Italy, a European country, is located in south-central Europe. Italy is one of the most modern and historical countries to live in the world. Italy’s capital city Rome played a significant role in western cultural development. The Republic of Roman start capturing its Allied nation in the Italian Peninsula, then it expands and conquers North Africa, Asia, and Europe. Italy faced the fall of the Western Roman Empire and barbarian invasions in the middle ages. Still, several cities & states in central and northern Italy became wealthy due to trade, banking, and commerce in the 11th century. Italy becomes an industrialist nation between the 19th and 20th centuries. During the 1st century BC, the Roman Empire emerged as a leading power in the Mediterranean Basin and served as a great center of culture, religion, and politics. It initiated Pax Romana, which was the 200 years long Roman Period, Italy has seen development in art, technology, literature, law, and economy during that period. Finally, it became the homeland of Romans, and its heritage culture in the global Christianity and Latin script.
Ethnic Groups
Historically, Italy was home to numerous people and cultures. The Indo-European Italic peoples are more significant for the establishment of the Phoenicians and Carthaginians colonies in insular Italy. Greeks made their settlements in Magna Graecia in Southern Italy while Etruscans and Celts settled in central and northern Italy. In the 8th century, Latin’s who formed the Roman Kingdom, became a republic with the Government of the Senate and the people.
Land
Italy has a total land area of 301,338 square kilometers. It shares its border with France, Switzerland, Slovenia, and Austria. Italy has its coastline border on Adriatic, Ionian and Tyrrhenian seas. Italian provinces are mostly mountainous. Some of the active volcanoes in the Italian regions are Mount Etna, Vulcano, Stromboli, and Vesuvius. 2.4% area is occupied by water. San Marino and Vatican City are the two separate countries located within its territory.
Population
As of 2018, the population of Italy is 60 million, and its population density is 200.1 people per square kilometer. Italy has the third-largest in the European Union. For both males and females, the life expectancy at birth was 83 years. On 2017, the life expectancy of a male at birth is 79.6 years and female is 85.1 years. The net migration rate of Italy in 2020 is 2.257 per 1000 population. The people of that country live a very comfortable life; hence their life expectancy was very high.
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Religion
Most of the Italians identified themselves as Roman Catholic Christians; hence it was recognized as an official religion in 1929. After it’s withdrawn from the state religion of church position, it lost the official religion status in 1985. Judaism is the minority religion in Italy; even before the birth of Christ, they are living in Rome. In 2017, the Roman Catholicism was followed by 78%, other Christians 2%, other religions (Islam, Hinduism, Jewish, Buddhism) 5% and Non-religious 15%.
Language
Italy’s constitutional law designated Italian as the official language of the country. It is spoken as a native language by more than 60 million people, and the remaining people used it as a secondary language. Other than Italian, there are several native languages spoken by minorities. Among these minority languages, four are considered as co-official languages they are French, German, Ladin, and Slovene.
Economy
Italy is one of the wealthiest countries in the world. It is a well-developed country both economically and culturally. Italy, an industrialized country, is in the leading position on trade and export. It discovered a lot of creative and innovative techniques in the field of automobile, manufacturing, machinery, and food processing. The Italian Automotive Industry plays a significant role in the GDP where most of the people are employed. Its national wealth is the 6th largest, and its Central Bank gold reserve is the 3rd largest in the world and ranks eighth for its most powerful military powers. Italy is the fifth most visited country in the world, according to World Tourism Ranking by the United Nations, and it holds 55 UNESCO World Heritage sites in its land. In 2014, its travel and tourism sector GDP was EUR162.7bn. The GDP in 2018 is $2.084 trillion, and the HDI value is 0.882. The quality of life in Italy is the 8th largest in the world.
FAQ
The two-letter abbreviation and the country code for Italy are IT.
Italy is situated in Southern Europe containing the boot-shaped Italian peninsula and various islands. Austria, Switzerland, France, Slovenia, San Marino, and Vatican City are the land borders of Italy, and Rome is its capital.
The international dialing code or phone code of Italy is +39.
Italy’s total area is 301,338 square kilometers, of which 294,140 square kilometers is land, and 7,200 square kilometers is water.
Italy is the world’s largest wine producer.
Italians invented pizza in Naples.
Italy ranks 5th position for the most visited country in the world. The third most visited city in Europe is Rome.
Italy is home to 55 UNESCO World Heritage Sites.
Italy comprises the world’s smallest country.
Italy contains three of Europe’s active volcanoes.
