Italy is Europe's fourth-largest and the world's tenth-largest economy by total GDP. The excellence of Made in Italy is recognised worldwide in design, manufacturing, agri-food products, industry, culture, art and many technological sectors. Italy is an outstanding reference point for small and medium-sized industry, with exceptional levels of excellence. In recent years, macroeconomic data consistently show that Italy's enormous added value and know-how struggle to regain momentum and growth, owing not only to domestic cyclical factors but also to small and medium-sized enterprises' difficulty in using the potential inherent in the European Union project. East Asia.
Bulgaria is playing a leading role in the Balkans, having laid the foundations for certain success.
Many European investors are already paying close attention to Bulgaria: British, Dutch and German investors are already taking action.
Italian entrepreneurs cannot remain inactive while waiting for a new “economic miracle”; they must decide to act now rather than wait in vain for domestic demand to recover.
We are confident that an Italian small or medium-sized enterprise can readily internationalise by developing, investing in and enhancing its know-how in territories that remain fertile and receptive.
Bulgarian entrepreneurs should, in turn, look to their Italian counterparts with confidence and attention. They can add enormous value to Bulgaria's favourable conditions of entrepreneurial freedom, which lack the necessary industrial knowledge—an invaluable asset of an economic power such as Italy.
Below are some figures to give Bulgarian entrepreneurs an idea of Italy’s general characteristics:
Total area 301,340 km²; water 2.4%. Total population 60,782,668 inhabitants (31-12-2013) (23rd). Density 201.71 inhabitants/km² (39th). Growth rate 0.38% (2012). Borders: France, Switzerland, Austria, Slovenia, Vatican City, San Marino. Time zone UTC+1 (CET), UTC+2 (CEST) during daylight saving time. Economy. Currency: euro. GDP (nominal) US$2,014,382 million (2012) (8th). GDP per capita (nominal) US$33,915 (2012) (26th). GDP (PPP) US$1,814,571 million (2012) (10th). GDP per capita (PPP) US$30,551 (2012) (28th). HDI (2012) 0.881 (25th). Fertility 1.4 (2010)[5]. Miscellaneous. ISO 3166 codes IT, ITA, 380. TLD .it, .eu. Telephone code +39. Vehicle registration code I. National anthem: Il Canto degli italiani. National holiday: 2 June.