Italy 🇮🇹
Italy is a country in Europe with a population of 59,037,474. Its capital is Rome. The official currency is EUR, and the main languages are Italian.
Quick facts
- Capital: Rome
- Continent: Europe
- Population: 59,037,474
- Area: 301,340 km²
- Density: 196 people per km²
- Currency: EUR
- Languages: Italian
- ISO code: IT
Where Italy sits
Italy 🇮🇹 is one of 46 countries in Europe, with its capital at Rome. It covers 301,340 square kilometres — 71st in the world — and is home to about 59,037,474 people, 25th globally.
The countries it shares a continent with include Russia, Germany, United Kingdom, France and Spain. If you are learning geography region by region — which works far better than alphabetically, because memory for places is spatial — those are the ones to learn alongside it.
How Italy compares
Raw figures are hard to hold on their own, so it helps to anchor them. In population, Italy sits closest to South Africa and Myanmar. In land area, its nearest counterparts are Philippines and Oman.
At 196 people per square kilometre it is about 3.3 times the world average of 59.4. It ranks higher by population than by area, so it is more crowded than its size alone suggests.
Italian is an official language in 4 countries here, among them San Marino, Switzerland and Vatican City. The EUR is shared with 25 other countries, including Andorra, Austria and Belgium, and 22 others.
To see Italy next to every other country, sort the country rankings by population, area or density; its currency and languages are listed alongside every other country's in world currencies and world languages.
How to remember Italy
Rome is in the central-western part of the peninsula, along the River Tiber. Vatican City is an enclave inside it, so Rome holds a whole other country. For the flag, think of an Italian pizza: green basil, white mozzarella, red tomato.
The flag of Italy: green, white and red
🇮🇹 The flag is three vertical stripes of green, white and red, with green next to the flagpole. The colours combine the red and white of Milan with the green of the uniforms of the Milanese civic guard. The design was inspired by the French flag that Napoleon brought to Italy in 1797.
Region and neighbours
Italy is a country in Southern Europe, mostly a peninsula reaching into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern border and nearly 800 islands, including Sicily and Sardinia. It shares land borders with 6 countries: France, Switzerland, Austria, Slovenia, San Marino and Vatican City. San Marino and Vatican City are enclaves surrounded completely by Italy.
- France 🇫🇷 — capital Paris
- Switzerland 🇨🇠— capital Bern
- Austria 🇦🇹 — capital Vienna
- Slovenia 🇸🇮 — capital Ljubljana
- San Marino 🇸🇲 — capital San Marino
- Vatican City 🇻🇦 — capital Vatican City
Three facts about Italy
- Italy has the most World Heritage Sites of any country: 62.
- Mount Etna in Sicily is the largest active volcano in Europe.
- Venice and Florence are among the world's top 100 tourist destinations.
Sources: Wikipedia: Italy, Wikipedia: Flag of Italy, Wikipedia: Rome, CIA World Factbook.
Quiz yourself on Italy
- European capitals quiz — match Italy to Rome
- European flags quiz — spot the Italy flag among its neighbours
Quizzes that include Italy
Three angles are worth covering for any country — where it is, what its flag looks like, and what its capital is. For Italy those are:
- Europe map quiz — place it on a blank map
- Europe flags quiz — identify its flag among its neighbours
- Europe capitals quiz — match it to Rome
- Italy capital quiz — five quick questions starting with Italy
- Daily Map Challenge — five countries to find on a blank world map, the same five for everyone each day
Doing all three for one continent before moving on is far more efficient than learning flags globally, then capitals globally, then the map.
Read more about Italy
- Capital of Italy: Rome — the capital in detail, with size and density rankings
- All 46 countries of Europe
Nearby countries
- Albania 🇦🇱 — capital Tirana
- Andorra 🇦🇩 — capital Andorra la Vella
- Austria 🇦🇹 — capital Vienna
- Belarus 🇧🇾 — capital Minsk
- Belgium 🇧🇪 — capital Brussels
- Bosnia and Herzegovina 🇧🇦 — capital Sarajevo
- Bulgaria 🇧🇬 — capital Sofia
- Croatia ðŸ‡ðŸ‡· — capital Zagreb
- Cyprus 🇨🇾 — capital Nicosia
- Czechia 🇨🇿 — capital Prague
- Denmark 🇩🇰 — capital Copenhagen
- Estonia 🇪🇪 — capital Tallinn
Frequently asked questions
What are the colours of the Italy flag?
The flag of Italy is three vertical stripes of green, white and red, with green next to the flagpole. The colours combine the red and white of Milan with the green of the uniforms of the Milanese civic guard. The design was inspired by the French flag that Napoleon brought to Italy in 1797.
Which countries border Italy?
Italy shares land borders with France, Switzerland, Austria, Slovenia, San Marino and Vatican City. San Marino and Vatican City are enclaves surrounded completely by Italy.
How can I remember the capital of Italy?
Rome is in the central-western part of the peninsula, along the River Tiber. Vatican City is an enclave inside it, so Rome holds a whole other country. For the flag, think of an Italian pizza: green basil, white mozzarella, red tomato.