Official Name
Italian Republic
Geography
Area
301,225 sq. km. (116,303 sq. mi.)
About the size of Georgia and Florida combined
Cities
Capital: Rome (pop. 2.8 million)
Major cities: Milan, Naples, Turin, Florence, Venice, Palermo
Terrain
Mostly rugged and mountainous
Climate
Generally mild Mediterranean; cold northern winters
Time Change
6 hours ahead of New York City
Examples
Italy: 9 a.m Monday; New York: 3 a.m. Monday
New York: 5 p.m. Monday; Italy: 11 p.m. Monday
People
Population
57.8 million
Ethnic Groups
Primarily Italian, but there are small groups of German-,
French-, Slovene-, and Albanian-Italians
Religions
Roman Catholic (majority)
Language
Italian
Education
Literacy - 98%
Government
Republic
Constitution
January 1, 1948
Economy
GDP (2005)
$1.645 trillion
Real growth rate (2005)
0.1%
Per capita income (2005)
$28,300