Today, Italy is a democratic republic and a developed country with the 27th highest GDP per capita, the 8th-highest Quality-of-life index, and the 20th-highest Human Development Index rating in the world. Italy has the lowest levels of economic freedom in the Western Europe, ranking 64th in the Index of Economic Freedom 2008, contributing to various economic problems. It is a founding member of what is now the European Union (having signed the Treaty of Rome in 1957), and also a member of the G8 (having the world’s 7th largest nominal GDP), NATO, OECD, the Council of Europe, the Western European Union, and the Central European Initiative. On January 1, 2007 Italy began a two year term as a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council.

The climate in Italy is highly diverse and can be far from the stereotypical Mediterranean climate depending on the location. Most of the inland northern areas of Italy (for example Turin, Milan and Bologna) have a continental climate often classified as Humid subtropical climate (Köppen climate classification Cfa). The coastal areas of Liguria and most of the peninsula south of Florence generally fit the Mediterranean stereotype (Köppen climate classification Csa). The coastal areas of the peninsula can be very different from the interior higher altitudes and valleys, particularly during the winter months when the higher altitudes tend to be cold, wet, and often snowy. The coastal regions have mild winters and warm and generally dry summers, although lowland valleys can be quite hot in summer.