CIA Factbook The World Factbook 1994: ItalyGeography Location: Southern Europe, a peninsula extending into the central Mediterranean Sea Area: • total area: 301,230 sq km • land area: 294,020 sq km • comparative area: slightly larger than Arizona • note: includes Sardinia and Sicily Land boundaries: total 1,899.2 km, Austria 430 km, France 488 km, Holy See (Vatican City) 3.2 km, San Marino 39 km, Slovenia 199 km, Switzerland 740 km Coastline: 4,996 km Maritime claims: • continental shelf: 200-m depth or to depth of exploitation • territorial sea: 12 nm International disputes: none Climate: predominantly Mediterranean; Alpine in far north; hot, dry in south Terrain: mostly rugged and mountainous; some plains, coastal lowlands Natural resources: mercury, potash, marble, sulfur, dwindling natural gas and crude oil reserves, fish, coal Land use: • arable land: 32% • permanent crops: 10% • meadows and pastures: 17% • forest and woodland: 22% • other: 19% Irrigated land: 31,000 sq km (1989 est.) 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 • natural hazards: regional risks include landslides, mudflows, avalanches, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, flooding; land subsidence in Venice • international agreements: party to—Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Sulphur, Antarctic Treaty, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber, Wetlands; signed, but not ratified—Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Law of the Sea Note: strategic location dominating central Mediterranean as well as southern sea and air approaches to Western Europe