16 September 1810 (declared); 27 September 1821 (recognized by Spain)
17 March 1861 (Kingdom of Italy proclaimed; Italy was not finally unified until 1870)
Religions
Roman Catholic 76.5%, Protestant 6.3% (Pentecostal 1.4%, Jehovah's Witnesses 1.1%, other 3.8%), other 0.3%, unspecified 13.8%, none 3.1% (2000 census)
Roman Catholic 90% (approximately; about one-third practicing), other 10% (includes mature Protestant and Jewish communities and a growing Muslim immigrant community)
Languages
Spanish only 92.7%, Spanish and indigenous languages 5.7%, indigenous only 0.8%, unspecified 0.8%; note - indigenous languages include various Mayan, Nahuatl, and other regional languages (2005)
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)
engineering products, textiles and clothing, production machinery, motor vehicles, transport equipment, chemicals; food, beverages and tobacco; minerals, and nonferrous metals
External Debt
$125,700,000,000 $
$2,460,000,000,000 US
Exchange Rate
Mexican pesos (MXN) per US dollar - 11.016 (2008 est.), 10.8 (2007), 10.899 (2006), 10.898 (2005), 11.286 (2004)
euros (EUR) per US dollar - 0.6689 (2008 est.), 0.7345 (2007), 0.7964 (2006), 0.8041 (2005), 0.8054 (2004)
Military Budget as percentage of GDP
0.500%
1.800%
Beijing Olympics Medal Count
3
28
Location
Middle America, bordering the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico, between Belize and the US and bordering the North Pacific Ocean, between Guatemala and the US
Southern Europe, a peninsula extending into the central Mediterranean Sea, northeast of Tunisia
Area
1,964,375 km sq
301,340 km sq
Coastline
9,330 km
7,600 km
Climate
varies from tropical to desert
predominantly Mediterranean; Alpine in far north; hot, dry in south
