Mexico (2006) | Holy See (Vatican City) (2004) | |
Administrative divisions | 31 states (estados, singular - estado) and 1 federal district* (distrito federal); Aguascalientes, Baja California, Baja California Sur, Campeche, Chiapas, Chihuahua, Coahuila de Zaragoza, Colima, Distrito Federal*, Durango, Guanajuato, Guerrero, Hidalgo, Jalisco, Mexico, Michoacan de Ocampo, Morelos, Nayarit, Nuevo Leon, Oaxaca, Puebla, Queretaro de Arteaga, Quintana Roo, San Luis Potosi, Sinaloa, Sonora, Tabasco, Tamaulipas, Tlaxcala, Veracruz-Llave, Yucatan, Zacatecas | none |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 30.6% (male 16,770,957/female 16,086,172)
15-64 years: 63.6% (male 33,071,809/female 35,316,281) 65 years and over: 5.8% (male 2,814,707/female 3,389,599) (2006 est.) |
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Agriculture - products | corn, wheat, soybeans, rice, beans, cotton, coffee, fruit, tomatoes; beef, poultry, dairy products; wood products | - |
Airports | 1,839 (2006) | none (2003 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 228
over 3,047 m: 12 2,438 to 3,047 m: 28 1,524 to 2,437 m: 82 914 to 1,523 m: 77 under 914 m: 29 (2006) |
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Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 1,611
over 3,047 m: 1 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 68 914 to 1,523 m: 460 under 914 m: 1,081 (2006) |
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Area | total: 1,972,550 sq km
land: 1,923,040 sq km water: 49,510 sq km |
total: 0.44 sq km
land: 0.44 sq km water: 0 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly less than three times the size of Texas | about 0.7 times the size of The Mall in Washington, DC |
Background | The site of advanced Amerindian civilizations, Mexico came under Spanish rule for three centuries before achieving independence early in the 19th century. A devaluation of the peso in late 1994 threw Mexico into economic turmoil, triggering the worst recession in over half a century. The nation continues to make an impressive recovery. Ongoing economic and social concerns include low real wages, underemployment for a large segment of the population, inequitable income distribution, and few advancement opportunities for the largely Amerindian population in the impoverished southern states. Elections held in July 2000 marked the first time since the 1910 Mexican Revolution that the opposition defeated the party in government, the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI). Vicente FOX of the National Action Party (PAN) was sworn in on 1 December 2000 as the first chief executive elected in free and fair elections. | Popes in their secular role ruled portions of the Italian peninsula for more than a thousand years until the mid 19th century, when many of the Papal States were seized by the newly united Kingdom of Italy. In 1870, the pope's holdings were further circumscribed when Rome itself was annexed. Disputes between a series of "prisoner" popes and Italy were resolved in 1929 by three Lateran Treaties, which established the independent state of Vatican City and granted Roman Catholicism special status in Italy. In 1984, a concordat between the Holy See and Italy modified certain of the earlier treaty provisions, including the primacy of Roman Catholicism as the Italian state religion. Present concerns of the Holy See include religious freedom, international development, the Middle East, terrorism, the failing health of Pope JOHN PAUL II, interreligious dialogue and reconciliation, and the application of church doctrine in an era of rapid change and globalization. About 1 billion people worldwide profess the Catholic faith. |
Birth rate | 20.69 births/1,000 population (2006 est.) | - |
Budget | revenues: $181 billion
expenditures: $184 billion; including capital expenditures of $NA (2005) |
revenues: $245.2 million
expenditures: $260.4 million, including capital expenditures of NA (2002) |
Capital | name: Mexico (Distrito Federal)
geographic coordinates: 19 24 N, 99 09 W time difference: UTC-6 (1 hour behind Washington, DC during Standard Time) daylight saving time: +1hr, begins first Sunday in April; ends last Sunday in October note: Mexico is divided into four time zones |
Vatican City |
Climate | varies from tropical to desert | temperate; mild, rainy winters (September to mid-May) with hot, dry summers (May to September) |
Coastline | 9,330 km | 0 km (landlocked) |
Constitution | 5 February 1917 | new Fundamental Law promulgated by Pope John Paul II on 26 November 2000, effective 22 February 2001 (replaces the first Fundamental Law of 1929) |
Country name | conventional long form: United Mexican States
conventional short form: Mexico local long form: Estados Unidos Mexicanos local short form: Mexico |
conventional long form: The Holy See (State of the Vatican City)
conventional short form: Holy See (Vatican City) local long form: Santa Sede (Stato della Citta del Vaticano) local short form: Santa Sede (Citta del Vaticano) |
Currency | - | euro (EUR) |
Death rate | 4.74 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.) | - |
Debt - external | $137.2 billion (2005 est.) | - |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Antonio O. GARZA, Jr.
