Economy - overview:
Italy has a diversified industrial economy, which is divided into a developed industrial north, dominated by private companies, and a less-developed, welfare-dependent, agricultural south, with high unemployment. The Italian economy is driven in large part by the manufacture of high-quality consumer goods produced by small and medium-sized enterprises, many of them family owned. Italy also has a sizable underground economy, which by some estimates accounts for as much as 15% of GDP. These activities are most common within the agriculture, construction, and service sectors. Italy has moved slowly on implementing needed structural reforms, such as reducing graft, overhauling costly entitlement programs, and increasing employment opportunities for young workers, particularly women. The international financial crisis worsened conditions in Italy's labor market, with unemployment rising from 6.2% in 2007 to 8.4% in 2010, but in the longer-term Italy's low fertility rate and quota-driven immigration policies will increasingly strain its economy. A rise in exports and investment driven by the global economic recovery nevertheless helped the economy grow by about 1% in 2010 following a 5% contraction in 2009. The Italian government has struggled to limit government spending, but Italy's exceedingly high public debt remains above 115% of GDP, and its fiscal deficit - just 1.5% of GDP in 2007 - exceeded 5% in 2009 and 2010, as the costs of servicing the country's debt rose.
GDP (purchasing power parity): GDP (official exchange rate): GDP - real growth rate: GDP - per capita (PPP): GDP - composition by sector: Labor force: Labor force - by occupation: Unemployment rate: Population below poverty line: Household income or consumption by percentage share: Distribution of family income - Gini index: Investment (gross fixed): Budget: Public debt: Inflation rate (consumer prices): Central bank discount rate: Commercial bank prime lending rate: Stock of narrow money: Stock of broad money: Stock of domestic credit: Market value of publicly traded shares: Agriculture - products: Industries: Industrial production growth rate: Electricity - production: Electricity - consumption: Electricity - exports: Electricity - imports: Oil - production: Oil - consumption: Oil - exports: Oil - imports: Oil - proved reserves: Natural gas - production: Natural gas - consumption: Natural gas - exports: Natural gas - imports: Natural gas - proved reserves: Current account balance: Exports: Exports - commodities: Exports - partners: Imports: Imports - commodities: Imports - partners: Reserves of foreign exchange and gold: Debt - external: Stock of direct foreign investment - at home: Stock of direct foreign investment - abroad: Exchange rates:
NOTE: The information regarding Italy on this page is re-published from the 2011 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Italy Economy 2011 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Italy Economy 2011 should be addressed to the CIA.
$1.782 trillion (2010 est.)
country comparison to the world: 11
note:
data are in 2010 US dollars
[see also: GDP (purchasing power parity) country ranks ]
$2.037 trillion (2009 est.)
[see also: GDP (official exchange rate) country ranks ]
1.1% (2010 est.)
country comparison to the world: 177
[see also: GDP - real growth rate country ranks ]
$30,700 (2010 est.)
country comparison to the world: 43
note:
data are in 2010 US dollars
[see also: GDP - per capita country ranks ]
agriculture: 1.8%
[see also: GDP - composition by sector - agriculture country ranks ]
industry:
24.9%
[see also: GDP - composition by sector - industry country ranks ]
services:
73.3% (2009 est.)
[see also: GDP - composition by sector - services country ranks ]
25.05 million (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 23
[see also: Labor force country ranks ]
agriculture: 4.2%
[see also: Labor force - by occupation - agriculture country ranks ]
industry:
30.7%
[see also: Labor force - by occupation - industry country ranks ]
services:
65.1% (2005)
[see also: Labor force - by occupation - services country ranks ]
8.4% (2010 est.)
country comparison to the world: 97
[see also: Unemployment rate country ranks ]
NA%
[see also: Population below poverty line country ranks ]
lowest 10%: 2.3%
[see also: Household income or consumption by percentage share - lowest 10% country ranks ]
highest 10%:
26.8% (2000)
[see also: Household income or consumption by percentage share - highest 10% country ranks ]
32 (2006)
country comparison to the world: 101
[see also: Distribution of family income - Gini index country ranks ]
19.1% of GDP (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 97
[see also: Investment (gross fixed) country ranks ]
revenues: $940.3 billion
[see also: Budget - revenues country ranks ]
expenditures:
$1.042 trillion (2009 est.)
