has moved ahead with plans to join the EU. Privatization of the large, state-owned utilities, particularly in the energy sector, is nearing completion. Overall, more than 80% of enterprises have been privatized. Foreign government and business support have helped in the transition from the old command economy to a market economy. |
Electricity - consumption | 293.9 billion kWh (2002) | 8.683 billion kWh (2001) |
Electricity - exports | 900 million kWh (2002) | 6.3 billion kWh (2001) |
Electricity - imports | 51.5 billion kWh (2002) | 1.389 billion kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production | 261.6 billion kWh (2002) | 14.62 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: Baltic Sea 0 m
highest point: Juozapines/Kalnas 292 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 | contamination of soil and groundwater with petroleum products and chemicals at military bases |
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: Air Pollution, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants |
Ethnic groups | Italian (includes small clusters of German-, French-, and Slovene-Italians in the north and Albanian-Italians and Greek-Italians in the south) | Lithuanian 80.6%, Russian 8.7%, Polish 7%, Belarusian 1.6%, other 2.1% |
Exchange rates | euros per US dollar - 0.8054 (2004), 0.886 (2003), 1.0626 (2002), 1.1175 (2001), 1.0854 (2000) | litai per US dollar - 3.0609 (2003), 3.677 (2002), 4 (2001), 4 (2000), 4 (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 Valdas ADAMKUS (since 12 July 2004)
head of government: Premier Algirdas Mykolas BRAZAUSKAS (since 3 July 2001) cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president on the nomination of the premier elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; election last held 13 June 2004 and 27 June 2004; premier appointed by the president on the approval of the Parliament election results: Valdas ADAMKUS elected president; percent of vote - Valdas ADAMKUS 52.2%, Kazimiera PRUNSKIENE 47.8% |
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 | mineral products 23%, textiles and clothing 16%, machinery and equipment 11%, chemicals 6%, wood and wood products 5%, foodstuffs 5% (2001) |
Exports - partners | Germany 13.6%, France 12.3%, US 8%, Spain 7.2%, UK 6.9%, Switzerland 4.2% (2004) | Switzerland 11.6%, Russia 10.1%, Germany 9.9%, Latvia 9.7%, UK 6.4%, France 5.1%, Denmark 4.7%, Estonia 4.3%, Sweden 4% (2003) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | calendar year |
Flag description | three equal vertical bands of green (hoist side), white, and red; similar to the flag of Ireland, which is longer and is green (hoist side), white, and orange; also similar to the flag of the Cote d'Ivoire, which has the colors reversed - orange (hoist side), white, and green
note: inspired by the French flag brought to Italy by Napoleon in 1797 |
three equal horizontal bands of yellow (top), green, and red |
GDP | - | purchasing power parity - $40.88 billion (2003 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 2.3%
industry: 28.8% services: 68.9% (2004 est.) |
agriculture: 6.1%
industry: 31.3% services: 62.6% (2003 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $27,700 (2004 est.) | purchasing power parity - $11,400 (2003 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 1.3% (2004 est.) | 9% (2003 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 42 50 N, 12 50 E | 56 00 N, 24 00 E |
Geography - note | strategic location dominating central Mediterranean as well as southern sea and air approaches to Western Europe | fertile central plains are separated by hilly uplands that are ancient glacial deposits |
Heliports | 4 (2004 est.) | - |
Highways | total: 479,688 km
paved: 479,688 km (including 6,621 km of expressways) unpaved: 0 km (1999) |
total: 75,243 km
paved: 68,697 km (including 417 km of expressways) unpaved: 6,546 km (2000) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: 2.1%
highest 10%: 26.6% (2000) |
lowest 10%: 3.1%
highest 10%: 25.6% (1996) |
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 | transshipment point for opiates and other illicit drugs from Southwest Asia, Latin America, and Western Europe to Western Europe and Scandinavia; limited production of methamphetamine and ecstasy; susceptible to money laundering despite changes to banking legislation |
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 | mineral products 21%, machinery and equipment 17%, transport equipment 11%, chemicals 9%, textiles and clothing 9%, metals 5% (2001) |
Imports - partners | Germany 18%, France 10.9%, Netherlands 5.9%, Spain 4.6%, Belgium 4.4%, UK 4.3%, China 4.2% (2004) | Russia 22%, Germany 16.1%, Poland 5.2%, Italy 4.3%, France 4.2% (2003) |
