Aminet 6/Aminet 6 - June 1995.iso/Aminet/docs/misc/wfbook93_texi.lha/texi/118.data

Text File | 1995-03-27 | 13.2 KB | 422 lines

@node Geography (Italy)
@section Geography (Italy)

@display

Location:
  Southern Europe, a peninsula in the central Mediterranean Sea
Map references:
  Africa, Europe, Standard Time Zones of the World
Area:
 total area:
  301,230 km2
 land area:
  294,020 km2
 comparative area:
  slightly larger than Arizona
 note:
  includes Sardinia and Sicily
Land boundaries:
  total 1,899.2 km, Austria 430 km, France 488 km, Holy See (Vatican City) 3.2
  km, San Marino 39 km, Slovenia 199 km, Switzerland 740 km
Coastline:
  4,996 km
Maritime claims:
 continental shelf:
  200 m depth or to depth of exploitation
 territorial sea:
  12 nm
International disputes:
  small vocal minority in northern Italy seeks the return of parts of
  southwestern Slovenia
Climate:
  predominantly Mediterranean; Alpine in far north; hot, dry in south
Terrain:
  mostly rugged and mountainous; some plains, coastal lowlands
Natural resources:
  mercury, potash, marble, sulfur, dwindling natural gas and crude oil
  reserves, fish, coal
Land use:
 arable land:
  32%
 permanent crops:
  10%
 meadows and pastures:
  17%
 forest and woodland:
  22%
 other:
  19%
Irrigated land:
  31,000 km2 (1989 est.)
Environment:
  regional risks include landslides, mudflows, snowslides, earthquakes,
  volcanic eruptions, flooding, pollution; land sinkage in Venice
Note:
  strategic location dominating central Mediterranean as well as southern sea
  and air approaches to Western Europe



@end display

@node People (Italy)
@section People (Italy)

@display

Population:
  58,018,540 (July 1993 est.)
Population growth rate:
  0.2% (1993 est.)
Birth rate:
  10.65 births/1,000 population (1993 est.)
Death rate:
  9.66 deaths/1,000 population (1993 est.)
Net migration rate:
  1.03 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1993 est.)
Infant mortality rate:
  7.8 deaths/1,000 live births (1993 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
 total population:
  77.43 years
 male:
  74.22 years
 female:
  80.85 years (1993 est.)
Total fertility rate:
  1.37 children born/woman (1993 est.)
Nationality:
 noun:
  Italian(s)
 adjective:
  Italian
Ethnic divisions:
  Italian (includes small clusters of German-, French-, and Slovene-Italians
  in the north and Albanian-Italians and Greek-Italians in the south),
  Sicilians, Sardinians
Religions:
  Roman Catholic 100%
Languages:
  Italian, 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)
Literacy:
  age 15 and over can read and write (1990)
 total population:
  97%
 male:
  98%
 female:
  96%
Labor force:
  23.988 million
 by occupation:
  services 58%, industry 32.2%, agriculture 9.8% (1988)



@end display

@node Government (Italy)
@section Government (Italy)

@display

Names:
 conventional long form:
  Italian Republic
 conventional short form:
  Italy
 local long form:
  Repubblica Italiana
 local short form:
  Italia
 former:
  Kingdom of Italy
Digraph:
  IT
Type:
  republic
Capital:
  Rome
Administrative divisions:
  20 regions (regioni, singular - regione); Abruzzi, 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
Independence:
  17 March 1861 (Kingdom of Italy proclaimed)
Constitution:
  1 January 1948
Legal system:
  based on civil law system, with ecclesiastical law influence; appeals
  treated as trials de novo; judicial review under certain conditions in
  Constitutional Court; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
National holiday:
  Anniversary of the Republic, 2 June (1946)
Political parties and leaders:
  Christian Democratic Party (DC), Fermo Mino MARTINAZZOLI, general secretary;
  Rosa Russo JERVOLINO, president; Socialist Party (PSI), Giorgio BENVENUTO,
  party secretary; Social Democratic Party (PSDI), Enrico FERRI, party
  secretary; Liberal Party (PLI); Democratic Party of the Left (PDS - was
  Communist Party, or PCI, until January 1991), Achille OCCHETTO, secretary
  general; Italian Social Movement (MSI), Gianfranco FINI, national secretary;
  Republican Party (PRI), Giorgio BOGI, political secretary; Lega Nord
  (Northern League), Umberto BOSSI, president; Communist Renewal (RC), Sergio
  GARAVINI
Other political or pressure groups:
  the Roman Catholic Church; three major trade union confederations (CGIL -
  formerly Communist dominated, CISL - Christian Democratic, and UIL - Social
  Democratic, Socialist, and Republican); Italian manufacturers association
  (Confindustria); organized farm groups (Confcoltivatori, Confagricoltura)
Suffrage:
  18 years of age, universal (except in senatorial elections, where minimum
  age is 25)
Elections:
 Senate:
  last held 5-6 April 1992 (next to be held by April 1997); results - DC
  27.3%, PDS 17.0%, PSI 13.6%, Northern Leagues 8.2%, other 33.9%; seats -
  (326 total; 315 elected, 11 appointed senators-for-life) DC 107, PDS 64, PSI
  49, Leagues 25, other 70



