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1. Italy, 42 50 N, 12 50 E
2.
4. Italy became a nation-state in 1861 when the city-states of the peninsula, along with Sardinia
and Sicily, were united under King Victor EMMANUEL II. An era of parliamentary government came to a close in the early 1920s
when Benito MUSSOLINI established a Fascist dictatorship. His disastrous alliance with Nazi Germany led to Italy's defeat
in World War II. A democratic republic replaced the monarchy in 1946 and economic revival followed. Italy was a charter member
of NATO and the European Economic Community (EEC). It has been at the forefront of European economic and political unification,
joining the Economic and Monetary Union in 1999. Persistent problems include illegal immigration, organized crime, corruption,
high unemployment, sluggish economic growth, and the low incomes and technical standards of southern Italy compared with the
prosperous north.
5.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
6.republic
2.
7.Italy has a diversified industrial economy with roughly the same total and per capita output
as France and the UK. This capitalistic economy remains divided into a developed industrial north, dominated by private companies,
and a less developed, welfare-dependent agricultural south, with 20% unemployment. Most raw materials needed by industry and
more than 75% of energy requirements are imported. Over the past decade, Italy has pursued a tight fiscal policy in order
to meet the requirements of the Economic and Monetary Unions and has benefited from lower interest and inflation rates. The
current government has enacted numerous short-term reforms aimed at improving competitiveness and long-term growth. Italy
has moved slowly, however, on implementing needed structural reforms, such as lightening the high tax burden and overhauling
Italy's rigid labor market and over-generous pension system, because of the current economic slowdown and opposition from
labor unions. But the leadership faces a severe economic constraint: the budget has breached the 3% EU deficit ceiling.
8. Italy has a diversified industrial economy with roughly the same total and per capita output as France and the
UK. This capitalistic economy remains divided into a developed industrial north, dominated by private companies, and a less
developed, welfare-dependent agricultural south, with 20% unemployment. Most raw materials needed by industry and more than
75% of energy requirements are imported. Over the past decade, Italy has pursued a tight fiscal policy in order to meet the
requirements of the Economic and Monetary Unions and has benefited from lower interest and inflation rates. The current government
has enacted numerous short-term reforms aimed at improving competitiveness and long-term growth. Italy has moved slowly, however,
on implementing needed structural reforms, such as lightening the high tax burden and overhauling Italy's rigid labor market
and over-generous pension system, because of the current economic slowdown and opposition from labor unions.
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