Italian Republic

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 is a charter member of NATO and the European Economic Community (EEC) and its subsequent successors the EC and the EU. It has been at the forefront of European economic and political unification, joining the Economic and Monetary Union in 1999. Persistent problems include sluggish economic growth, high youth and female unemployment, organized crime, corruption, and economic disparities between southern Italy and the more prosperous north.

Demography and Population

Population

62,390,364 (July 2021 est.)

Military

Italian Armed Forces: Army (Esercito Italiano, EI), Navy (Marina Militare Italiana, MMI; includes aviation, marines), Italian Air Force (Aeronautica Militare Italiana, AMI Carabinieri Corps (Arma dei Carabinieri, CC) (2021)
note(s) - the Carabinieri is the national gendarmerie; for its civil police functions, the Carabinieri falls under the control of the Ministry of the Interior; the Financial Guard (Guardia di Finanza) under the Ministry of Economy and Finance is a force with military status and nationwide remit for financial crime investigations, including narcotics trafficking, smuggling, and illegal immigration

Military and security service personnel strengths

approximately 170,000 active personnel (100,000 Army; 30,000 Navy; 40,000 Air Force approximately 107,000 Carabinieri (2021)

Military equipment inventories and acquisitions

the Italian Armed Forces' inventory includes a mix of domestically-produced, jointly-produced, and imported European and US weapons systems; the US is the leading supplier of weapons to Italy since 2010, followed by Germany; the Italian defense industry is capable of producing equipment across all the military domains with particular strengths in naval vessels and aircraft; it also participates in joint development and production of advanced weapons systems with other European countries and the US (2021)

Military deployments

120 Djibouti; 1,100 Middle East/Iraq/Kuwait (NATO, counter-ISIS campaign, European Assistance Mission Iraq 630 Kosovo (NATO/KFOR 200 Latvia (NATO 900 Lebanon (UNIFIL 400 Libya; 290 Niger; 150 Somalia (EUTM) (2021)

Military service age and obligation

18-25 years of age for voluntary military service; women may serve in any military branch; Italian citizenship required; 1-year service obligation; conscription abolished 2004 (2021)

Military - note

Italy is a member of NATO and was one of the original 12 countries to sign the North Atlantic Treaty (also known as the Washington Treaty) in 1949
Italy is an active participant in EU, NATO, UN, and other multinational military, security, and humanitarian operations abroad; as of 2021, it hosted the headquarters for the EU’s Mediterranean naval operations force (EUNAVFOR-MED) in Rome and the US Navy’s 6th Fleet in Naples; Italy was admitted to the UN in 1955 and in 1960 participated in its first UN peacekeeping mission, the UN Operation in Congo (ONUC since 1960, it has committed more than 60,000 troops to UN missions, and as of 2021, was the top supplier of military and police forces among Western and EU nations to UN peacekeeping operations; since 2006, Italy has hosted a training center in Vicenza for police personnel destined for peacekeeping missions

Religion

Christian 80.8% (overwhelmingly Roman Catholic with very small groups of Jehovah's Witnesses and Protestants), Muslim 4.9%, unaffiliated 13.4%, other 0.9% (2020 est.)

Foreign Relations

Transnational Issues

Disputes - international

Italy's long coastline and developed economy entices tens of thousands of illegal immigrants from southeastern Europe and northern Africa

Refugees and internally displaced persons

refugees (country of origin): 18,473 (Nigeria), 14,484 (Pakistan), 12,096 (Afghanistan), 10,063 (Mali), 7,704 (Somalia), 5,740 (Gambia) (2020)
stateless persons: 3,000 (2020)
note: 591,119 estimated refugee and migrant arrivals (January 2015-December 2021)

Illicit drugs

important gateway for drug trafficking; organized crime groups allied with Colombian and Spanish groups trafficking cocaine to Europe

Terrorism

Terrorist group(s)

Islamic State of Iraq and ash-Sham (ISIS)

Agriculture & Industry

Italy’s economy comprises a developed industrial north, dominated by private companies, and a less-developed, highly subsidized, agricultural south, with a legacy of unemployment and underdevelopment. The Italian economy is driven in large part by the manufacture of high-quality consumer goods produced by small and medium-sized enterprises, many of them family-owned. Italy also has a sizable underground economy, which by some estimates accounts for as much as 17% of GDP. These activities are most common within the agriculture, construction, and service sectors.
Italy is the third-largest economy in the euro zone, but its exceptionally high public debt and structural impediments to growth have rendered it vulnerable to scrutiny by financial markets. Public debt has increased steadily since 2007, reaching 131% of GDP in 2017. Investor concerns about Italy and the broader euro-zone crisis eased in 2013, bringing down Italy's borrowing costs on sovereign government debt from euro-era records. The government still faces pressure from investors and European partners to sustain its efforts to address Italy's longstanding structural economic problems, including labor market inefficiencies, a sluggish judicial system, and a weak banking sector. Italy’s economy returned to modest growth in late 2014 for the first time since 2011. In 2015-16, Italy’s economy grew at about 1% each year, and in 2017 growth accelerated to 1.5% of GDP. In 2017, overall unemployment was 11.4%, but youth unemployment remained high at 37.1%. GDP growth is projected to slow slightly in 2018.

Trade & Transport

major seaport(s): Augusta, Cagliari, Genoa, Livorno, Taranto, Trieste, Venice
oil terminal(s): Melilli (Santa Panagia) oil terminal, Sarroch oil terminal
container port(s) (TEUs): Genoa (2,621,472), Gioia Tauro (2,523,000) (2019)
LNG terminal(s) (import): La Spezia, Panigaglia, Porto Levante

Infrastructure

Telecommunication systems

General assessment: well-developed, fully automated telephone, and data services; among highest mobile penetration rates in Europe; benefitted from progressive government programs aimed at developing fiber in broadband sector; leading edge of development with 5G in six cities; fiber network reaches more than half of population; Milan developing smart city technology; importer of broadcasting equipment and computers from China (2020)

Airports

total: 129 (2013)

Founding Date

17 March 1861

Type

Geopolitical, Country

Capital

Rome

Alternative Names

Italy

Demonym

Italian

Government System

Democracy, Parliamentary

Power Structure

Unitary state

Economic System

Mixed economy

Major Exports

$558.26 billion note: data are in current year dollars (2020 est.)

Exports - partners

Germany 12%, France 11%, United States 10%, United Kingdom 5%, Spain 5%, Switzerland 5% (2019)

Exports - commodities

packaged medicines, cars and vehicle parts, refined petroleum, valves, trunks/cases, wine (2019)

Major Imports

$486.35 billion note: data are in current year dollars (2020 est.)

Imports - partners

Germany 16%, France 9%, China 7%, Spain 5%, Netherlands 5%, Belgium 5% (2019)

Imports - commodities

crude petroleum, cars, packaged medicines, natural gas, refined petroleum (2019)

Parent Organization

European Union

Location

Italy

Official Languages

• Italian

Controlled Territories

• Rome

Neighboring Nations

• Vatican City State

Related Ethnicities

• Italian