Italy Facts




Capital: Rome

Continent: Europe

Location: Southern Europe, a peninsula extending into the central Mediterranean Sea, northeast of Tunisia

Climate: predominantly Mediterranean; Alpine in far north; hot, dry in south

Population: 58,133,509 (July 2006 est.)

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)

Religions: Roman Catholic 90% (approximately; about one-third regularly attend services), other 10% (mature Protestant and Jewish communities and a growing Muslim immigrant community)

Currency: Euro