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. prosperous north.

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. prosperous north.

A democratic republic replaced the monarchy in 1946 and economic revival followed. Italy was a charter member of NATO and the European Economic Community (EEC). prosperous north.

It has been at the forefront of European economic and political unification, joining the Economic and Monetary Union in 1999. prosperous north.

Persistent problems include illegal immigration, organized crime, corruption, high unemployment, sluggish economic growth, and the low incomes and technical standards of southern Italy compared with the prosperous north.

Source: CIA World Fact Book

Population: 58,126,212 (July 2009 est.)

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Age structure: 0-14 years: 13.5% (male 4,056,156/female 3,814,070) 15-64 years: 66.3% (male 19,530,696/female 18,981,084) 65 years and over: 20.2% (male 4,903,762/female 6,840,444) (2009 est.)

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Median age: total: 43.3 years male: 41.8 years female: 44.8 years (2008 est.)

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Population growth rate: -0.047% (2009 est.)

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Birth rate: 8.36 births/1,000 population (2008 est.)

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Death rate: 10.61 deaths/1,000 population (2008 est.)

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Net migration rate: 2.06 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2009 est.)

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Urbanization: urban population: 68% of total population (2008) rate of urbanization: 0.4% annual rate of change (2005-2010)

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Sex ratio: at birth: 1.07 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.06 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.03 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.72 male(s)/female total population: 0.96 male(s)/female (2009 est.)

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Infant mortality rate: total: 5.51 deaths/1,000 live births male: 6.07 deaths/1,000 live births female: 4.91 deaths/1,000 live births (2009 est.)

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Life expectancy at birth: total population: 80.2 years male: 77.26 years female: 83.33 years (2009 est.)

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Total fertility rate: 1.31 children born/woman (2009 est.)

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HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: 0.4% (2007 est.)

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HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: 150,000 (2007 est.)

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HIV/AIDS - deaths: 1,900 (2007 est.)

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Nationality: noun: Italian(s) adjective: Italian

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Ethnic groups: Italian (includes small clusters of German-, French-, and Slovene-Italians in the north and Albanian-Italians and Greek-Italians in the south)

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Religions: Roman Catholic 90% (approximately; about one-third practicing), other 10% (includes mature Protestant and Jewish communities and a growing Muslim immigrant community)

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Languages: Italian (official), 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)

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Literacy: definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 98.4% male: 98.8% female: 98% (2001 census)

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School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education): total: 16 years male: 16 years female: 17 years (2006)

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Education expenditures: 4.5% of GDP (2005)

Italy has a diversified industrial economy, which is divided into a developed industrial north, dominated by private companies, and a less-developed, welfare-dependent, agricultural south, with high unemployment.

The Italian economy is driven in large part by the manufacture of high-quality consumer goods produced by small and medium-sized enterprises. Italy also has a sizable underground economy, which by some estimates accounts for as much as 15% of GDP. These activities are most common within the agriculture, construction, and service sectors.

Italy has moved slowly on implementing needed structural reforms, such as lightening the high tax burden and overhauling Italy's rigid labor market and over-generous pension system and these conditions will be exacerbated by the recent global financial crisis.

The Italian government is seeking to rein in government spending, but the leadership faces a severe economic constraint: Italy's official debt remains above 100% of GDP, and the fiscal deficit - 1.5% of GDP in 2007 - could approach 3% in 2009 as political pressure to stimulate the economy and the costs of servicing Italy's debt rise.

The economy will continue to contract through 2009 as the global demand for exports drop.

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GDP (purchasing power parity): $1.821 trillion (2008 est.) $1.834 trillion (2007) $1.809 trillion (2006)

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GDP (official exchange rate): $2.399 trillion (2008 est.)

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GDP - real growth rate: -0.7% (2008 est.)

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GDP - per capita (PPP): $31,000 (2008 est.)

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GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: 2% industry: 26.7% services: 71.3% (2008 est.)

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Labor force: 25.09 million (2008 est.)

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Labor force - by occupation: agriculture: 4.2% industry: 30.7% services: 65.1% (2005)

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Unemployment rate: 6.8% (2008 est.)

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Household income or consumption by percentage share: lowest 10%: 2.3% highest 10%: 26.8% (2000)

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Distribution of family income - Gini index: 32 (2006)

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Investment (gross fixed): 20.5% of GDP (2008 est.)

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Public debt: 103.7% of GDP (2008 est.)

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Inflation rate (consumer prices): 3.6% (2008 est.)

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Central bank discount rate: NA

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Commercial bank prime lending rate: 10.93% (31 December 2007)

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Stock of money: NA note: see entry for the European Union for money supply in the Euro Area; the European Central Bank (ECB) controls monetary policy for the 16 members of the Economic and Monetary Union (EMU); individual members of the EMU do not control the quantity of money and quasi money circulating within their own borders

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Stock of quasi money: NA

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Stock of domestic credit: $3.084 trillion (31 December 2007)

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Market value of publicly traded shares: $1.073 trillion (31 December 2007)

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Agriculture - products: fruits, vegetables, grapes, potatoes, sugar beets, soybeans, grain, olives; beef, dairy products; fish

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Industries: tourism, machinery, iron and steel, chemicals, food processing, textiles, motor vehicles, clothing, footwear, ceramics

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Industrial production growth rate: -0.2% (2008 est.)

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Electricity - production: 292.1 billion kWh (2007 est.)

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Electricity - consumption: 316.3 billion kWh (2006 est.)

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Electricity - exports: 1.916 billion kWh (2007 est.)

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Electricity - imports: 34.56 billion kWh (2007 est.)

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Oil - production: 166,600 bbl/day (2007 est.)

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Oil - consumption: 1.702 million bbl/day (2007 est.)

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Oil - exports: 616,700 bbl/day (2005)

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Oil - imports: 2.223 million bbl/day (2005)

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Oil - proved reserves: 406.5 million bbl (1 January 2008 est.)

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Natural gas - production: 9.706 billion cu m (2007 est.)

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Natural gas - consumption: 84.89 billion cu m (2007 est.)

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Natural gas - exports: 68 million cu m (2007 est.)

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Natural gas - imports: 73.95 billion cu m (2007 est.)

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Natural gas - proved reserves: 94.15 billion cu m (1 January 2008 est.)

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Current account balance: -$68.82 billion (2008 est.)

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Exports - commodities: engineering products, textiles and clothing, production machinery, motor vehicles, transport equipment, chemicals; food, beverages and tobacco; minerals, and nonferrous metals

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Exports - partners: Germany 12.9%, France 11.4%, Spain 7.4%, US 6.8%, UK 5.8% (2007)

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Imports: $566.8 billion f.o.b. (2008 est.)

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Imports - commodities: engineering products, chemicals, transport equipment, energy products, minerals and nonferrous metals, textiles and clothing; food, beverages, and tobacco

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Imports - partners: Germany 16.9%, France 9%, China 5.9%, Netherlands 5.5%, Belgium 4.3%, Spain 4.2% (2007) Reserves of foreign exchange and gold: $104 billion (31 December 2008 est.)

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Debt - external: $1.06 trillion (31 December 2008 est.)

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Stock of direct foreign investment - at home: $374.8 billion (2008 est.)

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Stock of direct foreign investment - abroad: $547.7 billion (2008 est.)

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Exchange rates: euros (EUR) per US dollar - 0.6689 (2008 est.), 0.7345 (2007), 0.7964 (2006), 0.8041 (2005), 0.8054 (2004)