SAN MARINO

COUNTRY OVERVIEW

LOCATION AND SIZE.

San Marino is an enclave lying wholly within northern Italy. It surrounds the 3-peaked Mount Titano (739 meters/2,425 feet) in the central Apennine Mountains, east of the city of Florence, Italy, and southwest of the city of Rimini, Italy, near the Adriatic Sea. With a total area of only 61.2 square kilometers (23.6 square miles), or about one-third the size of Washington, D.C., San Marino is one of the smallest countries in the world. The republic is also arguably the oldest in the world. It is named for its legendary founder, the 4th-century, Christian stonecutter and Catholic Saint Marinus. The capital is San Marino, a small town on the slopes of Mount Titano with a population of 4,498 (1996 estimate). Other population centers include Borgo Maggiore, Serravalle, and Domagnano.

POPULATION.

The population of San Marino was estimated at 27,336 in July 2001; it was less than 25,000 two years earlier. The growth rate was estimated at 1.49 percent in the same year, with a birth rate of 10.88 births per 1,000 population, exceeding the death rate of 7.65 per 1,000 population, all estimated in 2000. There is a high migration rate of 11.62 per 1,000 population (2000), mostly of people from adjacent Italian towns and villages. The population is somewhat less elderly than other European countries, and the percent of people under 15 years of age, 16 percent, is equal to that of people 65 or older. San Marino has a very high life expectancy at birth—81.14 years for the total population, 85.02 years for women and 77.57 years for men. The fertility rate is estimated at 1.3 children per woman, which is comparable to Italy's rate. The workforce in 1999 included about 15,600 persons. The people of San Marino are distinctively Italian in their language, appearance, and culture; they use the Italian currency, and are mostly Roman Catholic, but are very proud of their independent political heritage. In addition to the native Sammarinese, there are also Italian immigrants.

AGRICULTURE

Arable land comprises some 17 percent of San Marino's rugged territory, and agricultural products include wheat, grapes, corn, olives, cattle, pigs, horses, beef, cheese, and hides. Italy supplies much of the republic's food, while main export products are wine and cheeses, renowned in Italy and abroad. Woods also cover a part of the land.

INTERNATIONAL TRADE

International trade is light in volume. About 85 percent of exports and imports are shipped to, or come from, Italy. Energy, automobiles, equipment, and most manufactured goods and food are imported. Besides Italy, primary trade partners include some EU members, eastern European and South America countries, China, and Taiwan.

DEPENDENCIES

San Marino has no territories or colonies.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Global Investment Business Center, Inc. staff. San Marino: A Country Study Guide. International Business Publications, February 2001.

Repubblica di San Marino. <http://www.sanita.segreteria.sm> . Accessed August 2001.

U.S. Central Intelligence Agency. World Factbook 2000. <http://www.odci.gov/cia/publications/factbook/index.html> . Accessed August 2001.

U.S. Department of State. U.S. Department of State Background Notes: San Marino, November 1998. <http://www.state.gov/www/background_notes/sanmarino_9811-bgn.html> . Accessed January 2001.

—Valentin Hadjiyski

CAPITAL:

San Marino.

MONETARY UNIT:

Italian lira (plural is lire). One Italian lira (L) equals 100 centesimi. There are notes of L1,000, 2,000, 5,000, 10,000, 50,000, and 100,000, and coins of L50, 100, 200, and 500. San Marino also mints its own coins, having the same value as the Italian ones. San Marino has a customs union with Italy, and it switched to the new European unit, the euro, along with Italy and other members of the European Union (EU) in 1999 for all forms of "written money"—checks, bank transactions, and credit cards. In January 2002, the euro will be issued as coins and notes, and the lira will be phased out.

CHIEF EXPORTS:

Building stone, lime, wood, chestnuts, wheat, wine, baked goods, hides, ceramics, furnishings, textiles, apparel.

CHIEF IMPORTS:

Energy, automobiles, equipment, a wide variety of consumer manufactures, clothing, food.

GROSS DOMESTIC PRODUCT:

$860 million (purchasing power parity, 2000 estimate).

BALANCE OF TRADE:

All San Marino foreign trade data are included with the statistics for Italy and no separate statistics are available.