Basic Information About Italy:

Population: The population of Italy is 59,802,532.

GDP:  $ 2.1 trillion (2016)

Climate:  Most of Italy has a Mediterranean type of climate, which has cool, rainy winters and hot, dry summers. Winter temperatures along and near the coasts of southern Italy seldom drop to freezing in winter, and summer temperatures often reach 90° F (32° C) or higher. Officially spring is during the months of March, April and May in Italy. Summer is from June through to August. Autumn is during the months of September, October and November and winter is from December to February.

People: Italian (includes small clusters of German-, French-, and Slovene-Italians in the north and Albanian- and Greek-Italians in the south)

Religion:  71.4% of the country’s population, including both Italian citizens and foreign residents are Christians, and 71.1% of Italian citizens are Catholic. According to several sources, up to 10% of the country’s population, including both Italian citizens and foreign residents, professes a faith different from Catholicism. Additionally, the number of atheists and agnostics is rising. Among religious minorities, Islam is the largest, followed by Eastern and Oriental Orthodoxy, Protestantism, Jehovah’s Witnesses, Buddhism, Sikhism and Judaism.

Capital:  The capital of Italy is Rome. Rome is also the capital of the Roma province and the Lazio region, as well as the seat of the Roman Catholic Church.

Language:   Italian is the official language of Italy, and 93% of populations are native Italian speakers. Around 50% of population speaks a regional dialect as mother tongue.

Currency:  The euro is the official currency of Italy.

Time Zone: Central European Time Zone UTC+01:00 and Central European Summer Time UTC+02:00