@end display

@node Government (Italy 2. usage)
@section Government (Italy 2. usage)

@display

 Chamber of Deputies:
  last held 5-6 April 1992 (next to be held by April 1997); results - DC
  29.7%, PDS 16.1%, PSI 13.6%, Northern Leagues 8.7%, RC 5.6%, MSI 5.4%, PRI
  4.4%, PLI 2.8%, PSDI 2.7%, other 11%; seats - (630 total) DC 206, PDS 107,
  PSI 92, Northern Leagues 55, RC 35, MSI 34, PRI 27, PLI 17, PSDI 16, other
  41
Executive branch:
  president, prime minister (president of the Council of Ministers)
Legislative branch:
  bicameral Parliament (Parlamento) consists of an upper chamber or Senate of
  the Republic (Senato della Repubblica) and a lower chamber or Chamber of
  Deputies (Camera dei Deputati)
Judicial branch:
  Constitutional Court (Corte Costituzionale)
Leaders:
 Chief of State:
  President Oscar Luigi SCALFARO (since 28 May 1992)
 Head of Government:
  Prime Minister Carlo Azeglio CIAMPI (29 April 1993)
Member of:
  AfDB, AG (observer), Australia Group, AsDB, BIS, CCC, CDB (non-regional),
  CE, CEI, CERN, COCOM, CSCE, EBRD, EC, ECE, ECLAC, EIB, ESA, FAO, G-7, G-10,
  GATT, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, IDA, IFAD, IEA, IFC, ILO, IMF,
  IMO, INMARSAT, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, LAIA (observer),
  LORCS, MINURSO, MTCR, NACC, NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, PCA, UN,
  UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIFIL, UNIKOM, UNMOGIP, UNOMOZ, UNTSO, UPU,
  WCL, WEU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO, ZC
Diplomatic representation in US:
 chief of mission:
  Ambassador Boris BIANCHERI CHIAPPORI
 chancery:
  1601 Fuller Street NW, Washington DC 20009
 telephone:
  [phone]
 consulates general:
  Boston, Chicago, Houston, Miami, New York, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, San
  Francisco
 consulates:
  Detroit, New Orleans, and Newark (New Jersey)
US diplomatic representation:
 chief of mission:
  (vacant)
 embassy:
  Via Veneto 119/A, 00187, Rome
 mailing address:
  PSC 59, Box 100, APO AE 09624
 telephone:
  [39] (6) 46741
 FAX:
  [39] (6) 488-2672
 consulates general:
  Florence, Genoa, Milan, Naples, Palermo (Sicily)
Flag:
  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



@end display

@node Economy (Italy)
@section Economy (Italy)

@display

Overview:
  Since World War II the economy has changed from one based on agriculture
  into a ranking industrial economy, with approximately the same total and per
  capita output as France and the UK. The country is still divided into a
  developed industrial north, dominated by private companies, and an
  undeveloped agricultural south, dominated by large public enterprises.
  Services account for 48% of GDP, industry 35%, agriculture 4%, and public
  administration 13%. Most raw materials needed by industry and over 75% of
  energy requirements must be imported. After growing at an annual average
  rate of 3% in 1983-90, growth slowed to about 1% in 1991 and 1992. In the
  second half of 1992, Rome became unsettled by the prospect of not qualifying
  to participate in EC plans for economic and monetary union later in the
  decade; thus it finally began to address its huge fiscal imbalances. Thanks
  to the determination of Prime Minister AMATO, the government adopted a
  fairly stringent budget for 1993, abandoned its highly inflationary wage
  indexation system, and started to scale back its extremely generous social
  welfare programs, including pension and health care benefits. Monetary
  officials, who were forced to withdraw the lira from the European monetary
  system in September 1992 when it came under extreme pressure in currency
  markets, remain committed to bringing the currency back into the grid as
  soon as conditions warrant. For the 1990s, Italy faces the problems of
  refurbishing a tottering communications system, curbing pollution in major
  industrial centers, and adjusting to the new competitive forces accompanying
  the ongoing economic integration of the European Community.
National product:
  GDP - purchasing power equivalent - $1.012 trillion (1992)
National product real growth rate:
  0.9% (1992)
National product per capita:
  $17,500 (1992)
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
  5.4% (1992)
Unemployment rate:
  11% (1992 est.)
Budget:
  revenues $447 billion; expenditures $581 billion, including capital
  expenditures of $46 billion (1992 est.)
Exports:
  $168.8 million (f.o.b., 1991)
 commodities:
  textiles, wearing apparel, metals, production machinery, motor vehicles,
  transportation equipment, chemicals, other
 partners:
  EC 58.3%, US 6.8%, OPEC 5.1% (1992)
Imports:
  $169.7 million (f.o.b., 1991)
 commodities:
  petroleum, industrial machinery, chemicals, metals, food, agricultural
  products
 partners:
  EC 58.8%, OPEC 6.1%, US 5.5% (1992)
External debt:
  $42 billion (September 1992)
Industrial production:
  growth rate -0.5% (1992 est.); accounts for almost 35% of GDP
Electricity:
  58,000,000 kW capacity; 235,000 million kWh produced, 4,060 kWh per capita
  (1992)