embassy: Paseo de la Reforma 305, Colonia Cuauhtemoc, 06500 Mexico, Distrito Federal mailing address: P. O. Box 9000, Brownsville, TX 78520-9000 telephone: [52] (55) 5080-2000 FAX: [52] (55) 5511-9980 consulate(s) general: Ciudad Juarez, Guadalajara, Monterrey, Tijuana consulate(s): Hermosillo, Matamoros, Merida, Nogales, Nuevo Laredo |
chief of mission: Ambassador (vacant)
embassy: Villa Domiziana, Via delle Terme Deciane 26, 00153 Rome mailing address: PSC 59, Box 66, APO AE 09624 telephone: [39] (06) 4674-3428 FAX: [39] (06) 575-8346 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Carlos Alberto DE ICAZA Gonzalez
chancery: 1911 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20006 telephone: [1] (202) 728-1600 FAX: [1] (202) 728-1698 consulate(s) general: Atlanta, Austin, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Denver, El Paso, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New Orleans, New York, Nogales (Arizona), Omaha, Orlando, Phoenix, Sacramento, San Antonio, San Diego, San Francisco, San Jose, San Juan (Puerto Rico) consulate(s): Albuquerque, Brownsville (Texas), Calexico (California), Del Rio (Texas), Detroit, Douglas (Arizona), Eagle Pass (Texas), Fresno (California), Indianapolis (Indiana), Kansas City (Missouri), Laredo (Texas), Las Vegas, McAllen (Texas), Midland (Texas), Oxnard (California), Philadelphia, Portland (Oregon), Presidio (Texas), Raleigh, Saint Paul (Minnesota), Salt Lake City, San Bernardino, Santa Ana (California), Seattle, Tucson, Yuma (Arizona) |
chief of mission: Apostolic Nuncio Archbishop Gabriel MONTALVO
chancery: 3339 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 333-7121 FAX: [1] (202) 337-4036 |
Disputes - international | prolonged drought, population growth, and outmoded practices and infrastructure in the border region have strained water-sharing arrangements with the US; the US has stepped up efforts to stem nationals from Mexico, Central America, and other parts of the world from illegally crossing the border with Mexico | none |
Economic aid - recipient | $1.166 billion (1995) | none |
Economy - overview | Mexico has a free market economy that recently entered the trillion dollar class. It contains a mixture of modern and outmoded industry and agriculture, increasingly dominated by the private sector. Recent administrations have expanded competition in seaports, railroads, telecommunications, electricity generation, natural gas distribution, and airports. Per capita income is one-fourth that of the US; income distribution remains highly unequal. Trade with the US and Canada has tripled since the implementation of NAFTA in 1994. Mexico has 12 free trade agreements with over 40 countries including, Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, the European Free Trade Area, and Japan, putting more than 90% of trade under free trade agreements. The FOX administration is cognizant of the need to upgrade infrastructure, modernize the tax system and labor laws, and allow private investment in the energy sector, but has been unable to win the support of the opposition-led Congress. The next government that takes office in December 2006 will confront the same challenges of boosting economic growth, improving Mexico's international competitiveness, and reducing poverty. | This unique, noncommercial economy is supported financially by an annual contribution from Roman Catholic dioceses throughout the world, as well as by special collections (known as Peter's Pence); the sale of postage stamps, coins, medals, and tourist mementos; fees for admission to museums; and the sale of publications. Investments and real estate income also account for a sizable portion of revenue. The incomes and living standards of lay workers are comparable to those of counterparts who work in the city of Rome. |
Electricity - consumption | 193.9 billion kWh (2003) | NA kWh |
Electricity - exports | 1.07 billion kWh (2003) | 0 kWh |
Electricity - imports | 390.2 million kWh (2003) | NA kWh; note - electricity supplied by Italy |
Electricity - production | 209.2 billion kWh (2003) | NA kWh |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Laguna Salada -10 m
highest point: Volcan Pico de Orizaba 5,700 m |
lowest point: unnamed location 19 m
highest point: unnamed location 75 m |
Environment - current issues | scarcity of hazardous waste disposal facilities; rural to urban migration; natural fresh water resources scarce and polluted in north, inaccessible and poor quality in center and extreme southeast; raw sewage and industrial effluents polluting rivers in urban areas; deforestation; widespread erosion; desertification; deteriorating agricultural lands; serious air and water pollution in the national capital and urban centers along US-Mexico border; land subsidence in Valley of Mexico caused by groundwater depletion
note: the government considers the lack of clean water and deforestation national security issues |
NA |
