Italy

Geography

Italy is a peninsula in the northern Mediterranean. The land has a total area of 301,340 km² (116,348 mi²) and a total coastline of 7,600 km (4,722.4 mi). This land area is approximately 75% of the area of California. Italy is thus one of the largest countries in Europe and the 72nd biggest in the world. A considerable share of the inhabitants (71%) belongs to the urban population.

Italy lies at an average elevation of 538 meters above sea level. The highest mountain peak (Monte Bianco di Courmayeur) is at 4,748 meters. There are about 210 other islands in the country. There are direct national borders with the six neighboring countries Austria, France, San Marino, Slovenia, Switzerland and Vatican. The distance between New York City and the Capital Rome is about 6,900 km (4,287 mi).

The climate in Italy

In the north of Italy, near the Alps, there are long and cold winters, while summers tend to be short and dry compared to the rest of the country. The temperate climate of Central Europe diminishes the further south one goes. South of the Apennines, the climate becomes subtropical due to the influence of the Mediterranean Sea on both sides. Winters are cool, but it rarely freezes. Summers, on the other hand, are longer and hotter. In the south of the country, as far as Sicily, the climate is warm all year round. It rains more often from November to January, but the daytime temperatures are always above 10°C, even in December. In Sicily, the sun shines for more than 2,000 hours a year and spring begins much earlier than in more northern Europe.

• Detailed climate data for Italy and 20 individual regions
• Volcanoes
• Earthquakes
• Tsunamis

Languages

Mother tongue	Distribution
Italian	94.1 %
Sardinian	2.7 %
Friuli	1.2 %
German	0.5 %
French	0.5 %
Albanian	0.2 %
Romany	0.2 %
Slovenian	0.2 %
other	0.4 %

Religions

Religion	Distribution
Buddhists	0.3%
Roman Catholics	87.8%
other Christs	2.0%
Protestants	1.3%
Jehovah's Witnesses	0.4%
Hinduists	0.2%
Muslims	1.9%
nondenominational	5.8%
other	0.3%

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Economy

GDP:	2,107.70 bn $
Exportations:	686.78 bn $
Importations:	635.71 bn $
Budget deficit:	159.95 bn $
› Tourism receipts:	20.46 bn $
› Debt rate:	150.83 %
› Unemployment rate:	8.1 %
› Inflation rate:	8.20 %
› Corruption index:	56 (moderate)
› Energy consumption:	286.4 bn kWh

With a Human Development Index (HDI) of 0.895, Italy counts as one of the high developed economies by UN definition. The IMF also shares this classification.

In terms of revenues, Italy ranks only 31st in the world and, with an average annual income of 35,990 USD is one of the high-income countries.

Land use

24% Urban areas:	73,541 km²
44% Agricultural areas:	132,620 km²
32% Forest:	96,821 km²
2% Water areas:	7,200 km²

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Transport

Roadways:	487,700 km
Railways:	16,779 km
Waterways:	2,400 km
Commercial harbors:	1,296
› Airports:	35