Overview: Since World War II the Italian economy has changed from one based on agriculture into a ranking industrial economy, with approximately the same total and per capita output as France and the UK. The country is still divided into a developed industrial north, dominated by private companies, and an undeveloped agricultural south, dominated by large public enterprises. Services account for 48% of GDP, industry 35%, agriculture 4%, and public administration 13%. Most raw materials needed by industry and over 75% of energy requirements must be imported. After growing at an annual average rate of 3% in 1983-90, growth slowed to about 1% in 1991 and 1992 and fell by 0.7% in 1993. In the second half of 1992, Rome became unsettled by the prospect of not qualifying to participate in EC plans for economic and monetary union later in the decade; thus it finally began to address its huge fiscal imbalances. Thanks to the determination of Prime Ministers AMATO and CIAMPI, the government adopted a fairly stringent budget for 1993 and 1994, abandoned its highly inflationary wage indexation system, and started to scale back its extremely generous social welfare programs, including pension and health care benefits. Monetary officials were forced to withdraw the lira from the European monetary system in September 1992 when it came under extreme pressure in currency markets. For the 1990s, Italy faces the problems of refurbishing a tottering communications system, curbing pollution in major industrial centers, and adjusting to the new competitive forces accompanying the ongoing economic integration of the European Union.

National product: GDP - purchasing power equivalent - $967.6 billion (1993)

National product real growth rate: -0.7% (1993)

National product per capita: $16,700 (1993)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 4.2% (1993)

Unemployment rate: 11.3% (January 1994)

Budget:
revenues: $302 billion
expenditures: $391 billion, including capital expenditures of $48 billion (1993 est.)

Exports: $178.2 billion (f.o.b., 1992)
commodities: metals, textiles and clothing, production machinery, motor vehicles, transportation equipment, chemicals, other
partners: EC 58.3%, US 6.8%, OPEC 5.1% (1992)

Imports: $188.5 billion (f.o.b., 1992)
commodities: industrial machinery, chemicals, transport equipment, petroleum, metals, food, agricultural products
partners: EC 58.8%, OPEC 6.1%, US 5.5% (1992)

External debt: $67 billion (1993 est.)

Industrial production: growth rate -2.8% (1993 est.); accounts for almost 35% of GDP

Electricity:
capacity: 58,000,000 kW
production: 235 billion kWh
consumption per capita: 4,060 kWh (1992)

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

Agriculture: accounts for about 4% of GDP and about 9.8% of the work force; self-sufficient in foods other than meat, dairy products, and cereals; principal crops - fruits, vegetables, grapes, potatoes, sugar beets, soybeans, grain, olives; fish catch of 525,000 metric tons in 1990

Illicit drugs: important gateway country for Latin American cocaine and Southwest Asian heroin entering the European market

Economic aid:
donor: ODA and OOF commitments (1970-89), $25.9 billion

Currency: 1 Italian lira (Lit) = 100 centesimi
Exchange rates: Italian lire (Lit) per US$1 - 1,700.2 (January 1994), 1,573.7 (1993), 1,232.4 (1992), 1,240.6 (1991), 1,198.1 (1990), 1,372.1 (1989)

Fiscal year: calendar year

NOTE: The information regarding Italy on this page is re-published from the 1995 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Italy Economy 1995 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Italy Economy 1995 should be addressed to the CIA.