Official Name: Repubblica Italiana (Italian Republic)

Currency:  Euro

Current Exchange Rate:  Currency Converter

Hemisphere: Northern

Continent: Europe

Location: In S Europe, jutting into Mediterranean Sea. Neighbors: France on W, Switzerland, Austria on N, Slovenia on E, San Marino, Vatican City.

Area: 116,346 sq mi, 301,336 sq km

Form of Government: Republic with two legislative houses (Senate 321) and (Chamber of Deputies 630)

Population: (2007) 59,051,000

Population Density: (2007) persons per sq mi 507.5, persons per sq km 196.0

Principal Language(s): Italian (official), German, French, Slovene

Religions: Roman Catholic 90%, other10%

Capital: Rome

Capital Population: 2,705,603

Capital Average Temperature: Maximum: 15.4 degrees Celsius, 59.7 degrees Fahrenheit 
                                                 
Major Cities: Milan 1,303,347, Naples 975,139, Turin 900,569, Palermo 666,552, Genoa 615,686, Bologna 373,026, Florence 365,966, Bari 325,052, Catania 301,564, Venice 268,934, Verona 260,718, Messina 245,159, Padua 210,301.

Topography: Occupies long boot-shaped peninsula, extending SE from Alps into Mediterranean, with islands of Sicily and Sardinia offshore. The alluvial Po Valley drains most of N. rest of the country is rugged and mountainous, except for intermittent coastal plains, like the Campania, S of Rome

Economy: G.D.P. $1.8 trillion

G.D.P. per Capita: $ 31,000
 
Vital Statistics: Birth rate per 1,000 population (2006) 9.5 (world average 20.3). Death rate per 1,000 population (2006) 9.4 (world avg. 8.6). Total fertility rate (avg. births per childbearing woman 2006) 1.35. Life expectancy at birth (2006): male 78.6 years, female 84.0 years.

Government Website: www.quirinale.it

Reference Sources: The World Almanac 2009, The New York Times Almanac   2009, Time Almanac 2009, World Climate Website.