Environment - international agreements | party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
party to: none of the selected agreements
signed, but not ratified: Air Pollution, Environmental Modification |
Ethnic groups | mestizo (Amerindian-Spanish) 60%, Amerindian or predominantly Amerindian 30%, white 9%, other 1% | Italians, Swiss, other |
Exchange rates | Mexican pesos per US dollar - 10.898 (2005), 11.286 (2004), 10.789 (2003), 9.656 (2002), 9.342 (2001) | euros per US dollar - 0.886 (2003),1.1324 (2002), 1.1175 (2001), 1.0854 (2000), 0.9386 (1999) |
Executive branch | chief of state: President Felipe de Jesus CALDERON Hinojosa (since 1 December 2006); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government
head of government: President Felipe de Jesus CALDERON Hinojosa (since 1 December 2006) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president; note - appointment of attorney general requires consent of the Senate elections: president elected by popular vote for a single six-year term; election last held 2 July 2006 (next to be held 1 July 2012) election results: Felipe CALDERON elected president; percent of vote - Felipe CALDERON (PAN) 35.89%, Andres Manuel Lopez OBRADOR (PRD) 35.31%, Roberto MADRAZO (PRI) 22.26%, other 6.54% |
chief of state: Pope JOHN PAUL II (since 16 October 1978)
head of government: Secretary of State Cardinal Angelo SODANO (since 1 December 1990) cabinet: Pontifical Commission appointed by the pope elections: pope elected for life by the College of Cardinals; election last held 16 October 1978 (next to be held after the death of the current pope); secretary of state appointed by the pope election results: Karol WOJTYLA elected pope |
Exports | 1.863 million bbl/day (2004) | 0 kWh |
Exports - commodities | manufactured goods, oil and oil products, silver, fruits, vegetables, coffee, cotton | - |
Exports - partners | US 85.7%, Canada 2%, Spain 1.4% (2005) | - |
Fiscal year | calendar year | calendar year |
Flag description | three equal vertical bands of green (hoist side), white, and red; the coat of arms (an eagle perched on a cactus with a snake in its beak) is centered in the white band | two vertical bands of yellow (hoist side) and white with the crossed keys of Saint Peter and the papal miter centered in the white band |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 3.8%
industry: 25.9% services: 70.2% (2005 est.) |
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GDP - real growth rate | 3% (2005 est.) | - |
Geographic coordinates | 23 00 N, 102 00 W | 41 54 N, 12 27 E |
Geography - note | strategic location on southern border of US; corn (maize), one of the world's major grain crops, is thought to have originated in Mexico | urban; landlocked; enclave in Rome, Italy; world's smallest state; outside the Vatican City, 13 buildings in Rome and Castel Gandolfo (the pope's summer residence) enjoy extraterritorial rights |
Heliports | 1 (2006) | - |
Highways | - | none; all city streets |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: 1.6%
highest 10%: 35.6% (2002) |
lowest 10%: NA
highest 10%: NA |
Illicit drugs | major drug-producing nation; cultivation of opium poppy in 2004 amounted to 3,500 hectares, but opium cultivation stayed within the range - between 3,500 and 5,500 hectares - observed in nine of the last 12 years; potential production of 9 metric tons of pure heroin, or 23 metric tons of "black tar" heroin, the dominant form of Mexican heroin in the western United States; marijuana cultivation decreased 23% to 5,800 hectares in 2004 after decade-high cultivation peak in 2003; potential production of 10,400 metric tons of marijuana in 2004; government conducts the largest independent illicit-crop eradication program in the world; major supplier of heroin and largest foreign supplier of marijuana and methamphetamine to the US market; continues as the primary transshipment country for US-bound cocaine from South America, accounting for about 90% of estimated annual cocaine movement to the US; major drug syndicates control majority of drug trafficking throughout the country; producer and distributor of ecstasy; significant money-laundering center | - |
Imports | 205,000 bbl/day (2004) | NA kWh; note - electricity supplied by Italy |
Imports - commodities | metalworking machines, steel mill products, agricultural machinery, electrical equipment, car parts for assembly, repair parts for motor vehicles, aircraft, and aircraft parts | - |
Imports - partners | US 53.4%, China 8%, Japan 5.9% (2005) | - |
Independence | 16 September 1810 (from Spain) | 11 February 1929 (from Italy); note - the three treaties signed with Italy on 11 February 1929 acknowledged, among other things, the full sovereignty of the Vatican and established its territorial extent; however, the origin of the Papal States, which over the years have varied considerably in extent, may be traced back to the 8th century |
Industrial production growth rate | 1.9% (2005 est.) | - |
