My World Factbook
(Learn more about the new, improved World Factbook)
Note: Most information adapted from the popular World Factbook is distributed between the websites GeoWorld (geography, people, communications & transportation), Politix (government) and Great Depression II (economy).
Geography
Southern Europe, a peninsula extending into the central Mediterranean Sea, northeast of Tunisia
42 50 N, 12 50 E
Area: 
total: 301,340 sq km
country comparison to the world: 
71
land: 294,140 sq km
water: 7,200 sq km
note: includes Sardinia and Sicily
slightly larger than Arizona
total: 1,899.2 km
border countries: Austria 430 km, France 488 km, Holy See (Vatican City) 3.2 km, San Marino 39 km, Slovenia 199 km, Switzerland 740 km
7,600 km
territorial sea: 12 nm
continental shelf: 200 m depth or to the depth of exploitation
Current Weather
predominantly Mediterranean; Alpine in far north; hot, dry in south
mostly rugged and mountainous; some plains, coastal lowlands
lowest point: Mediterranean Sea 0 m
highest point: Mont Blanc (Monte Bianco) de Courmayeur 4,748 m (a secondary peak of Mont Blanc)
coal, mercury, zinc, potash, marble, barite, asbestos, pumice, fluorspar, feldspar, pyrite (sulfur), natural gas and crude oil reserves, fish, arable land
arable land: 26.41%
permanent crops: 9.09%
other: 64.5% (2005)
27,500 sq km (2003)
175 cu km (2005)
total: 41.98 cu km/yr (18%/37%/45%)
per capita: 723 cu m/yr (1998)
regional risks include landslides, mudflows, avalanches, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, flooding; land subsidence in Venice
volcanism: Italy experiences significant volcanic activity; Etna (elev. 3,330 m, 10,925 ft), which is in eruption as of 2010, 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
air pollution from industrial emissions such as sulfur dioxide; coastal and inland rivers polluted from industrial and agricultural effluents; acid rain damaging lakes; inadequate industrial waste treatment and disposal facilities
party to: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Air Pollution-Sulfur 85, Air Pollution-Sulfur 94, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Seals, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
strategic location dominating central Mediterranean as well as southern sea and air approaches to Western Europe
The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism - 
