17 March 1861 (Kingdom of Italy proclaimed; Italy was not finally unified until 1870)
25 June 1991 (from Yugoslavia)
Religions
Roman Catholic 90% (approximately; about one-third practicing), other 10% (includes mature Protestant and Jewish communities and a growing Muslim immigrant community)
Catholic 57.8%, Muslim 2.4%, Orthodox 2.3%, other Christian 0.9%, unaffiliated 3.5%, other or unspecified 23%, none 10.1% (2002 census)
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)
Slovenian 91.1%, Serbo-Croatian 4.5%, other or unspecified 4.4% (2002 census)
Exports
engineering products, textiles and clothing, production machinery, motor vehicles, transport equipment, chemicals; food, beverages and tobacco; minerals, and nonferrous metals
manufactured goods, machinery and transport equipment, chemicals, food
External Debt
$2,684,000,000,000 $
$61,230,000,000 US
Exchange Rate
euros (EUR) per US dollar - 0.6689 (2008 est.), 0.7345 (2007), 0.7964 (2006), 0.8041 (2005), 0.8054 (2004)
euros (EUR) per US dollar - 0.67 (2008 est.), 0.7345 (2007), tolars per US dollar - 190.85 (2006), 192.71 (2005), 192.38 (2004) note: Slovenia adopted the euro as its currency on 1 January 2007
Military Budget as percentage of GDP
1.800%
1.700%
Beijing Olympics Medal Count
28
5
Location
Southern Europe, a peninsula extending into the central Mediterranean Sea, northeast of Tunisia
Central Europe, eastern Alps bordering the Adriatic Sea, between Austria and Croatia
Area
301,340 km sq
20,273 km sq
Coastline
7,600 km
47 km
Climate
predominantly Mediterranean; Alpine in far north; hot, dry in south
Mediterranean climate on the coast, continental climate with mild to hot summers and cold winters in the plateaus and valleys to the east