Independence | 17 March 1861 (Kingdom of Italy proclaimed; Italy was not finally unified until 1870) | 11 March 1990 (independence declared from Soviet Union); 6 September 1991 (Soviet Union recognizes Lithuania's independence) |
Industrial production growth rate | 0.7% (2004 est.) | 16.1% (2003 est.) |
Industries | tourism, machinery, iron and steel, chemicals, food processing, textiles, motor vehicles, clothing, footwear, ceramics | metal-cutting machine tools, electric motors, television sets, refrigerators and freezers, petroleum refining, shipbuilding (small ships), furniture making, textiles, food processing, fertilizers, agricultural machinery, optical equipment, electronic components, computers, amber |
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: 7.13 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 8.61 deaths/1,000 live births female: 5.57 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 2.3% (2004 est.) | -1.2% (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 | ACCT (observer), Australia Group, BIS, CBSS, CE, EAPC, EBRD, EIB, EU (new member), FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO (correspondent), ITU, MIGA, NIB, NSG, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, PFP, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMIK, UPU, WCL, WCO, WEU (member affiliate), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO |
Irrigated land | 26,980 sq km (1998 est.) | 90 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; Court of Appeal; judges for all courts appointed by the President |
Labor force | 24.27 million (2004 est.) | 1.642 million (2003 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 5%, industry 32%, services 63% (2001) | agriculture 20%, industry 30%, services 50% (1997 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: 1,273 km
border countries: Belarus 502 km, Latvia 453 km, Poland 91 km, Russia (Kaliningrad) 227 km |
Land use | arable land: 27.79%
permanent crops: 9.53% other: 62.68% (2001) |
arable land: 45.22%
permanent crops: 0.91% other: 53.87% (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) | Lithuanian (official), Polish, Russian |
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; legislative acts can be appealed to the constitutional court |
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 Parliament or Seimas (141 seats, 71 members are directly elected by popular vote, 70 are elected by proportional representation; members serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 10 and 24 October 2004 (next to be held October 2008) election results: percent of vote by party - Labor 28.6%, Working for Lithuania (Social Democrats and Social Liberals) 20.7%, Homeland Union (Conservatives) 14.6%, For Order and Justice (Liberal Democrats and Lithuanian People's Union) 11.4%, Liberal and Center Union 9.1%, Union of Farmers and New Democracy 6.6%; seats by faction - Labor 39, Homeland Union 25, Social Democrats 20, Liberal and Center Union 18, Social Liberals 11, Union of Farmers and New Democracy Parties 10, Liberal Democrats 10, Electoral Action 2, independents 6 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 79.68 years
male: 76.75 years female: 82.81 years (2005 est.) |
total population: 73.46 years
male: 68.22 years female: 79 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: 99.6% male: 99.7% female: 99.6% (2003 est.) |
Location | Southern Europe, a peninsula extending into the central Mediterranean Sea, northeast of Tunisia | Eastern Europe, bordering the Baltic Sea, between Latvia and Russia |
Map references | Europe | Europe |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 nm
continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation |
territorial sea: 12 nm |
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: 49 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 296,856 GRT/317,731 DWT
by type: cargo 20, chemical tanker 1, combination bulk 8, petroleum tanker 2, refrigerated cargo 12, roll on/roll off 2, short-sea/passenger 4 foreign-owned: Denmark 12, Netherlands 1 registered in other countries: 11 (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) | National Defense Volunteer Forces (SKAT), Ground Forces, Navy, Air Force |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $28,182.8 million (2003) | $230.8 million (FY01) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 1.8% (2004) | 1.9% (FY01) |
Military manpower - availability | - | males age 15-49: 943,063 (2004 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | - | males age 15-49: 738,602 (2004 est.) |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | - | males: 28,300 (2004 est.) |
