Italy (2008) | Wallis and Futuna (2001) | |
Administrative divisions | 15 regions (regioni, singular - regione) and 5 autonomous regions* (regioni autonome, singular - regione autonoma); Abruzzo, Basilicata, Calabria, Campania, Emilia-Romagna, Friuli-Venezia Giulia*, Lazio (Latium), Liguria, Lombardia, Marche, Molise, Piemonte (Piedmont), Puglia (Apulia), Sardegna* (Sardinia), Sicilia*, Toscana (Tuscany), Trentino-Alto Adige* (Trentino-South Tyrol), Umbria, Valle d'Aosta* (Aosta Valley), Veneto | none (overseas territory of France); there are no first-order administrative divisions as defined by the US Government, but there are three kingdoms named Alo, Sigave, Wallis |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 13.8% (male 4,121,246/female 3,874,971)
15-64 years: 66.4% (male 19,527,203/female 19,059,897) 65 years and over: 19.9% (male 4,823,244/female 6,741,172) (2007 est.) |
0-14 years:
NA% 15-64 years: NA% 65 years and over: NA% |
Agriculture - products | fruits, vegetables, grapes, potatoes, sugar beets, soybeans, grain, olives; beef, dairy products; fish | breadfruit, yams, taro, bananas; pigs, goats |
Airports | 132 (2007) | 2 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 101
over 3,047 m: 7 2,438 to 3,047 m: 32 1,524 to 2,437 m: 15 914 to 1,523 m: 34 under 914 m: 13 (2007) |
total:
1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 31
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 11 under 914 m: 19 (2007) |
total:
1 914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2000 est.) |
Area | total: 301,230 sq km
land: 294,020 sq km water: 7,210 sq km note: includes Sardinia and Sicily |
total:
274 sq km land: 274 sq km water: 0 sq km note: includes Ile Uvea (Wallis Island), Ile Futuna (Futuna Island), Ile Alofi, and 20 islets |
Area - comparative | slightly larger than Arizona | 1.5 times the size of Washington, DC |
Background | Italy became a nation-state in 1861 when the regional 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 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. | Although discovered by the Dutch and the British in the 17th and 18th centuries, it was the French who declared a protectorate over the islands in 1842. In 1959, the inhabitants of the islands voted to become a French overseas territory. |
Birth rate | 8.54 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) | NA births/1,000 population |
Budget | revenues: $976 billion
expenditures: $1.029 trillion (2007 est.) |
revenues:
$20 million expenditures: $17 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (1998 est.) |
Capital | name: Rome
geographic coordinates: 41 54 N, 12 29 E time difference: UTC+1 (6 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) daylight saving time: +1hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last Sunday in October |
Mata-Utu (on Ile Uvea) |
Climate | predominantly Mediterranean; Alpine in far north; hot, dry in south | tropical; hot, rainy season (November to April); cool, dry season (May to October); rains 2,500-3,000 mm per year (80% humidity); average temperature 26.6 degrees C |
Coastline | 7,600 km | 129 km |
Constitution | passed 11 December 1947, effective 1 January 1948; amended many times | 28 September 1958 (French Constitution) |
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:
Territory of the Wallis and Futuna Islands conventional short form: Wallis and Futuna local long form: Territoire des Iles Wallis et Futuna local short form: Wallis et Futuna |
Currency | - | Comptoirs Francais du Pacifique franc (XPF) |
Death rate | 10.5 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) | NA deaths/1,000 population |
Debt - external | $2.345 trillion (30 June 2007) | $NA |
Dependency status | - | overseas territory of France |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Ronald P. SPOGLI
embassy: Via Vittorio Veneto 121, 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 |
none (overseas territory of France) |
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, San Francisco consulate(s): Detroit |
none (overseas territory of France) |
Disputes - international | Italy's long coastline and developed economy entices tens of thousands of illegal immigrants from southeastern Europe and northern Africa | none |
