Italy is a unitary parliamentary republic in Europe with the third largest nominal GDP in the Eurozone and the eighth largest in the world. As an advanced economy, the country also has the sixth worldwide national wealth and it is ranked third for its central bank gold reserve. Italy has a very high level of human development and it is sixth in the world for life expectancy.

The country plays a prominent role in regional and global economic, military, cultural and diplomatic affairs, and it is both a regional power^[2][3] and a great power.^[4][5] Italy is a founding and leading member of the European Union and a member of numerous international institutions, including the UN, NATO, the OECD, the OSCE, the WTO, the G7, G20, the Union for the Mediterranean, the Council of Europe, Uniting for Consensus and many more. As a reflection of its cultural wealth, Italy is home to 54 World Heritage Sites, the most in the world, and is the fifth most visited country.

Largest firms

This list shows firms in the Fortune Global 500, which ranks firms by 2018 total revenues reported before 31 March 2019.^[6] Only the top five firms (if available) are included as a sample.

Rank	Image	Name	2018 revenues (US$M)	Employees	Notes
83		Eni	90,799	31,701	Oil and gas super major based in Rome. Subsidiaries include Agip (gas), Polimeri Europa (chemicals), and Saipem (oilfield services).
89		Enel	89,305	69,272	Multinational electricity and gas distribution. Subsidiaries include Endesa (Spain), Enel Américas (Chile) and Enel Green Power.
92		Assicurazioni Generali	88,157	70,734	Trieste-based full-line insurance firm and the third-largest insurance company in the world.
315		Intesa Sanpaolo	39,050	92,117	Multinational banking group formed from the merger of Banca Intesa and Sanpaolo IMI. Now the largest bank in Italy.
355		Poste Italiane	35,071	132,388	Primary Italian integrated postal and delivery services entity which also provides communication, logistics and financial services.

Notable firms

This list includes notable companies with primary headquarters located in the country. The industry and sector follow the Industry Classification Benchmark taxonomy. Organizations which have ceased operations are included and noted as defunct.