@end display

@node Economy (Italy 2. usage)
@section Economy (Italy 2. usage)

@display

Industries:
  machinery, iron and steel, chemicals, food processing, textiles, motor
  vehicles, clothing, footwear, ceramics
Agriculture:
  accounts for about 4% of GDP and about 10% of the work force;
  self-sufficient in foods other than meat, dairy products, and cereals;
  principal crops - fruits, vegetables, grapes, potatoes, sugar beets,
  soybeans, grain, olives; fish catch of 525,000 metric tons in 1990
Illicit drugs:
  increasingly important gateway country for Latin American cocaine entering
  the European market
Economic aid:
  donor - ODA and OOF commitments (1970-89), $25.9 billion
Currency:
  1 Italian lira (Lit) = 100 centesimi
Exchange rates:
  Italian lire (Lit) per US$1 - 1,482.5 (January 1993), 1,232.4 (1992),
  1,240.6 (1991), 1,198.1 (1990), 1,372.1 (1989), 1,301.6 (1988)
Fiscal year:
  calendar year



@end display

@node Communications (Italy)
@section Communications (Italy)

@display

Railroads:
  20,011 km total; 16,066 km 1.435-meter government-owned standard gauge
  (8,999 km electrified); 3,945 km privately owned - 2,100 km 1.435-meter
  standard gauge (1,155 km electrified) and 1,845 km 0.950-meter narrow gauge
  (380 km electrified)
Highways:
  298,000 km total; autostrada (expressway) 6,000 km, state highways 46,000
  km, provincial highways 103,000 km, communal highways 143,000 km; 270,000 km
  paved, 23,000 km gravel and crushed stone, 5,000 km earth
Inland waterways:
  2,400 km for various types of commercial traffic, although of limited
  overall value
Pipelines:
  crude oil 1,703 km; petroleum products 2,148 km; natural gas 19,400 km
Ports:
  Cagliari (Sardinia), Genoa, La Spezia, Livorno, Naples, Palermo (Sicily),
  Taranto, Trieste, Venice
Merchant marine:
  536 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 6,788,938 GRT/10,128,468 DWT;
  includes 15 passenger, 36 short-sea passenger, 87 cargo, 4 refrigerated
  cargo, 21 container, 69 roll-on/roll-off cargo, 8 vehicle carrier, 1
  multifunction large-load carrier, 138 oil tanker, 34 chemical tanker, 45
  liquefied gas, 10 specialized tanker, 9 combination ore/oil, 57 bulk, 2
  combination bulk
Airports:
 total:
  137
 usable:   133
 with permanent-surface runways:
  92
 with runways over 3,659 m:
  2
 with runways 2,440-3,659 m:
  36
 with runways 1,220-2,439 m:
  39
Telecommunications:
  modern, well-developed, fast; 25,600,000 telephones; fully automated
  telephone, telex, and data services; high-capacity cable and microwave radio
  relay trunks; broadcast stations - 135 AM, 28 (1,840 repeaters) FM, 83
  (1,000 repeaters) TV; international service by 21 submarine cables, 3
  satellite earth stations operating in INTELSAT with 3 Atlantic Ocean
  antennas and 2 Indian Ocean antennas; also participates in INMARSAT and
  EUTELSAT systems



@end display

@node Defense Forces (Italy)
@section Defense Forces (Italy)

@display

Branches:
  Army, Navy, Air Force, Carabinieri
Manpower availability:
  males age 15-49 14,898,913; fit for military service 12,989,142; reach
  military age (18) annually 425,286 (1993 est.)
Defense expenditures:
  exchange rate conversion - $24.5 billion, 2% of GDP (1992)



@end display