Italy is a European country located on the Apennine Peninsula. Many people easily recognize the Italian “boot” on the map. In the northern part, it borders with Austria and Switzerland, in the north-western part - with France, and in the east - with Slovenia. What is the area of this country? How many people live here? And what are the other features of Italy?
Geography of the country
The area of Italy is more than 300 thousand square meters. km The population is about 60 million. However, recently this figure has been decreasing. On Italian territory there are as many as four active volcanoes. These are Vesuvius, Etna, Vulcano, as well as Stromboli. The climate of the country is subtropical and Mediterranean. Winter in Italy is short and humid. Summer, on the contrary, is very hot and dry.
Winter temperature rarely drops below zero degrees, in summer it rises to 25-30 degrees. The temperature is very dependent on the height of the area above sea level. Even in the vicinity of Rome and Turin, which gently rise to the foothills, it is always a little colder than in the central parts of these cities. This picture is even more pronounced in the Alps. There is snow on the tops of the mountains, and at the foot almost all year round citrus fruits.
In the south of the country, from March to October, hot winds blow from the Sahara Desert - “Cirocco”. They make the air dry and hot, and the temperature rises to 35 degrees Celsius. On the territory of the island of Sicily, the climate is also Mediterranean. The only differences are a slightly cooler winter and a slightly hotter summer. There is not much rain in Sicily, most of it is from October to March. All of Italy is surrounded by seas, so the air is almost everywhere humid.
A fairly large area of Italy on the east side is washed by the waters of the Adriatic Sea. In the south are the Mediterranean and Adriatic. And from the western part of the coast of the country are washed by the Ligurian, Tyrrhenian, as well as the Mediterranean seas.
Mountains and rivers
In the northern part of the country are the Alps. The highest mountain peak is Mont Blanc. Its height is 4807 m. And between the alpine mountains and the Apennines, the Padan Plain is located. The area of Italy occupied by the Padan Plain is as much as 46 thousand square meters. km
Many in Italy and rivers. The main ones are Adige and Poe. They are located in the northern part of the country, their waters rushing into the warm Adriatic Sea. And on the Apennine Peninsula, the Tiber and Arno rivers flow.
Italy is also known for its lakes. The largest of them are Como, Lugano, Garda, Bolsena, Bracciano, as well as Lago Maggiore.
Italian forests
What area of Italy is occupied by forests? In the past half century, this indicator is becoming more and more. Throughout history, three forest inventories have been produced here. 11 million hectares - the area occupied by forests is approaching this figure. But some of the regions cannot be called wooded. For example, in Sicily, forests are only about 4%.
Nature reserves
In Italy, many national parks have been created. The area of Italy in thousands of km2 occupied by the reserves is about 200. In the Alps, these are the Gran Paradiso and Stelvio reserves. In the Apennines, the Abruzzo National Park is located. Natural objects protected by the state are glaciers, oak and pine forests, wildlife.
Regions of Italy
The area of Italy is divided into 20 regions. If you visit even a few of them, you can not confidently declare knowledge of this country. After all, each of them has its own centuries-old traditions, cuisine, historical secrets. Five of these regions have a special status. Each of the 20 regions, in turn, is divided into 110 provinces, each of which consists of communes. The total area of Italy is 8101 communes. The largest Italian cities are Rome, Naples, Turin, as well as Milan.
Population
Of course, Italians inhabit most of Italy’s area - more than 96% of them. The remaining 4% are representatives of other nationalities. In the north, in the border area, you can meet Romansh. Arabs and North Americans make up 0.9%. Germans - 0.4%. The same number of Austrians live in Italy. Italo-Albanians account for 0.8%.
Economy
Italy is considered a developed country both in relation to the agricultural sector, and in production. The leading industrial areas of Italy are chemical production, engineering, metallurgy, as well as light industry. In addition, Italian producers of citrus, tomatoes and olives are the largest in all of Europe.
Tourism is also developed here. The annual flow of tourists to Italy is about 50 million. The area and population of Italy allow you to receive such a flow of guests, providing all of them with a warm welcome. The annual national product per capita is $ 30 thousand.
Religious composition
The religious composition of the population in Italy is as follows. The majority are Christians (most of whom are Roman Catholics, and religious minorities are represented by Protestant communities and Jehovah's Witnesses). Total Christians in Italy are about 80%. The remaining 20% are atheists or agnostics.
Those planning a trip to Italy will be interested to know that there are no homeless animals in this country, and 60% of the planet’s cultural heritage is located on its territory.