Economic aid - donor | ODA, $1 billion (2002 est.) | - |
Economic aid - recipient | - | assistance from France |
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: Italy's official debt remains above 100% of GDP, and the government has found it difficult to bring the budget deficit down to a level that would allow a rapid decrease in that debt. The economy continues to grow by less than the euro-zone average and growth is expected to decelerate from 1.9% in 2006 and 2007 to under 1.5% in 2008 as the euro-zone and world economies slow. | The economy is limited to traditional subsistence agriculture, with about 80% of the labor force earning its livelihood from agriculture (coconuts and vegetables), livestock (mostly pigs), and fishing. About 4% of the population is employed in government. Revenues come from French Government subsidies, licensing of fishing rights to Japan and South Korea, import taxes, and remittances from expatriate workers in New Caledonia. |
Electricity - consumption | 307.1 billion kWh (2005) | NA kWh |
Electricity - exports | 1.109 billion kWh (2005) | - |
Electricity - imports | 50.26 billion kWh (2005) | - |
Electricity - production | 278.5 billion kWh (2005) | NA kWh |
Electricity - production by source | - | fossil fuel:
NA% hydro: NA% nuclear: NA% other: NA% |
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:
Pacific Ocean 0 m highest point: Mont Singavi 765 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 | deforestation (only small portions of the original forests remain) largely as a result of the continued use of wood as the main fuel source; as a consequence of cutting down the forests, the mountainous terrain of Futuna is particularly prone to erosion; there are no permanent settlements on Alofi because of the lack of natural fresh water resources |
Environment - international agreements | party to: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, 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: none of the selected agreements |
- |
Ethnic groups | Italian (includes small clusters of German-, French-, and Slovene-Italians in the north and Albanian-Italians and Greek-Italians in the south) | Polynesian |
Exchange rates | euros per US dollar - 0.7345 (2007), 0.7964 (2006), 0.8041 (2005), 0.8054 (2004), 0.886 (2003) | Comptoirs Francais du Pacifique francs (XPF) per US dollar - 1127.11 (January 2001), 129.43 (2000), 111.93 (1999), 107.25 (1998), 106.11 (1997), 93.00 (1996); note - linked at the rate of 119.25 XPF to the euro |
Executive branch | chief of state: President Giorgio NAPOLITANO (since 15 May 2006)
head of government: Prime Minister (referred to in Italy as the president of the Council of Ministers) Romano PRODI (since 17 May 2006) note - PRODI resigns after no confidence vote in the Senate on 24 January 2008, but retains his office until new prime minister is named; when men named by President NAPOLITANO cannot form a government acceptable to Parliament, NAPOLITANO dissolves parliament and calls for new elections on April 13 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 (no term limits); election last held 10 May 2006 (next to be held in May 2013); prime minister appointed by the president and confirmed by parliament election results: Giorgio NAPOLITANO elected president on the fourth round of voting; electoral college vote - 543 |
chief of state:
President Jacques CHIRAC of France (since 17 May 1995), represented by High Administrator Christian DORS (since NA) head of government: President of the Territorial Assembly Soane UHILA (since NA) cabinet: Council of the Territory consists of three kings and three members appointed by the high administrator on the advice of the Territorial Assembly note: there are three traditional kings with limited powers elections: French president elected by popular vote for a seven-year term; high administrator appointed by the French president on the advice of the French Ministry of the Interior; the presidents of the Territorial Government and the Territorial Assembly are elected by the members of the assembly |
Exports | 521,400 bbl/day (2004) | $250,000 (f.o.b., 1999) |
