Italy Geography

Country Name: Italian Republic

Capital City: Rome

Population: 58,133,509 (2006)

Population Growth: 0.04% (2006)

Currency: Euro (EUR)

Languages: Italian

Area: 301,230 sq km

Inflation Rate: 2.3% (2006 est.)

Unemployment Rate: 7.7% (2005)

Domain extension: .it

GEOGRAPHIC DETAILS OF ITALY

Location:

Southern Europe, a peninsula extending into the central Mediterranean Sea, northeast of Tunisia

Geographic Co-ordinates:

42 50 N, 12 50 E

Area - total:

301,230 sq km

Area - total:

301,230 sq km

Area - land:

294,020 sq km

Area - water:

7,210 sq km

Land Boundaries:

1,932.2 km

Border Countries:

Austria 430 km, France 488 km, Holy See (Vatican City) 3.2 km, San Marino 39 km, Slovenia 232 km, Switzerland 740 km

Terrain:

mostly rugged and mountainous; some plains, coastal lowlands

Elevation - highest point:

Mont Blanc (Monte Bianco) de Courmayeur 4,748 m (a secondary peak of Mont Blanc)

Elevation - lowest point:

Mediterranean Sea 0 m

Natural Resources:

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

Arable Land:

26.41%

Permanent Crops:

9.09%

Other Land Use:

64.5% (2005)

Natural Hazards:

regional risks include landslides, mudflows, avalanches, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, flooding; land subsidence in Venice