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Compare Spratly Islands (2008) - Italy (2004)

Compare Spratly Islands (2008) z Italy (2004)

 Spratly Islands (2008)Italy (2004)
 Spratly IslandsItaly
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
Age structure - 0-14 years: 14% (male 4,181,946; female 3,935,565)


15-64 years: 66.9% (male 19,590,497; female 19,256,747)


65 years and over: 19.1% (male 4,608,479; female 6,484,243) (2004 est.)
Agriculture - products - fruits, vegetables, grapes, potatoes, sugar beets, soybeans, grain, olives; beef, dairy products; fish
Airports 3 (2007) 134 (2003 est.)
Airports - with paved runways total: 2


914 to 1,523 m: 1


under 914 m: 1 (2007)
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.)
Airports - with unpaved runways total: 1


914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2007)
total: 38


1,524 to 2,437 m: 2


914 to 1,523 m: 18


under 914 m: 18 (2004 est.)
Area total: less than 5 sq km


land: less than 5 sq km


water: 0 sq km


note: includes 100 or so islets, coral reefs, and sea mounts scattered over an area of nearly 410,000 sq km of the central South China Sea
total: 301,230 sq km


land: 294,020 sq km


water: 7,210 sq km


note: includes Sardinia and Sicily
Area - comparative NA slightly larger than Arizona
Background The Spratly Islands consist of more than 100 small islands or reefs. They are surrounded by rich fishing grounds and potentially by gas and oil deposits. They are claimed in their entirety by China, Taiwan, and Vietnam, while portions are claimed by Malaysia and the Philippines. About 45 islands are occupied by relatively small numbers of military forces from China, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan, and Vietnam. Brunei has established a fishing zone that overlaps a southern reef but has not made any formal claim. Italy became a nation-state in 1861 when the city-states of the peninsula, along with Sardinia and Sicily, were united under King Victor EMMANUEL II. An era of parliamentary government came to a close in the early 1920s when Benito MUSSOLINI established a Fascist dictatorship. His disastrous alliance with Nazi Germany led to Italy's defeat in World War II. A democratic republic replaced the monarchy in 1946 and economic revival followed. Italy was a charter member of NATO and the European Economic Community (EEC). It has been at the forefront of European economic and political unification, joining the European Monetary Union in 1999. Persistent problems include illegal immigration, organized crime, corruption, high unemployment, sluggish economic growth, and the low incomes and technical standards of southern Italy compared with the prosperous north.
Birth rate - 9.05 births/1,000 population (2004 est.)
Budget - revenues: $668 billion


expenditures: $703.1 billion, including capital expenditures of NA (2003)
Capital - Rome
Climate tropical predominantly Mediterranean; Alpine in far north; hot, dry in south
Coastline 926 km 7,600 km
Constitution - passed 11 December 1947; effective 1 January 1948; amended many times
Country name conventional long form: none


conventional short form: Spratly Islands
conventional long form: Italian Republic


conventional short form: Italy


local long form: Repubblica Italiana


local short form: Italia


former: Kingdom of Italy
Currency - euro (EUR)


note: on 1 January 1999, the European Monetary Union introduced the euro as a common currency to be used by financial institutions of member countries; on 1 January 2002, the euro became the sole currency for everyday transactions within the member countries
Death rate - 10.21 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.)
Debt - external - $868.5 billion NA (2003)
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
Diplomatic representation in the US - chief of mission: Ambassador Sergio VENTO


chancery: 3000 Whitehaven Street NW, Washington, DC 20008


telephone: [1] (202) 612-4400


FAX: [1] (202) 518-2151


consulate(s) general: Boston, Chicago, Houston, Miami, New York, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, and San Francisco


consulate(s): Detroit
Disputes - international all of the Spratly Islands are claimed by China, Taiwan, and Vietnam; parts of them are claimed by Malaysia and the Philippines; in 1984, Brunei established an exclusive fishing zone that encompasses Louisa Reef in the southern Spratly Islands but has not publicly claimed the reef; claimants in November 2002 signed the "Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea," which has eased tensions but falls short of a legally binding "code of conduct"; in March 2005, the national oil companies of China, the Philippines, and Vietnam signed a joint accord to conduct marine seismic activities in the Spratly Islands none
Economic aid - donor - ODA, $1 billion (2002 est.)
Economy - overview Economic activity is limited to commercial fishing. The proximity to nearby oil- and gas-producing sedimentary basins suggests the potential for oil and gas deposits, but the region is largely unexplored. There are no reliable estimates of potential reserves. Commercial exploitation has yet to be developed. 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.
Electricity - consumption - 289.1 billion kWh (2001)
Electricity - exports - 556 million kWh (2001)
Electricity - imports - 48.93 billion kWh (2001)
Electricity - production - 258.8 billion kWh (2001)
Elevation extremes lowest point: South China Sea 0 m


highest point: unnamed location on Southwest Cay 4 m
lowest point: Mediterranean Sea 0 m