[see also: Budget - expenditures country ranks ]
118.1% of GDP (2010 est.)
country comparison to the world: 8
[see also: Public debt country ranks ]
1.4% (2010 est.)
country comparison to the world: 37
[see also: Inflation rate (consumer prices) country ranks ]
1.75% (31 December 2009)
country comparison to the world: 119
note:
this is the European Central Bank's rate on the marginal lending facility, which offers overnight credit to banks in the euro area
[see also: Central bank discount rate country ranks ]
10.26% (31 December 2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 79
[see also: Commercial bank prime lending rate country ranks ]
$1.234 trillion (31 December 2010 est)
note:
see entry for the European Union for money supply in the euro area; the European Central Bank (ECB) controls monetary policy for the 16 members of the Economic and Monetary Union (EMU); individual members of the EMU do not control the quantity of money circulating within their own borders
[see also: Stock of narrow money country ranks ]
$1.884 trillion (31 December 2010 est.)
[see also: Stock of broad money country ranks ]
$3.274 trillion (31 December 2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 9
[see also: Stock of domestic credit country ranks ]
$317.3 billion (31 December 2009)
country comparison to the world: 16
[see also: Market value of publicly traded shares country ranks ]
fruits, vegetables, grapes, potatoes, sugar beets, soybeans, grain, olives; beef, dairy products; fish
tourism, machinery, iron and steel, chemicals, food processing, textiles, motor vehicles, clothing, footwear, ceramics
0.5% (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 152
[see also: Industrial production growth rate country ranks ]
289.7 billion kWh (2007 est.)
country comparison to the world: 14
[see also: Electricity - production country ranks ]
315 billion kWh (2007 est.)
country comparison to the world: 13
[see also: Electricity - consumption country ranks ]
3.431 billion kWh (2008 est.)
[see also: Electricity - exports country ranks ]
43 billion kWh (2008 est.)
[see also: Electricity - imports country ranks ]
146,500 bbl/day (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 47
[see also: Oil - production country ranks ]
1.537 million bbl/day (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 16
[see also: Oil - consumption country ranks ]
586,900 bbl/day (2008 est.)
country comparison to the world: 26
[see also: Oil - exports country ranks ]
1.911 million bbl/day (2008 est.)
country comparison to the world: 11
[see also: Oil - imports country ranks ]
423.7 million bbl (1 January 2010 est.)
country comparison to the world: 52
[see also: Oil - proved reserves country ranks ]
8.119 billion cu m (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 44
[see also: Natural gas - production country ranks ]
78.12 billion cu m (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 10
[see also: Natural gas - consumption country ranks ]
124 million cu m (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 41
[see also: Natural gas - exports country ranks ]
69.24 billion cu m (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 4
[see also: Natural gas - imports country ranks ]
69.83 billion cu m (1 January 2010 est.)
country comparison to the world: 58
[see also: Natural gas - proved reserves country ranks ]
-$61.98 billion (2010 est.)
country comparison to the world: 188
[see also: Current account balance country ranks ]
$458.4 billion (2010 est.)
country comparison to the world: 8
[see also: Exports country ranks ]
engineering products, textiles and clothing, production machinery, motor vehicles, transport equipment, chemicals; food, beverages and tobacco; minerals, and nonferrous metals
Germany 12.6%, France 11.57%, US 5.92%, Spain 5.69%, UK 5.13%, Switzerland 4.69% (2009)
$459.7 billion (2010 est.)
country comparison to the world: 8
[see also: Imports country ranks ]
engineering products, chemicals, transport equipment, energy products, minerals and nonferrous metals, textiles and clothing; food, beverages, and tobacco
Germany 16.68%, France 8.82%, China 6.53%, Netherlands 5.63%, Spain 4.3%, Russia 4.12%, Belgium 4.08% (2009)
$NA (31 December 2010 est.)
[see also: Reserves of foreign exchange and gold country ranks ]
$2.223 trillion (30 June 2010 est.)
country comparison to the world: 8
[see also: Debt - external country ranks ]
$405.1 billion (31 December 2010 est.)
country comparison to the world: 12
[see also: Stock of direct foreign investment - at home country ranks ]
$601.1 billion (31 December 2010 est.)
country comparison to the world: 12
[see also: Stock of direct foreign investment - abroad country ranks ]
euros (EUR) per US dollar - 0.7715 (2010), 0.7179 (2009), 0.6827 (2008), 0.7345 (2007), 0.7964 (2006)
This page was last modified 09-Feb-11