Italy

World Book Index

Introduction

Background
Italy became a nation-state in 1861 when the regional states of the peninsula, along with Sardinia and Sicily, were united. Italy is a charter member of NATO, as well as the European Economic Community (EEC) and its successors, the EC and the EU. Italy joined the Economic and Monetary Union in 1999.

Geography

Area
total : 301,340 sq km
land: 294,140 sq km
water: 7,200 sq km

Climate
predominantly Mediterranean; alpine in far north; hot, dry in south

Natural resources
coal, antimony, mercury, zinc, potash, marble, barite, asbestos, pumice, fluorspar, feldspar, pyrite (sulfur), natural gas and crude oil reserves, fish, arable land

People and Society

Population
total: 60,964,931 (2024 est.)

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

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), Croatian (in Molise)

Religions
Christian 80.8% (overwhelmingly Roman Catholic with very small groups of Jehovah's Witnesses and Protestants), Muslim 4.9%, unaffiliated 13.4%, other 0.9% (2020 est.)

Population growth rate
-0.08% (2024 est.)

Government

Government type
parliamentary republic

Capital
name: Rome

Executive branch
chief of state: President Sergio MATTARELLA (since 3 February 2015)
head of government: Prime Minister Giorgia MELONI (since 22 October 2022); the prime minister's official title is President of the Council of Ministers

Diplomatic representation in the US
chief of mission: Ambassador Marco PERONACI (since 5 September 2025)

Diplomatic representation from the US
chief of mission: Ambassador Tilman J. FERTITTA (since 6 May 2025); note - also accredited to San Marino

Economy

Economic overview
high-income, core EU economy; strong services, manufacturing, and tourism sectors; modest growth supported by net exports, low inflation, and public investments via EU funds; tight labor market with aging workforce and shortages in specialized skills; high public debt levels

Real GDP (purchasing power parity)
$3.133 trillion (2024 est.)
$3.11 trillion (2023 est.)
$3.088 trillion (2022 est.)

Real GDP per capita
$53,100 (2024 est.)
$52,700 (2023 est.)
$52,300 (2022 est.)

Exports
$778.898 billion (2024 est.)
$774.311 billion (2023 est.)
$737.083 billion (2022 est.)

Exports - partners
Germany 11%, USA 11%, France 10%, Spain 5%, UK 5% (2023)

Exports - commodities
packaged medicine, garments, cars, refined petroleum, vehicle parts/accessories (2023)

Imports
$717.278 billion (2024 est.)
$739.646 billion (2023 est.)
$775.518 billion (2022 est.)

Imports - partners
Germany 15%, France 9%, China 8%, Netherlands 6%, Spain 5% (2023)

Imports - commodities
natural gas, crude petroleum, cars, packaged medicine, garments (2023)

Human Development Index

The country's Human Development Index (HDI) is 0.915, ranking it 29th out of 193 countries tested. (more information)

World Happiness Report

The World Happiness Report ranked the country 41st out of 158 countries tested with a score of 6.346. (more information)