highest point: Mont Blanc (Monte Bianco) de Courmayeur 4,748 m (a secondary peak of Mont Blanc)
Environment - current issues NA 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
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
Ethnic groups - Italian (includes small clusters of German-, French-, and Slovene-Italians in the north and Albanian-Italians and Greek-Italians in the south)
Exchange rates - euros per US dollar - 0.886 (2003), 1.0626 (2002), 1.1175 (2001), 1.0854 (2000), 0.9386 (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 NA May 2006); prime minister appointed by the president and confirmed by Parliament


election results: Carlo Azeglio CIAMPI elected president; percent of electoral college vote - 70%


note: a four-party government coalition includes Forza Italia, National Alliance, Northern League, and Union of Christian Democrats and Democrats of the Center
Exports - 456,600 bbl/day (2001)
Exports - commodities - engineering products, textiles and clothing, production machinery, motor vehicles, transport equipment, chemicals; food, beverages and tobacco; minerals and nonferrous metals
Exports - partners - Germany 13.8%, France 12.3%, US 8.5%, Spain 7%, UK 6.9% (2003)
Fiscal 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
GDP - purchasing power parity - $1.55 trillion (2003 est.)
GDP - composition by sector - agriculture: 2.2%


industry: 28.9%


services: 68.9% (2003 est.)
GDP - per capita - purchasing power parity - $26,700 (2003 est.)
GDP - real growth rate - 0.4% (2003 est.)
Geographic coordinates 8 38 N, 111 55 E 42 50 N, 12 50 E
Geography - note strategically located near several primary shipping lanes in the central South China Sea; includes numerous small islands, atolls, shoals, and coral reefs strategic location dominating central Mediterranean as well as southern sea and air approaches to Western Europe
Heliports 3 (2007) 4 (2003 est.)
Highways - total: 479,688 km


paved: 479,688 km (including 6,621 km of expressways)


unpaved: 0 km (1999)
Household income or consumption by percentage share - lowest 10%: 2.1%


highest 10%: 26.6% (2000)
Illicit drugs - important gateway for and consumer of Latin American cocaine and Southwest Asian heroin entering the European market; money laundering by organized crime and from smuggling
Imports - 2.158 million bbl/day (2001)
Imports - commodities - engineering products, chemicals, transport equipment, energy products, minerals and nonferrous metals, textiles and clothing; food, beverages and tobacco
Imports - partners - Germany 17.9%, France 11.2%, Netherlands 5.8%, Spain 4.8%, UK 4.7%, Belgium 4.3%, US 4% (2003)
Independence - 17 March 1861 (Kingdom of Italy proclaimed; Italy was not finally unified until 1870)
Industrial production growth rate - -0.5% (2003)
Industries - tourism, machinery, iron and steel, chemicals, food processing, textiles, motor vehicles, clothing, footwear, ceramics
Infant mortality rate - total: 6.07 deaths/1,000 live births


male: 6.68 deaths/1,000 live births


female: 5.41 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices) - 2.7% (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
Irrigated land 0 sq km 26,980 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)
Labor force - 24.15 million (2003 est.)
Labor force - by occupation - agriculture 5%, industry 32%, services 63% (2001)
Land boundaries 0 km 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
Land use arable land: 0%


permanent crops: 0%


other: 100% (2005)
arable land: 27.79%


permanent crops: 9.53%


other: 62.68% (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)
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
Legislative branch - bicameral Parliament or Parlamento consists of the Senate or Senato della Repubblica (315 seats elected by popular vote of which 232 are directly elected and 83 are elected by regional proportional representation; in addition, there are a small number of senators-for-life including former presidents of the republic; members serve five-year terms) and the Chamber of Deputies or Camera dei Deputati (630 seats; 475 are directly elected, 155 by regional proportional representation; members serve five-year terms)


elections: Senate - last held 13 May 2001 (next to be held 2006); Chamber of Deputies - last held 13 May 2001 (next to be held May 2006)


election results: Senate - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - House of Liberties 172 (Forza Italia 77, National Alliance 47, UDC 31, Lega Padana 17), Olive Tree 108 (Democrats of the Left 63, Daisy Alliance 35, Greens 10), Per le Autonomie 10, other 25; Chamber of Deputies - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - House of Liberties 337 (Forza Italia 176, National Alliance 97, UDC 36, Northern League 28), Olive Tree 214 (Democrats of the Left 135, Daisy Alliance 79), Rifondazione Communista 11, other 68
Life expectancy at birth - total population: 79.54 years


male: 76.61 years


female: 82.66 years (2004 est.)
Literacy - definition: age 15 and over can read and write


total population: 98.6%


male: 99%


female: 98.3% (2003 est.)
Location Southeastern Asia, group of reefs and islands in the South China Sea, about two-thirds of the way from southern Vietnam to the southern Philippines Southern Europe, a peninsula extending into the central Mediterranean Sea, northeast of Tunisia
Map references Southeast Asia Europe
Maritime claims NA territorial sea: 12 nm


continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation
Merchant marine - total: 475 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 8,970,017 GRT/10,354,685 DWT


by type: bulk 39, cargo 40, chemical tanker 106, combination ore/oil 2, container 23, liquefied gas 43, livestock carrier 2, multi-functional large load carrier 1, passenger 13, passenger/cargo 1, petroleum tanker 74, refrigerated cargo 4, roll on/roll off 62, short-sea/passenger 31, specialized tanker 11, vehicle carrier 23