Industries | food and beverages, tobacco, chemicals, iron and steel, petroleum, mining, textiles, clothing, motor vehicles, consumer durables, tourism | printing; production of coins, medals, postage stamps, a small amount of mosaics and staff uniforms; worldwide banking and financial activities |
Infant mortality rate | total: 20.26 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 22.19 deaths/1,000 live births female: 18.24 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.) |
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Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 4% (2005 est.) | - |
International organization participation | APEC, BCIE, BIS, CAN (observer), CDB, CE (observer), CSN (observer), EBRD, FAO, G-3, G-6, G-15, G-24, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITU, LAES, LAIA, NAFTA, NAM (observer), NEA, OAS, OECD, OPANAL, OPCW, PCA, RG, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNITAR, UNMOVIC, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO | CE (observer), IAEA, ICFTU, IOM (observer), ITU, NAM (guest), OAS (observer), OPCW, OSCE, UN (observer), UNCTAD, UNHCR, UPU, WIPO, WToO (observer), WTrO (observer) |
Irrigated land | 63,200 sq km (2003) | 0 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court of Justice or Suprema Corte de Justicia Nacional (justices or ministros are appointed by the president with consent of the Senate) | there are three tribunals responsible for civil and criminal matters within Vatican City; three other tribunals rule on issues pertaining to the Holy See
note: judicial duties were established by the Motu Proprio of Pius XII on 1 May 1946 |
Labor force | 43.4 million (2005 est.) | NA |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture: 18%
industry: 24% services: 58% (2003) |
essentially services with a small amount of industry; note - dignitaries, priests, nuns, guards, and 3,000 lay workers live outside the Vatican |
Land boundaries | total: 4,353 km
border countries: Belize 250 km, Guatemala 962 km, US 3,141 km |
total: 3.2 km
border countries: Italy 3.2 km |
Land use | arable land: 12.66%
permanent crops: 1.28% other: 86.06% (2005) |
arable land: 0%
permanent crops: 0% other: 100% (urban area) (2001) |
Languages | Spanish, various Mayan, Nahuatl, and other regional indigenous languages | Italian, Latin, French, various other languages |
Legal system | mixture of US constitutional theory and civil law system; judicial review of legislative acts; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations | based on Code of Canon Law and revisions to it |
Legislative branch | bicameral National Congress or Congreso de la Union consists of the Senate or Camara de Senadores (128 seats; 96 are elected by popular vote to serve six-year terms, and 32 are allocated on the basis of each party's popular vote) and the Federal Chamber of Deputies or Camara Federal de Diputados (500 seats; 300 members are directly elected by popular vote to serve three-year terms; remaining 200 members are allocated on the basis of each party's popular vote, also for three-year terms)
elections: Senate - last held 2 July 2006 for all of the seats (next to be held 1 July 2012); Chamber of Deputies - last held 2 July 2006 (next to be held 5 July 2009) election results: Senate - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - PAN 52, PRI 33, PRD 29, PVEM 6, CD 5, PT 2, PNA 1; Chamber of Deputies - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - PAN 206, PRD 127, PRI 103, PVEM 18, CD 17, PT 16, other 13; note - election results pending certification |
unicameral Pontifical Commission |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 75.41 years
male: 72.63 years female: 78.33 years (2006 est.) |
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Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 92.2% male: 94% female: 90.5% (2003 est.) |
definition: NA
total population: 100% male: NA female: NA |
Location | Middle America, bordering the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico, between Belize and the US and bordering the North Pacific Ocean, between Guatemala and the US | Southern Europe, an enclave of Rome (Italy) |
Map references | North America | Europe |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin |
none (landlocked) |
Merchant marine | total: 56 ships (1000 GRT or over) 751,607 GRT/1,129,234 DWT
by type: bulk carrier 2, cargo 6, chemical tanker 6, liquefied gas 4, passenger/cargo 9, petroleum tanker 25, roll on/roll off 4 foreign-owned: 5 (Denmark 2, France 1, Norway 1, UAE 1) registered in other countries: 15 (Belize 1, Honduras 1, Liberia 1, Panama 5, Portugal 1, Spain 3, Venezuela 3) (2006) |
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Military - note | - | defense is the responsibility of Italy; Swiss Papal Guards are posted at entrances to the Vatican City to provide security and protect the Pope |
