ECONOMIC INFORMATION

Population: 57.6m

Population growth: -0.08%

Population density (people per sq. km): 196

UN Human Development Index ranking: 21/177

Gross national income (current US$): $1243.0bn (2003)

Gross national income per capita: $21,560

PPP Gross national income: $1,542.5bn

PPP Gross national income per capita: $26,760

GDP growth: 0.4% (2003)

GDP breakdown Agriculture: 2.7%, Industry: 28.5%, Services: 68.7%

Inflation (12-month average): 2.9 (2003)

Gross capital formation as % of GDP: 19.9%

Final consumption expenditure as % of GDP (growth): 79.0% (0.7%)

Exports of goods & services as % of GDP: 27.0%

Top 3 export markets: Germany, France, US

Local industries: Tourism, machinery, iron & steel, chemicals, food processing, textiles, motor vehicles, clothing, footwear, ceramics

WEF Growth Competitiveness ranking * : 47/104

WEF Business Competitiveness ranking **: 34/103

WEF Quality of the Business Environment ranking: 43/103

Transparency International Corruption Perceptions ranking: 42/145

Languages : Italian (official), German and French

FDI INFORMATION

Region: Southern Europe

No. of projects (Jan-Sep 2004): 185

Market-share of projects in the region: 25.8%

Value of projects relative to GDP : 1.3%

Top 3 destination sectors: Textiles, financial services, IT & software

Top 3 business functions: Retail, manufacturing, business services

Top 3 source countries: US, Spain, UK

Top 3 investors: STMicroelectronics, Hutchison Whompoa, Endesa

IPA

Name: Invest in Italy

Web address: www.investinitaly.com

* World Economic Forum Growth Competitiveness Ranking assesses an economy’s ability to grow consistently

** World Economic Forum Business Competitiveness Ranking assesses the microeconomic factors that contribute to economic growth

*** The difficulty of hiring workers and the difficulty and expense of firing workers is reflected as an index where the higher the value the more rigid the regulations