Reports ITALY
The country is then further divided into 109 provinces and 8,100 municipalities. Rome is the largest city with a population of 2.7 million.
After World War II the economic boom saw an influx of people moving from rural areas to the cities and at the same time transformed the nation from a massive emigration country to a nation of immigrants.
In the late 1800s and early 1900s approximately 750,000 Italians emigrated each year many to the Americas with around 25 million Americans today claiming Italian descent.
Meanwhile, more recently, the number of immigrants has grown by 122 per cent over the last six years and today the country receives around 450,000 immigrants each year.
At the moment the country has 3.4 million registered immigrants and the majority are from Romania, Morocco, Albania and China.
On the other hand, Italians are living longer, marrying later and having fewer children, whilst around 70 per cent live in urban cities.
On the economic front, in 2008 Italy was the 7th largest economy in the world and 4th largest in Europe. The country is divided into a developed industrial north dominated by private companies and agricultural state assisted south.
The country has in the past been referred to as the ‘sick man of Europe’ due to its economic stagnation and political instability. It suffers from a lack of raw materials and energy resources and the territory is mostly mountainous making it unsuitable for intensive cultivation whilst communication is difficult.
Secondly the Italian economy is weakened by the lack of infrastructure development, market reforms and research investment and thirdly the country has a smaller number of world class multinational corporations and its economic strength is in the processing and manufacturing of goods primarily in the small and medium sized family owned firms.
Italy’s GDP stood at -0.5 per cent during the second quarter of this year and is expected to drop to minus 1 per cent by the end of the year. However the country is showing positive signs of economic recovery.
Italy offers a complete range of
tourist delights from skiing in the Alps, to
the ruins of Pompeii to the vineyards in
Tuscany. Visitors can relax on sandy
beaches or history
lovers can visit some 3,000museums, churches and
archaeological sites.
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