Italy/Economy

Economy - overview: Italy has a diversified industrial economy with approximately the same total and per capita output as France and the UK. This capitalistic economy remains divided into a developed industrial north, dominated by private companies, and a less developed agricultural south, with more than 20% unemployment. Most raw materials needed by industry and more than 75% of energy requirements are imported. For several years Italy has adopted budgets compliant with the requirements of the European Monetary Union (EMU); representatives of government, labor, and employers also agreed to an update of the 1993 "social pact," which has been widely credited with having brought Italy's inflation into conformity with EMU requirements. Italy must work to stimulate employment, promote wage flexibility, hold down the growth in pensions, and tackle the informal economy. Growth was 1.3% in 1999 and should edge up to 2.6% in 2000, led by investment and exports.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $1.212 trillion (1999 est.)

GDP - real growth rate: 1.3% (1999 est.)

GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $21,400 (1999 est.)

GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture: 2.6%
industry: 31.6%
services: 65.8% (1998)

Population below poverty line: NA%

Household income or consumption by percentage share:
lowest 10%: 2.9%
highest 10%: 23.7% (1991)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 1.7% (1999 est.)

Labor force: 23.193 million

Labor force - by occupation: services 61%, industry 32%, agriculture 7% (1996)

Unemployment rate: 11.5% (1999 est.)

Budget:
revenues: $530 billion
expenditures: $522 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (1999 est.)

Industries: tourism, machinery, iron and steel, chemicals, food processing, textiles, motor vehicles, clothing, footwear, ceramics

Industrial production growth rate: 1.9% (1998 est.)

Electricity - production: 243.027 billion kWh (1998)

Electricity - production by source:
fossil fuel: 80.22%
hydro: 17.3%
nuclear: 0%
other: 2.48% (1998)

Electricity - consumption: 266.705 billion kWh (1998)

Electricity - exports: 900 million kWh (1998)

Electricity - imports: 41.59 billion kWh (1998)

Agriculture - products: fruits, vegetables, grapes, potatoes, sugar beets, soybeans, grain, olives; beef, dairy products; fish

Exports: $242.6 billion (f.o.b., 1998)

Exports - commodities: engineering products, textiles and clothing, production machinery, motor vehicles, transport equipment, chemicals; food, beverages and tobacco; minerals and nonferrous metals

Exports - partners: EU 56% (Germany 16.5%, France 12.7%, UK 7.2%, Spain 5.8%, Netherlands 2.9%), US 8.5% (1998)

Imports: $206.9 billion (f.o.b., 1998)

Imports - commodities: engineering products, chemicals, transport equipment, energy products, minerals and nonferrous metals, textiles and clothing; food, beverages and tobacco

Imports - partners: EU 61% (Germany 18.8%, France 13.12%, UK 6.47%, Netherlands 6.2%, Belgium-Luxembourg 4.7%), US 5.1% (1998)

Debt - external: $45 billion (1996 est.)

Economic aid - donor: ODA, $1.3 billion (1997)

Currency: 1 Italian lira (Lit) = 100 centesimi

Exchange rates: euros per US$1 - 0.9867 (January 2000), 0.9386 (1999); Italian lire (Lit) per US$1 - 1,688.7 (January 1999), 1,736.2 (1998), 1,703.1 (1997), 1,542.9 (1996), 1,628.9 (1995)
note: on 1 January 1999, the EU introduced a common currency that is now being used for non-cash transactions in some member countries at a fixed rate of 1,936.27 lire per euro; the euro will replace the local currency in consenting countries for all transactions in 2002

Fiscal year: calendar year