Geography
Location: Southern Europe, a peninsula extending into the
central Mediterranean Sea, northeast of Tunisia
Area: land area: 294,020 sq km
Climate: predominantly Mediterranean; Alpine in far north;
hot, dry in south
Natural resources: mercury, potash, marble, sulfur, dwindling
natural gas and crude oil reserves, fish, coal
People
Population: 58,261,971 (July 1995 est.)
Nationality: Italian(s)
Religions: Roman Catholic 98%, other 2%
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)
Government
Names: conventional long form: Italian Republic; conventional
short form: Italy
Digraph: IT
Type: republic
Capital:
Rome
National holiday: Anniversary of the Republic, 2 June (1946)
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
International Direct Dialing (IDD)
Country code: Italy +39
Capital Code: Rome +6