foreign-owned: Denmark 4, France 3, Greece 5, Japan 1, Isle of Man 1, Monaco 22, Netherlands 4, Panama 2, Switzerland 2, Taiwan 10, United Kingdom 5, United States 13


registered in other countries: 144 (2004 est.)
Military - note Spratly Islands consist of more than 100 small islands or reefs of which about 45 are claimed and occupied by China, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan, and Vietnam -
Military branches - Army, Navy, Air Force (Aeronautica Militare Italiana, AMI), Carabinieri
Military expenditures - dollar figure - $28,182.8 million (2003)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP - 1.9% (2003)
Military manpower - availability - males age 15-49: 14,408,392 (2004 est.)
Military manpower - fit for military service - males age 15-49: 12,279,516 (2004 est.)
Military manpower - reaching military age annually - males: 285,601 (2004 est.)
National holiday - Republic Day, 2 June (1946)
Nationality - noun: Italian(s)


adjective: Italian
Natural hazards typhoons; numerous reefs and shoals pose a serious maritime hazard regional risks include landslides, mudflows, avalanches, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, flooding; land subsidence in Venice
Natural resources fish, guano, undetermined oil and natural gas potential coal, mercury, zinc, potash, marble, barite, asbestos, pumice, fluorospar, feldspar, pyrite (sulfur), natural gas and crude oil reserves, fish, arable land
Net migration rate - 2.07 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.)
Pipelines - gas 17,335 km; oil 1,136 km (2004)
Political parties and leaders - Center-Left Olive Tree Coalition [Francesco RUTELLI] - Democrats of the Left, Daisy Alliance (including Italian Popular Party, Italian Renewal, Union of Democrats for Europe, The Democrats), Sunflower Alliance (including Green Federation, Italian Democratic Socialists), Italian Communist Party; Center-Right Freedom House Coalition [Silvio BERLUSCONI] (formerly House of Liberties and Freedom Alliance) - Forza Italia, National Alliance, The Whiteflower Alliance (includes Christian Democratic Center, United Christian Democrats), Northern League; Democrats of the Left or DS [Piero FASSINO]; Forza Italia or FI [Silvio BERLUSCONI]; Green Federation [Alfonso Pecoraro SCANIO]; Italian Communist Party or PdCI [Armando COSSUTTA]; Italian Renewal or RI [Lamberto DINI]; merged with PPI and I Democratici to form La Margherita (or The Daisy Alliance); Italian Social Democrats or SDI [Enrico BOSELLI]; Lega Padana [Roberto BERNARDELLI]; National Alliance or AN [Gianfranco FINI]; Northern League or NL [Umberto BOSSI]; Socialist Movement-Tricolor Flame or MS-Fiamma [Luca ROMAGNOLI]; South Tyrol People's Party or SVP (German speakers) [Elmar Pichler ROLLE]; Sunflower Alliance (includes Green Federation, Italian Social Democrats); The Daisy Alliance (includes Italian Popular Party, Italian Renewal, Union of Democrats for Europe, The Democrats) [Francesco RUTELLI]; The Democrats [Arturo PARISI]; The Radicals (formerly Pannella Reformers and Autonomous List) [Marco PANNELLA]; Union of Democrats for Europe or UDEUR [Clemente MASTELLA]; Union of Christian and Center Democrats or UDC [Marco FOLLINI]
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)
Population no indigenous inhabitants


note: there are scattered garrisons occupied by personnel of several claimant states
58,057,477 (July 2004 est.)
Population below poverty line - NA
Population growth rate - 0.09% (2004 est.)
Ports and harbors - Augusta (Sicily), Bagnoli, Bari, Brindisi, Gela (Sicily), Genoa, La Spezia, Livorno, Milazzo (Sicily), Naples, Porto Foxi, Porto Torres (Sardinia), Salerno, Savona, Taranto, Trieste, Venice
Radio broadcast stations - AM about 100, FM about 4,600, shortwave 9 (1998)
Railways - total: 19,507 km (11,651 km electrified)


standard gauge: 18,070 km 1.435-m gauge (11,375 km electrified)


narrow gauge: 123 km 1.000-m gauge (88 km electrified); 1,314 km 0.950-m gauge (188 km electrified) (2003)
Religions - predominately Roman Catholic with mature Protestant and Jewish communities and a growing Muslim immigrant community
Sex ratio - at birth: 1.07 male(s)/female


under 15 years: 1.06 male(s)/female


15-64 years: 1.02 male(s)/female


65 years and over: 0.71 male(s)/female


total population: 0.96 male(s)/female (2004 est.)
Suffrage - 18 years of age; universal (except in senatorial elections, where minimum age is 25)
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
Telephones - main lines in use - 26.596 million (2003)
Telephones - mobile cellular - 55.918 million (2003)
Television broadcast stations - 358 (plus 4,728 repeaters) (1995)
Terrain flat mostly rugged and mountainous; some plains, coastal lowlands
Total fertility rate - 1.27 children born/woman (2004 est.)
Unemployment rate - 8.6% (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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