Factbook
Histoire de Italie — Chronologie
Dates clés de l'histoire de Italie, d'après le Factbook Magna et l'Encyclopédie universelle.
1861Italy became a nation-state in 1861 when the regional states of the peninsula, along with Sardinia and Sicily, were united under King Victor EMMANUEL II.
1946A democratic republic replaced the monarchy in 1946, and economic revival followed.
1999It has been at the forefront of European economic and political unification, joining the Economic and Monetary Union in 1999.
2020Languages: Italian (official), German (parts of Trentino-Alto Adige region are predominantly German-speaking), French (small French-speaking minority in Valle d'Aosta region), Slovene (Slovene-speaking minority in the Trieste-Gorizia area), Croatian (in Molise) Religions: Christian 80.8% (overwhelmingly Roman Catholic with very small groups of Jehovah's Witnesses and Protestants), Muslim 4.9%, unaffiliated 13.4%, other 0.9% (2020 est.) Urban population: 72% of total population (2023).
2023Generation mix — fossil fuels: 56% of total installed capacity (2023 est.); solar: 12% of total installed capacity (2023 est.); wind: 9.1% of total installed capacity (2023 est.); hydroelectricity: 14.7% of total installed capacity (2023 est.); geothermal: 2.1% of total instal Energy use: 96.797 million Btu/person (2023 est.).
2023Industries: tourism, machinery, iron and steel, chemicals, food processing, textiles, motor vehicles, clothing, footwear, ceramics Agriculture: milk, wheat, grapes, tomatoes, maize, olives, apples, oranges, sugar beets, rice (2023) Electricity access: 100% (2022 est.).
2023Major urban areas: 4.316 million ROME (capital), 3.155 million Milan, 2.179 million Naples, 1.802 million Turin, 913,000 Bergamo, 850,000 Palermo (2023) high-income, core EU economy; strong services, manufacturing, and tourism sectors; modest growth supported by net exports, low inflation, and public investments via EU funds; tight labor market with aging workforce and shortages in specialized skills; high public debt levels Inflation: 1% (2024 est.).
2025Military spending: 2% of GDP (2025 est.).
2025Population: 60.9 million (2025 estimate).
