Italy

Italy officially the Italian Republic is a country consisting of a continental part, delimited by the Alps, a peninsula and several islands surrounding it. Italy is located in Southern Europe, and is also considered part of Western Europe. A unitary parliamentary republic with Rome as its capital.

With around 60 million inhabitants, Italy is the third-most populous member state of the European Union. Due to its central geographic location in Southern Europe and the Mediterranean, Italy has historically been home to myriad peoples and cultures. An Italic tribe known as the Latins formed the Roman Kingdom in the 8th century BC, which eventually became a republic with a government of the Senate and the People.

Today, Italy is considered to be one of the world's most culturally and economically advanced countries, with the world's eighth-largest economy by nominal GDP. It is sixth-largest national wealth and third-largest central bank gold reserve. It ranks very highly in life expectancy, quality of life, healthcare, and education.

The country plays a prominent role in regional and global economic, military, cultural and diplomatic affairs. It is both a regional power and a great power and is ranked the world's eighth most-powerful military. As a reflection of its cultural wealth, Italy has the world's largest number of World Heritage Sites alongside China, and is the fifth-most visited country.

Italy is a founding and leading member of the European Union and a member of numerous international institutions, including the United Nations, NATO, the OECD, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, the World Trade Organization, the Group of Seven, the G20, the Union for the Mediterranean, the Council of Europe, Uniting for Consensus, the Schengen Area and many more.


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