1. BY: ISABELLA MOSES

2.   GDP Growth Rate: -2.3%  GDP Per Capita: $30, 100  Unemployment Rate: 10.9%  Inflation Rate: 3%  Poverty Rate: 29.9%  GDP Composition by Sector: Agriculture-3.9% Industry-23.9% Services-67.8%  Budget Surplus or Deficit: -2.9% of GDP  Industries include tourism, machinery, iron and steel, chemicals, food processing, textiles, motor vehicles, clothing, footwear, and ceramics  Italy has an industrial economy and they make and produce many things to export to other countries which may provide a variety of jobs  Italy is a developed country  They have a fairly high standard of living

3.   Italy is 116,305 square miles  There are Alpine mountains to the north and coastal lowlands to the south  Generally mountainous  They have a Mediterranean climate  Capital is Rome  Winters are rainy and cold to the north, cool around Rome, and mild towards the south  Summers are very hot (up to 104 degrees F) in the south; rest of country have moderate summers, though hotter than usual in recent years  The Italian Alps stretch along the northern border  They agriculturally produce olives, grapes, seafood (because they are not landlocked, therefore being able to get to the ocean, providing jobs as a fisherman), potatoes, soybeans, and grain (due to the amount of farming fields in the south, providing jobs as a farmer)

4.   Exports: $483.3 billion  Export Partners: Germany: 16.5% France: 8.8% Spain: 4.7% China: 7.7% Netherlands: 5.5%  Imports: 469.7 billion  Import Partners: Germany: 16.5% France: 8.8% China: 7.7% Netherlands: 5.5% Spain: 4.7%

5.   Average family holds 1 or 2 children  The Renaissance began in Italy  Some of the greatest painters, sculptors, and architects come from Italy including da Vinci and Giotto  Italians invented opera, musical notation, and the piano, one of the most popular instruments today  Music festivals are popular in towns or big cities  National and religious holidays are New Year’s Day, Easter, Labor Day (May 1 st ), Christmas, The Anniversary of the Republic (June 2 nd ), and St. Stephen’s Day (December 26 th )  Every town and city honors the local patron saint with an annual celebration  Their main language is Italian  Their main religion is Roman Catholic  Clothes are extremely important to Italians and they often judge people based on clothing that they wear  Men should wear dark-colored business suits and women should wear business suits or dresses  Most families live in apartments due to the high, inconvenient prices of homes and love to garden in their homes  They enjoy tea

6.   The U.S. and Italy have volunteered for support for French forces in Mali, Africa  Fighting began when the French wanted to help Islamic rebels in Mali, Africa

7. 