Military branches | Secretariat of National Defense (Secretaria de Defensa Nacional, Sedena): Army (Ejercito), Mexican Air Force (Fuerza Aerea Mexicana, FAM); Secretariat of the Navy (Secretaria de Marina, Semar): Mexican Navy (Armada de Mexico, ARM, includes Naval Air Force (FAN) and Marines) (2006) | Swiss Guards Corps (Corpo della Guardia Svizzera) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $6.07 billion (2005 est.) | - |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 0.8% (2005 est.) | - |
National holiday | Independence Day, 16 September (1810) | Coronation Day of Pope JOHN PAUL II, 22 October (1978) |
Nationality | noun: Mexican(s)
adjective: Mexican |
noun: none
adjective: none |
Natural hazards | tsunamis along the Pacific coast, volcanoes and destructive earthquakes in the center and south, and hurricanes on the Pacific, Gulf of Mexico, and Caribbean coasts | NA |
Natural resources | petroleum, silver, copper, gold, lead, zinc, natural gas, timber | none |
Net migration rate | -4.32 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.) | - |
Pipelines | gas 22,705 km; liquid petroleum gas 1,875 km; oil 8,688 km; oil/gas/water 228 km; refined products 6,520 km (2006) | - |
Political parties and leaders | Convergence for Democracy or CD [Dante DELGADO Ranauro]; Institutional Revolutionary Party (Institutional Revolutionary Party) or PRI [leader NA]; Mexican Green Ecological Party or PVEM [Jorge Emilio GONZALEZ Martinez]; National Action Party (Partido Accion Nacional) or PAN [Manuel ESPINO Barrientos]; New Alliance Party (Partido Nueva Alianza) or PNA [Miguel Angel JIMENEZ Godines]; Party of the Democratic Revolution (Partido de la Revolucion Democratica) or PRD [Leonel COTA Montano]; Workers Party or PT [Alberto ANAYA Gutierrez] | none |
Political pressure groups and leaders | Confederation of Employers of the Mexican Republic or COPARMEX; Confederation of Industrial Chambers or CONCAMIN; Confederation of Mexican Workers or CTM; Confederation of National Chambers of Commerce or CONCANACO; Coordinator for Foreign Trade Business Organizations or COECE; Federation of Unions Providing Goods and Services or FESEBES; National Chamber of Transformation Industries or CANACINTRA; National Peasant Confederation or CNC; National Union of Workers or UNT; Regional Confederation of Mexican Workers or CROM; Revolutionary Confederation of Workers and Peasants or CROC; Roman Catholic Church | none (exclusive of influence exercised by church officers) |
Population | 107,449,525 (July 2006 est.) | 921 (July 2004 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 40% (2003 est.) | NA |
Population growth rate | 1.16% (2006 est.) | 0.01% (2004 est.) |
Ports and harbors | - | none |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 850, FM 545, shortwave 15 (2003) | AM 3, FM 4, shortwave 2 (1998) |
Railways | total: 17,562 km
standard gauge: 17,562 km 1.435-m gauge (2005) |
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Religions | nominally Roman Catholic 89%, Protestant 6%, other 5% | Roman Catholic |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.94 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.83 male(s)/female total population: 0.96 male(s)/female (2006 est.) |
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Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal and compulsory (but not enforced) | limited to cardinals less than 80 years old |
Telephone system | general assessment: low telephone density with about 18 main lines per 100 persons; privatized in December 1990; the opening to competition in January 1997 improved prospects for development, but Telmex remains dominant
domestic: adequate telephone service for business and government, but the population is poorly served; mobile subscribers far outnumber fixed-line subscribers; domestic satellite system with 120 earth stations; extensive microwave radio relay network; considerable use of fiber-optic cable and coaxial cable international: country code - 52; satellite earth stations - 32 Intelsat, 2 Solidaridad (giving Mexico improved access to South America, Central America, and much of the US as well as enhancing domestic communications), 1 Panamsat, numerous Inmarsat mobile earth stations; linked to Central American Microwave System of trunk connections; high capacity Columbus-2 fiber-optic submarine cable with access to the US, Virgin Islands, Canary Islands, Morocco, Spain, and Italy (2005) |
general assessment: automatic exchange
domestic: tied into Italian system international: country code - 39; uses Italian system |
Telephones - main lines in use | 19.512 million (2005) | NA |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 47.462 million (2005) | NA |
Television broadcast stations | 236 (plus repeaters) (1997) | 1 (1996) |
Terrain | high, rugged mountains; low coastal plains; high plateaus; desert | low hill |
Total fertility rate | 2.42 children born/woman (2006 est.) | - |
Unemployment rate | 3.6% plus underemployment of perhaps 25% (2005 est.) | - |
Waterways | 2,900 km (navigable rivers and coastal canals) (2005) | - |