Economy of Italy 2011

Economy - overview

Italy has a diversified industrial economy, which is divided into a developed industrial north, dominated by private companies, and a less-developed, welfare-dependent, agricultural south, with high unemployment. The Italian economy is driven in large part by the manufacture of high-quality consumer goods produced by small and medium-sized enterprises, many of them family owned. Italy also has a sizable underground economy, which by some estimates accounts for as much as 15% of GDP. These activities are most common within the agriculture, construction, and service sectors. Italy has moved slowly on implementing needed structural reforms, such as reducing graft, overhauling costly entitlement programs, and increasing employment opportunities for young workers, particularly women. The international financial crisis worsened conditions in Italy's labor market, with unemployment rising from 6.2% in 2007 to 8.4% in 2010, but in the longer-term Italy's low fertility rate and quota-driven immigration policies will increasingly strain its economy. A rise in exports and investment driven by the global economic recovery nevertheless helped the economy grow by about 1% in 2010 following a 5% contraction in 2009. The Italian government has struggled to limit government spending, but Italy's exceedingly high public debt remains above 115% of GDP, and its fiscal deficit - just 1.5% of GDP in 2007 - exceeded 5% in 2009 and 4% in 2010, as the costs of servicing the country's debt rose.

GDP (purchasing power parity)

$1.774 trillion (2010 est.)
$1.751 trillion (2009 est.)
$1.847 trillion (2008 est.)
note: data are in 2010 US dollars

GDP (official exchange rate)

$2.055 trillion (2010 est.)

GDP - real growth rate

1.3% (2010 est.)
-5.2% (2009 est.)
-1.3% (2008 est.)

GDP - per capita (PPP)

$30,500 (2010 est.)
$30,100 (2009 est.)
$31,800 (2008 est.)
note: data are in 2010 US dollars

GDP - composition by sector

agriculture: 1.9%
industry: 25.3%
services: 72.8% (2010 est.)

Population below poverty line

NA%

Labor force

24.98 million (2010 est.)

Labor force - by occupation

agriculture: 4.2%
industry: 30.7%
services: 65.1% (2005)

Unemployment rate

8.4% (2010 est.)
7.8% (2009 est.)

Household income or consumption by percentage share

lowest 10%: 2.3%
highest 10%: 26.8% (2000)

Distribution of family income - Gini index

32 (2006)
27.3 (1995)

Investment (gross fixed)

19.4% of GDP (2010 est.)

Budget

revenues: $957.6 billion
expenditures: $1.052 trillion (2010 est.)

Taxes and other revenues

46.6% of GDP (2010 est.)

Budget surplus (+) or deficit (-)

-4.6% of GDP (2010 est.)

Public debt

119.1% of GDP (2010 est.)
115.9% of GDP (2009 est.)

Inflation rate (consumer prices)

1.6% (2010 est.)
0.8% (2009 est.)

Central bank discount rate

1.75% (31 December 2010)
1.75% (31 December 2009)
note: this is the European Central Bank's rate on the marginal lending facility, which offers overnight credit to banks in the euro area

Commercial bank prime lending rate

4.025% (31 December 2010 est.)
4.757% (31 December 2009 est.)

Stock of narrow money

$1.223 trillion (31 December 2010 est.)
$1.303 trillion (31 December 2009 est.)
note: see entry for the European Union for money supply in the euro area; the European Central Bank (ECB) controls monetary policy for the 17 members of the Economic and Monetary Union (EMU); individual members of the EMU do not control the quantity of money circulating within their own borders

Stock of broad money

$2.105 trillion (31 December 2010 est.)
$1.899 trillion (31 December 2009 est.)

Stock of domestic credit

$3.274 trillion (31 December 2009 est.)
$3.047 trillion (31 December 2008 est.)

Market value of publicly traded shares

$317.3 billion (31 December 2009)
$520.9 billion (31 December 2008)
$1.073 trillion (31 December 2007)

Agriculture - products

fruits, vegetables, grapes, potatoes, sugar beets, soybeans, grain, olives; beef, dairy products; fish

Industries

tourism, machinery, iron and steel, chemicals, food processing, textiles, motor vehicles, clothing, footwear, ceramics

Industrial production growth rate

6.5% (2010 est.)

Electricity - production

289.7 billion kWh (2007 est.)

Electricity - production by source

fossil fuel: 78.6%
hydro: 18.4%
nuclear: 0%
other: 3% (2001)

Electricity - consumption

315 billion kWh (2007 est.)

Electricity - exports

3.431 billion kWh (2008 est.)

Electricity - imports

43 billion kWh (2008 est.)

Oil - production

146,500 bbl/day (2009 est.)

Oil - consumption

1.537 million bbl/day (2009 est.)

Oil - exports

586,900 bbl/day (2008 est.)

Oil - imports

1.911 million bbl/day (2008 est.)

Oil - proved reserves

423.7 million bbl (1 January 2010 est.)

Natural gas - production

8.119 billion cu m (2009 est.)

Natural gas - consumption

78.12 billion cu m (2009 est.)

Natural gas - exports

124 million cu m (2009 est.)

Natural gas - imports

69.24 billion cu m (2009 est.)

Natural gas - proved reserves

69.83 billion cu m (1 January 2010 est.)

Current Account Balance

-$67.94 billion (2010 est.)
-$42.96 billion (2009 est.)

Exports

$448.4 billion (2010 est.)
$407.5 billion (2009 est.)

Exports - commodities

engineering products, textiles and clothing, production machinery, motor vehicles, transport equipment, chemicals; food, beverages and tobacco; minerals, and nonferrous metals

Exports - partners

Germany 12.6%, France 11.6%, US 5.9%, Spain 5.7%, UK 5.1%, Switzerland 4.7% (2009)

Imports

$473.1 billion (2010 est.)
$406 billion (2009 est.)

Imports - commodities

engineering products, chemicals, transport equipment, energy products, minerals and nonferrous metals, textiles and clothing; food, beverages, and tobacco

Imports - partners

Germany 16.7%, France 8.9%, China 6.5%, Netherlands 5.7%, Spain 4.4%, Russia 4.1%, Belgium 4% (2009)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold

$158.9 billion (31 December 2010 est.)
$132.8 billion (31 December 2009 est.)

Debt - external

$2.223 trillion (30 June 2010 est.)
$2.328 trillion (31 December 2008)

Stock of direct foreign investment - at home

$403 billion (31 December 2010 est.)
$394 billion (31 December 2009 est.)

Stock of direct foreign investment - abroad

$601.4 billion (31 December 2010 est.)
$578.1 billion (31 December 2009 est.)

Exchange rates

euros (EUR) per US dollar -
0.7715 (2010)
0.7179 (2009)
0.6827 (2008)
0.7345 (2007)
0.7964 (2006)