FACTS

Location: Southern Europe, a peninsula extending into the central Mediterranean Sea, northeast of Tunisia

Area (only Total) total: 301,230 sq km

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

Terrain: mostly rugged and mountainous; some plains, coastal lowlands

Population: 58,145,321 (July 2008 est.)

Main Language (only first): Italian

Government type: republic

Capital (Name): Rome

Capital (Time Difference): UTC+1

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

National holiday: Republic Day, 2 June (1946)