17 March 1861 (Kingdom of Italy proclaimed; Italy was not finally unified until 1870)
2 March 1956 (from France)
Religions
Roman Catholic 90% (approximately; about one-third practicing), other 10% (includes mature Protestant and Jewish communities and a growing Muslim immigrant community)
Muslim 98.7%, Christian 1.1%, Jewish 0.2%
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)
Arabic (official), Berber dialects, French often the language of business, government, and diplomacy
Exports
engineering products, textiles and clothing, production machinery, motor vehicles, transport equipment, chemicals; food, beverages and tobacco; minerals, and nonferrous metals
clothing and textiles, electric components, inorganic chemicals, transistors, crude minerals, fertilizers (including phosphates), petroleum products, citrus fruits, vegetables, fish
External Debt
$2,684,000,000,000 $
$28,080,000,000 US
Exchange Rate
euros (EUR) per US dollar - 0.6689 (2008 est.), 0.7345 (2007), 0.7964 (2006), 0.8041 (2005), 0.8054 (2004)
Moroccan dirhams (MAD) per US dollar - 7.526 (2008 est.), 8.3563 (2007), 8.7722 (2006), 8.865 (2005), 8.868 (2004)
Military Budget as percentage of GDP
1.800%
5.000%
Beijing Olympics Medal Count
28
2
Location
Southern Europe, a peninsula extending into the central Mediterranean Sea, northeast of Tunisia
Northern Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea, between Algeria and Western Sahara
Area
301,340 km sq
446,550 km sq
Coastline
7,600 km
1,835 km
Climate
predominantly Mediterranean; Alpine in far north; hot, dry in south
Mediterranean, becoming more extreme in the interior
