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
note: includes Sardinia and Sicily
water: 7,210 sq km
land: 294,020 sq km

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 (Monte Bianco) de Courmayeur 4,748 m (a secondary peak of Mont Blanc)

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

Land use
arable land: 28%
permanent crops: 9%
other: 63% (1998 est.)

Irrigated land 26,980 sq km (1998 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-Sulphur 94, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Seals, 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, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol

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 2002 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Italy Geography 2002 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Italy Geography 2002 should be addressed to the CIA.