Italy

Officially the Italian Republic. Italy became a nation-state in 1861 when the city-states of the peninsula, along with Sardinia and Sicily, were united under King Victor Emmanuel. An era of parliamentary government came to a close in the early 1920s when Benito Mussolini came into power. A democratic republic replaced the monarchy in 1946 and economic revival followed. Italy was a charter member of NATO and the European Economic Community (EEC).

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

Natural resources: mercury, potash, marble, sulfur, natural gas and crude oil reserves, fish, coal, arable land

Population: 57,679,825

Languages: Italian (official), German (parts of Trentino-Alto Adige region are predominantly German speaking), French (small French-speaking minority in Valle d'Aosta region) and Slovene (Slovene-speaking minority in the Trieste-Gorizia area)

Capital: Rome

Independence: March 17, 1861 (Kingdom of Italy proclaimed; Italy was not finally unified until 1870)

National holiday: Republic Day, June 2 (1946)