Economy - overview Since World War II, the Italian economy has changed from one based onagriculture into a ranking industrial economy, with approximately the sametotal and per capita output as France and the UK. This basically capitalisticeconomy is still divided into a developed industrial north, dominated by privatecompanies, and a less developed agricultural south, with large public enterprises.Most raw materials needed by industry and over 75% of energy requirementsmust be imported. In the second half of 1992, Rome became unsettled by theprospect of not qualifying to participate in EU plans for economic and monetaryunion later in the decade; thus, it finally began to address its huge fiscalimbalances. Subsequently, the government has adopted fairly stringent budgets,abandoned its inflationary wage indexation system, and started to scale backits generous social welfare programs, including pension and health care benefits.In November 1996 the lire rejoined the European monetary system, which ithad left in September 1992 when under extreme pressure in currency markets.Italy in early 1997 faces the problem of restructuring its economy to meetMaastricht criteria for inclusion in the EMU, together with other problemsof refurbishing a tottering communications system, curbing industrial pollution,and adjusting to new EU and global competitive forces.

GDP purchasing power parity - $1.12 trillion (1996 est.)

GDP - real growth rate 0.8% (1996 est.)

GDP - per capita purchasing power parity - $19,600 (1996 est.)

GDP - composition by sector
agriculture: 3.3%
industry : 33%
services: 63.7% (1994)

Inflation rate - consumer price index 4% (1996 est.)

Labor force
total: 22.851 million
by occupation: services 61%, industry 32%, agriculture 7% (1996)

Unemployment rate 12% (1996 est.)

Budget
revenues: $416 billion
expenditures : $506 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (1996 est.)

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

Industrial production growth rate 0.5% (1996 est.)

Electricity - capacity 57.19 million kW (1994)

Electricity - production 241.6 billion kWh (1995)

Electricity - consumption per capita 4,238 kWh (1995 est.)

Agriculture - products fruits, vegetables, grapes, potatoes, sugar beets, soybeans, grain,olives; meat and dairy products; fish catch of 525,000 metric tons in 1990

Exports
total value: $250 billion (f.o.b., 1996 est.)
commodities: metals, textiles and clothing, production machinery, motor vehicles,transportation equipment, chemicals
partners : EU 53.4%, US 7.8%, OPEC 3.8%

Imports
total value: $205 billion (c.i.f., 1996 est.)
commodities : industrial machinery, chemicals, transport equipment, petroleum, metals,food, agricultural products
partners: EU 56.3%, OPEC 5.3%, US 4.6%

Debt - external $45 billion (1996 est.)

Economic aid
donor: ODA, $3.043 billion (1993)

Currency 1 Italian lira (Lit) = 100 centesimi

Exchange rates Italian lire (Lit) per US$1 - 1,568.1 (January 1997), 1,542.9 (1996),1,628.9 (1995), 1,612.4 (1994), 1,573.7 (1993), 1,232.4 (1992)

Fiscal year calendar year

NOTE: The information regarding Italy on this page is re-published from the 1997 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Italy Economy 1997 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Italy Economy 1997 should be addressed to the CIA.