Sommet 5+5

GENERAL INFORMATION:

	Official Name: Italian Republic
	Area: 301.225 km2

	Population: 57 998 353
	Capital: Rome
	Official Languages: Italian
	Religion: Catholic

INSITUTIONS:

	Government Type: Republic (giving a certain autonomy to regions) Parliamentary Democracy
	President of the Republic: Carlo Azeglio Ciampi
	Political Parties: Majority : " House of Freedoms " coalition Opposition: Olive-tree coalition that encompasses center-left parties, namely: - Democrats of the Left: (moderate wing of the former Italian communist Party, and dominant opposition party). - Italian Popular Party (Left wing of the former Christian Democracy); - Union of European Democrats for the Republic - Italian Renewal - Democrats (founded by the Council's former Chairman R. Prodi, before the European elections of June13, 1999). - Other Parties: Except for the Communist Party which obtained 11% of the votes, small parties-both leftist and rightist-knew a clear setback and failed to reach the 4% requirement to be represented in the Chamber of Deputies.

ECONOMIC INDICATORS:

	GDP: 1,438 billion US$
	GDP Composition: Agriculture: 2,4%, Industry: 30%, Services: 67,6%
	GDP per capita: 25,000 US$
	Growth rate: 0.11%
	Currency: Euro
	Human development Indicator: 0,903 (19th)

ECONOMIC SITUATION AND PROSPECTS:

The Italian economic fabric, essentially composed of small and medium-sized businesses, witnesses the progressive disappearance of major groups, particularly in chemical and electronic Industries.