Location Southern Europe, a peninsula extending into the central Mediterranean Sea, northeast of Tunisia

Geographic coordinates 42 50 N, 12 50 E

Map references Europe

Area
total: 301,230 sq km
land: 294,020 sq km
water: 7,210 sq km
note: includes Sardinia and Sicily

Area - comparative slightly larger than Arizona

Land boundaries
total: 1,932.2 km
border countries: Austria 430 km, France 488 km, Holy See (Vatican City) 3.2 km, San Marino 39 km, Slovenia 232 km, Switzerland 740 km

Coastline 7,600 km

Maritime claims
continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation
territorial sea: 12 nm

Climate predominantly Mediterranean; Alpine in far north; hot, dry in south

Terrain mostly rugged and mountainous; some plains, coastal lowlands

Elevation extremes
lowest point: Mediterranean Sea 0 m
highest point: Mont Blanc 4,807 m

Natural resources mercury, potash, marble, sulfur, dwindling natural gas and crude oil reserves, fish, coal

Land use
arable land: 31%
permanent crops: 10%
permanent pastures: 15%
forests and woodland: 23%
other: 21% (1993 est.)

Irrigated land 27,100 sq km (1993 est.)

Natural hazards regional risks include landslides, mudflows, avalanches, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, flooding; land subsidence in Venice

Environment - current issues 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

Environment - international agreements
party to: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Sulphur 85, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Wetlands, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: Air Pollution-Sulphur 94, Tropical Timber 94

Geography - note strategic location dominating central Mediterranean as well as southern sea and air approaches to Western Europe

NOTE: The information regarding Italy on this page is re-published from the 1998 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Italy Geography 1998 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Italy Geography 1998 should be addressed to the CIA.