Exports - commodities | engineering products, textiles and clothing, production machinery, motor vehicles, transport equipment, chemicals; food, beverages and tobacco; minerals, and nonferrous metals | copra, chemicals, construction materials |
Exports - partners | Germany 13.2%, France 11.7%, US 7.6%, Spain 7.3%, UK 6.1% (2006) | Italy 40%, Croatia 15%, US 14%, Denmark 13% |
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; inspired by the French flag brought to Italy by Napoleon in 1797 | a large white modified Maltese cross centered on a red background; the flag of France outlined in white on two sides is in the upper hoist quadrant; the flag of France is used for official occasions |
GDP | - | purchasing power parity - $30 million (1997 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 1.9%
industry: 28.8% services: 69.3% (2007 est.) |
agriculture:
NA% industry: NA% services: NA% |
GDP - per capita | - | purchasing power parity - $2,000 (1997 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 1.9% (2007 est.) | NA% |
Geographic coordinates | 42 50 N, 12 50 E | 13 18 S, 176 12 W |
Geography - note | strategic location dominating central Mediterranean as well as southern sea and air approaches to Western Europe | both island groups have fringing reefs |
Heliports | 5 (2007) | - |
Highways | - | total:
120 km (Ile Uvea 100 km, Ile Futuna 20 km) paved: 16 km (all on Ile Uvea) unpaved: 104 km (Ile Uvea 84 km, Ile Futuna 20 km) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: 2.3%
highest 10%: 26.8% (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 | 2.182 million bbl/day (2004) | $300,000 (f.o.b., 1999) |
Imports - commodities | engineering products, chemicals, transport equipment, energy products, minerals and nonferrous metals, textiles and clothing; food, beverages, and tobacco | chemicals, machinery, passenger ships, consumer goods |
Imports - partners | Germany 16.7%, France 9.2%, Netherlands 5.6%, China 5.2%, Belgium 4.2%, Spain 4.1% (2006) | France 97%, Australia 2%, New Zealand 1% |
Independence | 17 March 1861 (Kingdom of Italy proclaimed; Italy was not finally unified until 1870) | none (overseas territory of France) |
Industrial production growth rate | 1.3% (2007 est.) | NA% |
Industries | tourism, machinery, iron and steel, chemicals, food processing, textiles, motor vehicles, clothing, footwear, ceramics | copra, handicrafts, fishing, lumber |
Infant mortality rate | total: 5.72 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 6.3 deaths/1,000 live births female: 5.1 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) |
NA deaths/1,000 live births |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 1.7% (2007 est.) | NA% |
International organization participation | ADB (nonregional members), AfDB, Arctic Council (observer), Australia Group, BIS, BSEC (observer), CBSS (observer), CDB, CE, CEI, CERN, EAPC, EBRD, EIB, EMU, ESA, EU, FAO, G- 7, G- 8, G-10, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC, LAIA (observer), MIGA, MINURSO, NAM (guest), NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OPCW, OSCE, Paris Club, PCA, Schengen Convention, SECI (observer), UN, UN Security Council (temporary), UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIFIL, Union Latina, UNMOGIP, UNRWA, UNTSO, UNWTO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WEU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO, ZC | FZ, SPC |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | - | 1 (2000) |
Irrigated land | 27,500 sq km (2003) | 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) | none; justice generally administered under French law by the high administrator, but the three traditional kings administer customary law and there is a magistrate in Mata-Utu |
Labor force | 24.86 million (2007 est.) | NA |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture: 5%
industry: 32% services: 63% (2001) |
agriculture, livestock, and fishing 80%, government 4% (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 |
0 km |
Land use | arable land: 26.41%
permanent crops: 9.09% other: 64.5% (2005) |
arable land:
5% permanent crops: 20% permanent pastures: 0% forests and woodland: 0% other: 75% (1993 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) | French, Wallisian (indigenous Polynesian 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 | French legal system |
