17 March 1861 (Kingdom of Italy proclaimed; Italy was not finally unified until 1870)
24 May 1822 (from Spain)
Religions
Roman Catholic 90% (approximately; about one-third practicing), other 10% (includes mature Protestant and Jewish communities and a growing Muslim immigrant community)
Roman Catholic 95%, other 5%
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)
Spanish (official), Amerindian languages (especially Quechua)
Exports
engineering products, textiles and clothing, production machinery, motor vehicles, transport equipment, chemicals; food, beverages and tobacco; minerals, and nonferrous metals
petroleum, bananas, cut flowers, shrimp, cacao, coffee, hemp, wood, fish
External Debt
$2,684,000,000,000 $
$10,050,000,000 US
Exchange Rate
euros (EUR) per US dollar - 0.6689 (2008 est.), 0.7345 (2007), 0.7964 (2006), 0.8041 (2005), 0.8054 (2004)
the US dollar is used; the sucre was eliminated in 2000
Military Budget as percentage of GDP
1.800%
0.900%
Beijing Olympics Medal Count
28
1
Location
Southern Europe, a peninsula extending into the central Mediterranean Sea, northeast of Tunisia
Western South America, bordering the Pacific Ocean at the Equator, between Colombia and Peru
Area
301,340 km sq
283,561 km sq
Coastline
7,600 km
2,237 km
Climate
predominantly Mediterranean; Alpine in far north; hot, dry in south
tropical along coast, becoming cooler inland at higher elevations; tropical in Amazonian jungle lowlands
