Geography

Italy viewed from space.

This article describes the geography of Italy.

Location

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

Geographic coordinates

Map references

Europe

Area

• Total: 301,230 km²
• Land: 294,020 km²
• Water: 7,210 km²
• Note: includes Sardinia and Sicily

Land boundaries

• Total: 1,932.2 km
• Border countries: Austria 430 km, France 488 km, Holy See (Vatican City) 3.2 km, San Marino 39 km, Slovenia 232 km, Switzerland 740 km
• See also Extreme points of Italy.

Coastline

7,600 km

Maritime claims

• Continental shelf: 200 m depth or to the depth of exploitation
• Territorial sea: 12 nautical miles

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, arable land

Land use

• Arable land: 31%
• Permanent crops: 10%
• Permanent pastures: 15%
• Forests and woodland: 23%
• Other: 21% (1993 est.)

Irrigated land

27,100 km² (1993 est.)

Natural hazards

Regional risks include landslides, mudflows, avalanches, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, flooding; land subsidence in Venice

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; inadequate industrial waste treatment and disposal facilities

Environment--international agreements

• Party to: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Sulphur 85, Air Pollution-Sulphur 94, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling
• Signed, but not ratified: Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol

Geography--note

Strategic location dominating central Mediterranean as well as southern sea and air approaches to Western Europe