Legislative branch | bicameral Parliament or Parlamento consists of the Senate or Senato della Repubblica (315 seats; members elected by proportional vote with the winning coalition in each region receiving 55% of seats from that region; to serve five-year terms) and the Chamber of Deputies or Camera dei Deputati (630 seats; members elected by popular vote with the winning national coalition receiving 54% of chamber seats; to serve five-year terms)
elections: Senate - last held 9-10 April 2006 (next to be held 13 April 2008); Chamber of Deputies - last held 9-10 April 2006 (next to be held in May 2011) election results: Senate - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - The Union 159 (DS 62, DL 39, RC 27, Together with the Union 11, other 20), House of Freedoms 156 (FI 79, AN 41, UDC 21, LEGA 13, other 2); Chamber of Deputies - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - The Union 349 (DS and DL 218, RC 41, Rose in the Fist 18, Italy of Values 20, PdCI 16, Greens Federation 16, UDEUR 14, other 6), House of Freedoms 281 (FI 134, AN 72, Union of Christian and Center Democrats 39, LEGA 23, other 13) |
unicameral Territorial Assembly or Assemblee Territoriale (20 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms)
elections: last held 16 March 1997 (next to be held NA March 2002) election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - RPR 14, other 6 note: Wallis and Futuna elects one senator to the French Senate and one deputy to the French National Assembly; French Senate - elections last held 27 September 1998 (next to be held by NA September 2007); results - percent of vote by party - NA; seats - RPR 1; French National Assembly - elections last held 25 May-1 June 1997 (next to be held by NA March 2002); results - percent of vote by party - NA; seats - RPR 1 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 79.94 years
male: 77.01 years female: 83.07 years (2007 est.) |
total population:
NA years male: NA years female: NA years |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 98.4% male: 98.8% female: 98% (2001 census) |
definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 50% male: 50% female: 50% (1969 est.) |
Location | Southern Europe, a peninsula extending into the central Mediterranean Sea, northeast of Tunisia | Oceania, islands in the South Pacific Ocean, about two-thirds of the way from Hawaii to New Zealand |
Map references | Europe | Oceania |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 nm
continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation |
exclusive economic zone:
200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
Merchant marine | total: 604 ships (1000 GRT or over) 12,529,192 GRT/13,150,989 DWT
by type: bulk carrier 53, cargo 46, carrier 1, chemical tanker 141, combination ore/oil 1, container 32, liquefied gas 33, livestock carrier 3, passenger 17, passenger/cargo 156, petroleum tanker 40, refrigerated cargo 4, roll on/roll off 35, specialized tanker 14, vehicle carrier 28 foreign-owned: 62 (Denmark 2, France 5, Germany 1, Greece 13, Sweden 1, Switzerland 5, Taiwan 11, Turkey 1, UK 7, US 16) registered in other countries: 169 (Bahamas 1, Belize 4, Bolivia 1, Cayman Islands 10, Cyprus 5, France 2, Gibraltar 1, Greece 1, Isle of Man 1, Liberia 31, Malta 45, Marshall Islands 3, Norway 4, Panama 10, Portugal 11, Singapore 4, Slovakia 1, Spain 1, St Vincent and The Grenadines 19, Sweden 7, Turkey 3, UK 4) (2007) |
total:
4 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 48,853 GRT/43,128 DWT ships by type: passenger 3, petroleum tanker 1 note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: France 1 (2000 est.) |
Military - note | - | defense is the responsibility of France |
Military branches | Army (Esercito Italiano, EI), Navy (Marina Militare Italiana, MMI), Air Force (Aeronautica Militare Italiana, AMI), Carabinieri Corps (Corpo dei Carabinieri, CC) (2005) | - |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 1.8% (2005 est.) | - |
National holiday | Republic Day, 2 June (1946) | Bastille Day, 14 July (1789) |
Nationality | noun: Italian(s)
adjective: Italian |
noun:
Wallisian(s), Futunan(s), or Wallis and Futuna Islanders adjective: Wallisian, Futunan, or Wallis and Futuna Islander |
