Through much of its post-Roman history, Italy was fragmented into numerous kingdoms and city-states (such as the Kingdom of Sardinia, the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies and the Duchy of Milan), but was unified in 1861, following a tumultuous period in history known as the "Risorgimento". In the late 19th century, through World War I, and to World War II, Italy possessed a colonial empire, which extended its rule to Libya, Eritrea, Somalia, Ethiopia, Albania, Rhodes, the Dodecanese and a concession in Tianjin, China

Modern Italy is a democratic republic. It has been ranked the world's eighteenth most-developed country and its Quality-of-Life Indexhas been ranked in the top ten in the world. Italy enjoys a very high standard of living, and has a high nominal GDP per capita.It is a founding member of what is now the European Union and North Atlantic Treaty Organization. Italy is also a member of the G7, G8and G20. It has the world's seventh-largest nominal GDP, tenth highest GDP (PPP) and the sixth highest government budget in the world. It is also a member state of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, the World Trade Organization, theCouncil of Europe, the Western European Union and the United Nations. Italy has the world's ninth-largest defence budget and sharesNATO's nuclear weapons.

Italy plays a prominent role in European and global military, cultural and diplomatic affairs, and it is affiliated with worldwide organizations such as the Food and Agriculture Organization, World Food Programme, International Fund for Agricultural Development,Glocal Forum, and the NATO Defence College, which are headquartered in Rome. The country's European political, social and economic influence make it a major regional power, alongside the United Kingdom, France, Germany, and Russia. The country has a high public education level, high labour force, and is a highly globalised nation.