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Area - At 25,711 square kilometers (9,927 square miles), Sicily is the largest island in
the Mediterranean and the largest of Italy's twenty political regions, slightly larger than
Piedmont. For comparison, Wales is 20,780 square kilometers and Massachusetts is
27,340, while Albania is 28,750. In addition to the island of Sicily, the region includes a
number of coastal and volcanic islands.
Population - 5,048,805 (in 2010), approximately 8.4 percent of Italy's population, being
the fourth most populous of Italy's regions, surpassed by Lombardy (Milan), Lazio
(Rome) and Campania (Naples), with Sicily's population density being less than that of
any of those regions. For comparison, Denmark's population is around 5,574,000 and its
land area is 43,090 square kilometers. Sicily's actual population is estimated to be as
many as 300,000 beyond the official figure.
Major Cities - The metropolitan areas (provinces) of Palermo and Catania each have
around one million residents, though Palermo is the larger city, at around 870,000
versus 572,000 in Catania. Official local population figures are imprecise because many
Italians fail to register their legal residency where they actually live, while there are many
illegal aliens in the country.
Economy - Sicily accounts for approximately 5.7 percent of Italy's gross domestic
product (2012 figures provided by ISTAT, the Italian national statistical institute). The
local economy is based almost entirely on the public sector (including taxation and
subsidies), real estate (and finance) and retail commerce; there are very few
manufacturing or high-technology firms in Sicily, and little industry at all. Petroleum
(crude oil) is produced offshore in limited quantities for domestic consumption. Tourism
and agriculture account for almost all of Sicily's international trade.
Principal Exports: Bottled mineral water, followed by wine and olive oil.
Climate - The weather & climate page presents more detailed information, but here are
average data on precipitation and temperature:
Highest Peaks - Mount Etna (western Europe's largest volcano) at 3,329 meters
(10,922 feet) above sea level, followed by Pizzo Carbonara (or Principessa) at 1,979
meters and several other summits in the Madonie range, and Mount Soro (in the
Nebrodi range) at 1,817 meters.
Longest Rivers - The Salso, rising in the Madonie Mountains and flowing southward
past Enna to Licata, is Sicily's longest at 144 kilometers (89 miles), marking Sicily's
continental divide. A tributary of the Simeto in western Sicily coincidentally shares the
same name. To supply drinking water, there are several man-made lakes along rivers,
but Sicily boasts very few natural ones, notably Pergusa near Enna and a few in the
Nebrodi and Etna regions. None of Sicily's rivers is navigable today. Among the principal
rivers now little more than streams are the Simeto (114 km), the Belice (107 km), the
Dittaino (105 km) and the Platani (103 km).
Language - Italian (officially since 1861). Several dialects of the Modern Sicilian
language are spoken in Sicily. After Tuscan (Italian), Sicilian is the most widely spoken
language in Italy, followed by Neapolitan, French (in Aosta), German (in South Tirol)
Arabic and Romanian there are around 900,000 Arabic-speakers and some 700,000
Romanians in Italy. Until circa 1200 the principal spoken languages were Siculo-Arabic
(similar to Maltese) and Byzantine-Greek, with documents published in Greek, Arabic
and Latin. Medieval Sicilian, a Latin language, developed during the time of Ciullo of
Alcamo, coinciding with the Normans' latinization of the island.
Religion - Italy has no state religion but the majority of Italians (around 73%) declare
themselves to be Roman Catholic. Statistically, following these (often nominal)
Catholics, the largest numbers consist of Eastern Orthodox (mostly Romanians),
Muslims (mostly North Africans) and declared non-believers (atheists and agnostics).
Vital Statistics - In Italy life expectancy (at birth) is 79.2 years for men and 84.6 years
for women; it is thought that it may be slightly longer in Sicily and Sardinia but the
presumed difference is not significant statistically. Owing to the large number of foreign-
born brides resident in Italy, and the high emigration rate of males, the national
male/female gender ratio is estimated at approximately 48/52 percent. Marriage, though
decreasing, is the norm and divorce is increasing. Births outside marriage account for
around 15 percent of the total in Sicily; the national Italian average is 25 percent.
Principal Opera Houses - Teatro Massimo and Teatro Politeama in Palermo, Teatro
Massimo Bellini in Catania.
Principal Airports - Palermo, Catania, Trapani. There is a NATO air base at Sigonella
near Catania.
Historic Government - Following Greek, Roman, Gothic and Byzantine rule, several
Fatimid emirates in the century immediately preceding 1061, then a sovereign Norman
county until 1130 when the Kingdom of Sicily was founded. This monarchical state
existed until 1816 though often ruled from afar after 1400. The Kingdom of the Two
Sicilies ("Naples and Sicily") existed from 1816 until 1861, when it was annexed to the
Kingdom of Italy, predecessor state of the Italian Republic established by popular
referendum in June 1946. Until the 19th century when it was claimed by Britain, Malta
was part of the Kingdom of Sicily.
The Catholic Church - In Italian law, the Catholic Church is considered a "state within a
state," and the legacy of the Kingdom of Sicily survives in one interesting sense. The
honorific title of the Cardinal Archbishop of Palermo as Primate of Sicily dates from the
island's medieval status as a sovereign kingdom and very few bishops are accorded
distinctions of this kind the Patriarch of Venice and the Primate of All Ireland
(Archbishop of Armagh) are rare examples. In Italy south of Rome only the archbishops
of Naples and Palermo are elevated to the rank of Cardinal. As Sicily's highest-ranking
cleric, the Archbishop of Palermo is head of the Sicilian Bishops' Conference.