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ITALY
Year of EU entry Founding member
Political system Republic
Capital city Rome
Total area 301,263 km2
Population 57.3 million
Currency euro |
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Overview
Italy is mainly mountainous, except for the Po plain in the Emilia-Romagna region, and runs from the Alps to the central Mediterranean Sea. It includes the islands of Sicily and Sardinia, Elba and about 70 other smaller ones. There are two small independent states within peninsular Italy: the Vatican City in Rome, and the Republic of San Marino.
Italy has a two-chamber parliament, consisting of the Senate (Senato della Repubblica) of upper house and the Chamber of Deputies (Camera dei Deputati). Elections take place every five years.
The country's main economic sectors are tourism, fashion, engineering, chemicals, motor vehicles and food. Italy is a member of the G8 group of industrialised countries and it is the world's seventh largest economy. Italy's northern regions are per capita amongst the richest in Europe.
Already the centre of a vast Roman empire which left a huge archaeological, cultural and literary heritage, the Italian peninsula saw the birth of medieval humanism and the Renaissance. This further helped to shape European political thought, philosophy and art via figures like Machiavelli, Dante, Leonardo and Galileo.
The list of famous Italian artists is long, including Giotto, Botticelli, Leonardo, Michelangelo, Tintoretto and Caravaggio. The country has also produced opera composers such as Verdi and Puccini and filmmaker Federico Fellini.
Italian cuisine is one of the most refined and varied in Europe, from the piquant flavours of Naples and Calabria, the pesto dishes of Liguria to the cheese and risotto dishes of the Italian Alps.
Economy
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 labour market and over-generous pension system, because of the current economic slowdown and opposition from labour unions. But the leadership faces a severe economic constraint: the budget deficit has breached the 3% EU ceiling. The economy experienced almost no growth in 2005, and unemployment remained at a high level.
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