National holiday | Republic Day, 2 June (1946) | Independence Day, 16 February (1918); note - 16 February 1918 is the date Lithuania declared its independence from Soviet Russia and established its statehood; 11 March 1990 is the date it declared its independence from the Soviet Union |
Nationality | noun: Italian(s)
adjective: Italian |
noun: Lithuanian(s)
adjective: Lithuanian |
Natural hazards | regional risks include landslides, mudflows, avalanches, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, flooding; land subsidence in Venice | NA |
Natural resources | coal, mercury, zinc, potash, marble, barite, asbestos, pumice, fluorospar, feldspar, pyrite (sulfur), natural gas and crude oil reserves, fish, arable land | peat, arable land |
Net migration rate | 2.07 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.) | -0.71 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Pipelines | gas 17,335 km; oil 1,136 km (2004) | gas 1,696 km; oil 331 km; refined products 109 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] | Electoral Action of Lithuanian Poles [Valdemar TOMASZEVSKI, chairman]; Homeland Union/Conservative Party or TS [Andrius KUBILIUS, chairman]; Labor Party [Viktor USPASKICH, chairman]; Liberal and Center Union [Arturas ZUOKAS, chairman]; Liberal Democratic Party [Valentinas MAZURONIS, chairman]; Lithuanian Christian Democrats or LKD [Valentinas STUNDYS, chairman]; Lithuanian People's Union for a Fair Lithuania; Lithuanian Social Democratic Coalition [Algirdas BRAZAUSKAS, chairman] consists of the Lithuanian Democratic Labor Party or LDDP and the Lithuanian Social Democratic Party or LSDP; New Democracy and Farmer's Union or VNDPS [Kazimiera PRUNSKIENE, chairman]; Social Liberals (New Union) [Arturas PAULAUSKAS, chairman]; Social Union of Christian Conservatives [Gediminas VAGNORIUS, chairman]; Young Lithuania and New Nationalists |
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) | NA |
Population | 58,103,033 (July 2005 est.) | 3,607,899 (July 2004 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA | NA |
Population growth rate | 0.07% (2005 est.) | -0.33% (2004 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Augusta, Genoa, Livorno, Melilli Oil Terminal, Ravenna, Taranto, Trieste, Venice | Butinge, Kaunas, Klaipeda |
Radio broadcast stations | AM about 100, FM about 4,600, shortwave 9 (1998) | AM 29, FM 142, shortwave 1 (2001) |
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: 1,998 km
broad gauge: 1,807 km 1.524-m gauge (122 km electrified) standard gauge: 22 km 1.435-m gauge narrow gauge: 169 km 0.750-m gauge (all service suspended) (2003) |
Religions | predominately Roman Catholic with mature Protestant and Jewish communities and a growing Muslim immigrant community | Roman Catholic (primarily), Lutheran, Russian Orthodox, Protestant, Evangelical Christian Baptist, Muslim, Jewish |
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: 1.06 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.95 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.52 male(s)/female total population: 0.89 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: inadequate, but is being modernized to provide an improved international capability and better residential access
domestic: a national, fiber-optic cable, interurban, trunk system is nearing completion; rural exchanges are being improved and expanded; mobile cellular systems are being installed; access to the Internet is available; still many unsatisfied telephone subscriber applications international: country code - 370; landline connections to Latvia and Poland; major international connections to Denmark, Sweden, and Norway by submarine cable for further transmission by satellite |
Telephones - main lines in use | 26.596 million (2003) | 824,200 (2003) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 55.918 million (2003) | 2,169,900 (2003) |
Television broadcast stations | 358 (plus 4,728 repeaters) (1995) | 27
note: Lithuania has approximately 27 broadcasting stations, but may have as many as 100 transmitters, including repeater stations (2001) |
Terrain | mostly rugged and mountainous; some plains, coastal lowlands | lowland, many scattered small lakes, fertile soil |
Total fertility rate | 1.28 children born/woman (2005 est.) | 1.17 children born/woman (2004 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 8.6% (2004 est.) | 10.3% (2003 est.) |
Waterways | 2,400 km
note: used for commercial traffic; of limited overall value compared to road and rail (2004) |
600 km (2004) |