Italy Swot Analysis Essay Example

a positive side of the country. Italian fashion is very famous all over the world. The Made in Italy is now recognized as a synonym of quality and elegance.

That is why Italy can compete with China in this sphere. Italy produces more qualitative clothes and accessories than China and that is why Italy exports these so much. Also Italy is a great exporter of wine. There are many vineyards on the territory of the country. Grapes are grown in almost every region of the country. Italian wine is one of the best wines in the world and it is much appreciated. This country is a home to some of the oldest wine-producing regions in the world. Italy is the world's second largest wine producer behind France (Reuters, guardian. co. uk, 2011).

Italy's glowing reputation with wine is due not only to the fact that it produces and exports more than any other country but that it offers the greatest variety of types, ranging through nearly every color, flavor and style imaginable. Italy is the center of Catholicism. The center of catholic world is a landlocked sovereign city-state. The Vatican is a residence of the head of Catholic Church, the Pope, an international center for the Roman Catholic Church. Vatican City was established as an independent state in 1929, in accordance with the Lateran treaties between the Italian Government and the Pope.

Italy is a country in which the Catholic Church is unusually very strong. That is why all Catholics all over the world want to visit Italy. It is very important for them. 2 Weaknesses Air pollution is a significant problem in Italy. United Nations sources estimate

that carbon monoxide emissions increased by 12% in the period between 1985 and 1989. In the 1990s Italy had the world's tenth highest level of industrial carbon dioxide emissions. Water pollution is another important environmental issue in Italy. The nation's rivers and coasts have been polluted by industrial and agricultural contaminants and its lakes contaminated by acid rain.

In 2001 the nation had 160 cu km of renewable water resources with 53% used in farming activity and 33% used for industrial purposes. Facilities for the treatment and disposal of industrial wastes are inadequate. Italy's cities have produce 19. 1 million tons of solid waste per year (Encyclopedia of the nations, 2011). One more weakness is that Italy has a high unemployment rate, up to 50 percent in some areas (Career Information and Resources for Italy, 2006). And now unemployment is growing too fast. The problem is that Italians tend to enter the work force at an older age.

They take longer to find jobs and tend not to leave those jobs once they have them. As a result of it, many Italians turn to more flexible but illegal work. Speaking about criminality, it is necessary to say about Italian mafia. Based on the report of 2009 year, commissioned by Italy's parliamentary anti-mafia commission, it is possible to say that now it is silently prospering, moving on from spectacular crimes and massacres to business and politics, with a prudent dose of intimidation and violence in a bid to take over the fundamental role of the state.

The highest concentration of people living under the shadow of the mafia, 95. 9%, was in the province of Agrigento in Sicily, followed

by Naples, at 95%. (Tom Kington, guardian. co. uk, 2009). Now Italy has many problems in economic sector. The first is that it has very high debt level. Because of it Italy now is in crisis situation. Also Italian living standards have a considerable north-south divide. Italy suffers from structural weaknesses due to its geographical conformation and the lack of raw materials and energy resources.

The country has an inefficient state bureaucracy, low property rights protection and high levels of corruption, heavy taxation and public spending that accounts for about half of the national GDP (Index of Economic Freedom, 2008). 3 Opportunities Nowadays design is a growing trend. Italy is famous for it's fashion and moreover it is one of the leading countries in fashion design. Fashion has always been an important part of the country's cultural life and society, and Italians are well known for their attention to dressing-up well; "la bella figura", or good impression, remains traditional in the Italian way of living. http://dev. prenhall. com/divisions/hss/worldreference/IT/people. html) Italian cities like Venice, Milan, Florence and Vicenza produce luxury goods, hats, cosmetics and jewelry. In the 2009, according to the Global Language Monitor, Milan, Italy's center of design, was ranked the top fashion capital of the world, and Rome was ranked 4th. (http://www. languagemonitor. com/fashion/) Milan is generally considered to be part of the "big four" global fashion capitals, which, aside from the Italian city, consist of New York City, Paris and London; occasionally, the "big five" also includes Rome.

There are many Italian fashion houses such as Gucci, Armani, Emilio Pucci, Valentino, Prada, Dolce & Gabbana, Ferragamo, Roberto Cavalli,Trussardi, Versace, Krizia, Etro, Miu Miu, Laura Biagiotti,

Max Mara, Fendi, Moschino, Missoni, Bottega Veneta, Benetton and Brioni (fashion) which are known all over the world. (http://www. made-in-italy. com/fashion/fashion_houses/index. htm) Italy also is home to many fashion magazines, such as Grazia, Vogue Italia, Amica, Flair, Gioia. Other Italian accessory and jewelry brands, such as Luxottica and Bulgari are amongst the most important in the world.

According to this information, it is possible to say that Italy has a good opportunity to become a full-fledged leader in fashion industry and to be ahead of London, New York and Paris fashion. Italy also has an opportunity to develop business sphere and attract more business customers. Currently, Italian engineering and design company wishes to enter into partnership with UK companies to work together on major international projects. (http://www. ukti. gov. uk/export/countries/europe/southerneurope/italy/businessopportunity/237600. html) This company, owned by the second largest motorway operator in the world.

It is specialised on transport engineering including the design of motorway networks, bridge construction, tunnelling etc. Now this company is looking for UK partners to bid together in the international engineering market. Italy has a great opportunity to organize big events. Italy provides a very famous event called Fashion Week. But such international events like Eurovision Song Contest and European Music Awards can be performed in Italy too. It will attract more leisure customers and consequently improve the economic situation of the country.

Also, Italy is going to conduct Expo 2015, which is the biggest Architectural Design Competition. (http://www. ukti. gov. uk/export/countries/europe/southerneurope/italy/businessopportunity/248700. html) 4 Threats Natural disasters are one of the main threats. Italy is situated at the junction of two continents: Eurasia and Africa. It is the meeting point of two Plates. That is

why in this region seismic and volcanic activity is concentrated. There are 14 volcanoes in Italy and three of them are active. This information suggests that it is unstable zone for leaving. One more threat is global warming.

Italy is popular for it’s warm climate, which attracts a lot of tourists. But global warming may change good warm climate to very hot, consequently, the country can loose a big part of leisure customers. According to the statistics the crime rate is increasing year by year. It means that safety decreases and there is a risk that Italy would become an insecure country. The level of poverty and unemployment is also growing. Necessity often forces individuals in poverty to take up low-paid and unsafe jobs in the informal economy, where they are subject to threats and blackmail.

In urban areas of the south, the younger generation finds it very difficult to obtain work and poverty drives a percentage of them into the arms of organized crime. Migration to the north or leaving Italy altogether still remains ways out for many. While poverty is less visible in the wealthy north, it does exist. In particular, young couples with 2 or more children who struggle to meet the high cost of living on low salaries find themselves caught in the poverty trap. (http://www. nationsencyclopedia. com/economies/Europe/Italy-POVERTY-AND-WEALTH. html)