Italy - Geography
Here, let us take a look at the Geography of Italy. Strategic location dominating central Mediterranean as well as southern sea and air approaches to Western Europe. Mother's mean age at first birth is 31.4 years (2020 est.) (), whereas, the Maternal mortality ratio is 5 deaths/100,000 live births (2020 est.)
Geographical data of Italy
| Location | Southern Europe, a peninsula extending into the central Mediterranean Sea, northeast of Tunisia |
|---|---|
| Geographic coordinates | 42 50 N, 12 50 E |
| Map references | Europe |
| Tarrain | mostly rugged and mountainous; some plains, coastal lowlands |
| Natural Resources | coal, antimony, mercury, zinc, potash, marble, barite, asbestos, pumice, fluorspar, feldspar, pyrite (sulfur), natural gas and crude oil reserves, fish, arable land |
| Natural Hazards | regional risks include landslides, mudflows, avalanches, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, flooding; land subsidence in Venice volcanism: significant volcanic activity; Etna (3,330 m), which is in eruption as of 2013, is Europe's most active volcano; flank eruptions pose a threat to nearby Sicilian villages; Etna, along with the famous Vesuvius, which remains a threat to the millions of nearby residents in the Bay of Naples area, have both been deemed Decade Volcanoes by the International Association of Volcanology and Chemistry of the Earth's Interior, worthy of study due to their explosive history and close proximity to human populations; Stromboli, on its namesake island, has also been continuously active with moderate volcanic activity; other historically active volcanoes include Campi Flegrei, Ischia, Larderello, Pantelleria, Vulcano, and Vulsini |
| Irrigated Land | 26,010 sq km (2013) |
| Major rivers (by length in km) | |
| Major aquifers | |
| Land Boundaries | 1,836.4 km |
| Border Countries | Austria 404 km; France 476 km; Holy See (Vatican City) 3.4 km; San Marino 37 km; Slovenia 218 km; Switzerland 698 km |
| Coastline | 7,600 km |
| Climate | predominantly Mediterranean; alpine in far north; hot, dry in south |
| Area | |
| Total Area | |
| Land Area | 294,140 sq km |
| Water Area | 7,200 sq km |
| comparative Area | almost twice the size of Georgia; slightly larger than Arizona |
| Maritime Claims | |
| Territorial sea | 12 nm |
| Continental shelf | 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation |
| Elevations | |
| Highest point | Mont Blanc (Monte Bianco) de Courmayeur (a secondary peak of Mont Blanc) 4,748 m |
| Lowest point | Mediterranean Sea 0 m |
| Mean elevation | 538 m |
| Land Use | |
| Agricultural land | 47.1% (2018 est.) |
| Agricultural land: arable land | arable land: 22.8% (2018 est.) |
| Agricultural land: permanent crops | permanent crops: 8.6% (2018 est.) |
| Agricultural land: permanent pasture | permanent pasture: 15.7% (2018 est.) |
| Forest | 31.4% (2018 est.) |
| Other | 21.5% (2018 est.) |
Population Distribution
Despite a distinctive pattern with an industrial north and an agrarian south, a fairly even population distribution exists throughout most of the country, with coastal areas, the Po River Valley, and urban centers (particularly Milan, Rome, and Naples), attracting larger and denser populations
People and Society
In Italy, the different Ethnic groups are such that we have: Italian (includes small clusters of German-, French-, and Slovene-Italians in the north, Albanian-Italians, Croat-Italians, and Greek-Italians in the south)
| Population | |
|---|---|
| Pop growth rate | -0.08% (2024 est.) |
| Birth rate | 7.1 births/1,000 population (2024 est.) |
| Death rate | 11.2 deaths/1,000 population (2024 est.) |
| Health expenditure | 9.6% of GDP (2020) |
| Physicians Density | |
| Hospital bed Density | 3.1 beds/1,000 population (2018) |
| Total fertility rate | 1.26 children born/woman (2024 est.) |
| Gross reproduction rate | 0.61 (2024 est.) |
| Contraceptive prevalence rate | 65.1% (2013) |
| Est married women (ages 15-49) | 52.5% (2023 est.) |
| Literacy | age 15 and over can read and write |
| Education expenditures | 4.3% of GDP (2020 est.) |
| Net Migration rate | 3.4 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2024 est.) |
| Nationality | Italian | Italian(s) |
| Languages | |
| Religions | Christian 80.8% (overwhelmingly Roman Catholic with very small groups of Jehovah's Witnesses and Protestants), Muslim 4.9%, unaffiliated 13.4%, other 0.9% (2020 est.) |
| Age Structure | |
| 0-14 years | 11.9% (male 3,699,167/female 3,531,734) |
| 15-64 years | 64.5% (male 19,378,160/female 19,958,137) |
| 65 years and over | 23.6% (2024 est.) (male 6,336,738/female 8,060,995) |
| Dependency Ratios | |
| Total dependency ratio | 57.1 |
| Youth dependency ratio | 19.9 |
| Elderly dependency ratio | 37.2 |
| Potential support ratio | 2.7 (2021 est.) |
| Median Age | |
| Total | 48.4 years (2024 est.) |
| Male | 47.4 years |
| Female | 49.4 years |
| Urbanization | |
| Urban population | 72% of total population (2023) |
| Rate of urbanization | 0.27% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.) |
| Major urban areas (Pop) | 4.316 million ROME (capital), 3.155 million Milan, 2.179 million Naples, 1.802 million Turin, 913,000 Bergamo, 850,000 Palermo (2023). |
| Sex Ratio | |
| At birth | 1.06 male(s)/female |
| 0-14 years | 1.05 male(s)/female |
| 15-64 years | 0.97 male(s)/female |
| 65 years and over | 0.79 male(s)/female |
| Total population | 0.93 male(s)/female (2024 est.) |
| Infant Motality | |
| Total | 3.1 deaths/1,000 live births (2024 est.) |
| Male | 3.2 deaths/1,000 live births |
| Female | 2.9 deaths/1,000 live births |
| Life Expectancy at birth | |
| Total population | 83 years (2024 est.) |
| Male | 80.7 years |
| Female | 85.5 years |
| Drinking Water Sources | |
| Improved: urban | urban: NA |
| Improved: rural | rural: NA |
| Improved: total | total: 99.9% of population |
| Unimproved: urban | urban: NA |
| Unimproved: rural | rural: NA |
| Unimproved: total | total: 0.1% of population (2020 est.) |
| Sanitation facility acess | |
| Improved: urban | urban: 100% of population |
| Improved: rural | rural: 100% of population |
| Improved: total | total: 100% of population |
| Unimproved: urban | urban: 0% of population |
| Unimproved: rural | rural: 0% of population |
| Unimproved: total | total: 0% of population (2020 est.) |
| Alcohol consumption per capita | |
| Total | 7.65 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.) |
| Beer | 1.99 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.) |
| Wine | 4.83 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.) |
| Spirits | 0.83 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.) |
| Other alcohols | 0 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.) |
| Tobacco use | |
| Total | 23.1% (2020 est.) |
| Male | 26.6% (2020 est.) |
| Female | 19.5% (2020 est.) |
Demographic profile
All Important Facts about Italy
Want to know more about Italy? Check all different factbooks for Italy below.
