Italy Travel HD Videos

National name: Repubblica Italiana

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)

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

Religions: Christian 80% (overwhelming Roman Catholic with very small groups of Jehova Witnesses and Protestants), Muslims NEGL (about 700,000 but growing), Atheists and Agnostics 20%

National Holiday: Republic Day, June 2

Literacy rate: 99% (2011 est.)

Economic summary: GDP/PPP (2013 est.): $1.805 trillion; per capita $29,600. Real growth rate: -1.8%. Inflation:1.2%. Unemployment: 12.4%. Arable land: 22.57%. Agriculture: fruits, vegetables, grapes, potatoes, sugar beets, soybeans, grain, olives; beef, dairy products; fish. Labor force: 25.74 million; services 67.8%, industry 28.3%, agriculture 3.9% (2011). Industries: tourism, machinery, iron and steel, chemicals, food processing, textiles, motor vehicles, clothing, footwear, ceramics. Natural resources: coal, mercury, zinc, potash, marble, barite, asbestos, pumice, fluorospar, feldspar, pyrite (sulfur), natural gas and crude oil reserves, fish, arable land. Exports:$474 billion (2013 est.): engineering products, textiles and clothing, production machinery, motor vehicles, transport equipment, chemicals; food, beverages and tobacco; minerals, and nonferrous metals. Imports: $435.8 billion (2013 est.): engineering products, chemicals, transport equipment, energy products, minerals and nonferrous metals, textiles and clothing; food, beverages, and tobacco. Major trading partners: Germany, France, U.S., Spain, UK, Switzerland, Netherlands, China, Russia, Belgium (2011).

Communications: Telephones: main lines in use: 21.656 million (2012); mobile cellular: 97.225 million (2012).Broadcast media: two Italian media giants dominate - the publicly-owned Radiotelevisione Italiana (RAI) with 3 national terrestrial stations and privately-owned Mediaset with 3 national terrestrial stations; a large number of private stations and Sky Italia - a satellite TV network; RAI operates 3 AM/FM nationwide radio stations; some 1,300 commercial radio stations (2007). Internet hosts: 25.662 million (2010). Internet users: 29.235 million (2009).

Transportation: Railways: total: 20,255 km (2008). Roadways: total: 487,700 km; paved: 487,700 km (including 6,700 km of expressways) (2007). Waterways: 2,400 km; note: used for commercial traffic; of limited overall value compared to road and rail (2012). Ports and terminals: Augusta, Cagliari, Genoa, Livorno, Taranto, Trieste, Venice oil terminals: Melilli (Santa Panagia) oil terminal, Sarroch oil terminal. Airports: 129 (2013).