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, fluorspar, feldspar, pyrite (sulfur), natural gas and crude oil reserves, fish, arable land | NEGL |
Net migration rate | 2.06 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) | NA migrant(s)/1,000 population |
Pipelines | gas 18,863 km; oil 1,258 km (2007) | - |
Political parties and leaders | Center-Left Union Coalition [Romano PRODI]: Ulivo Alliance (including Democrats of the Left or DS [Piero FASSINO] (along with the DL merged into the Democratic Party or PD); Daisy-Democracy is Freedom or DL [Francesco RUTELLI] (along with the DS merged into the Democratic Party or PD)); Rose in the Fist (including Italian Social Democrats or SDI [Enrico BOSELLI]; Italian Radical Party [Emma BONINO]); Together with the Union (including Italian Communist Party or PdCI [Oliviero DILIBERTO]; Green Federation [Alfonso PECORARO SCANIO]; United Consumers); Communist Renewal or RC [Fausto BERTINOTTI]; Italy of Values or IdV [Antonio DI PIETRO]; Union of Democrats for Europe or UDEUR [Clemente MASTELLA]; Republican European Movement or MRE [Luciana SBARBATI]
Center-Right Freedom House Coalition [Silvio BERLUSCONI]: Forza Italia or FI [Silvio BERLUSCONI]; National Alliance or AN [Gianfranco FINI]; Union of Christian Democrats and Centrist Democrats or UDC [Pier Ferdinando CASINI]; Northern League or LEGA [Umberto BOSSI]; Christian Democracy (Per la Autonomie) [Gianfranco ROTONDI] other non-allied parties: New Italian Socialist Party or New PSI [Gianni DE MICHELIS]; Italian Republican Party or PRI [Giorgio LA MALFA]; Social Alternative [Alessandra MUSSOLINI]; Social Movement-Tricolor Flame or MSI-Fiamma [Luca ROMAGNOLI]; Social Idea Movement with Rauti or MIS [Pino RAUTI]; South Tyrol People's Party or SVP (German speakers) [Elmar Pichler ROLLE]; Union of Valley Aosta Region or UV [Guido CESAL] |
Lua Kae Tahi (Giscardians) [leader NA]; Mouvement des Radicaux de Gauche or MRG [leader NA]; Rally for the Republic or RPR [Clovis LOGOLOGOFOLAU]; Taumu'a Lelei [Soane Muni UHILA]; Union Populaire Locale or UPL [Falakiko GATA]; Union Pour la Democratie Francaise or UDF [leader NA] |
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 [Raffaele BONANNO], which is Roman Catholic centrist, and Unione Italiana del Lavoro or UIL [Luigi ANGELETTI] which is lay centrist) | NA |
Population | 58,147,733 (July 2007 est.) | 15,435 (July 2001 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | NA% |
Population growth rate | 0.01% (2007 est.) | NA% |
Ports and harbors | - | Leava, Mata-Utu |
Radio broadcast stations | AM about 100, FM about 4,600, shortwave 9 (1998) | AM 1, FM 0, shortwave 0 (2000) |
Radios | - | NA |
Railways | total: 19,460 km
standard gauge: 18,038 km 1.435-m gauge (11,354 km electrified) narrow gauge: 123 km 1.000-m gauge (123 km electrified); 1,299 km 0.950-m gauge (161 km electrified) (2006) |
0 km |
Religions | Roman Catholic 90% (approximately; about one-third regularly attend services), other 10% (includes mature Protestant and Jewish communities and a growing Muslim immigrant community) | Roman Catholic 100% |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.07 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.064 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.025 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.715 male(s)/female total population: 0.959 male(s)/female (2007 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; a series of submarine cables provide links to Asia, Middle East, Europe, North Africa, and US; 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 |
general assessment:
NA domestic: NA international: NA |
Telephones - main lines in use | 25.049 million (2005) | 1,125 (1994) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 71.5 million (2005) | 0 (1994) |
Television broadcast stations | 358 (plus 4,728 repeaters) (1995) | 2 (2000) |
Terrain | mostly rugged and mountainous; some plains, coastal lowlands | volcanic origin; low hills |
Total fertility rate | 1.29 children born/woman (2007 est.) | NA children born/woman |
Unemployment rate | 6.7% (2007 est.) | NA% |
Waterways | 2,400 km
note: used for commercial traffic; of limited overall value compared to road and rail (2006) |
none |