Comparing Global Issues 1

Italy and Greece

Study of Global Issues

Ryan Rice

Forsyth Tech Community College

Comparing Global Issues 2

After doing all this research on Italy and applying my new knowledge to answering

questions or on a Power Point, I realized I have really learned a lot about the issues according to

poverty and gender equality in Italy. Greece was the country my partner studied. Along with

her research I will explain each county and then compare the two countries issues to show how

much affect poverty and gender equality can actually have on countries. Italy is a very popular

country in the world, being known for its capital, Rome, the Colosseum, Venice Canals, Leaning

Tower of Pisa, and even the lost city of Pompeii. Religion is one of the crucial aspects of Italys

culture. Around 80% of Italys population was recorded to practice Christianity. The other 20%

were recorded under the Muslim religion, or as atheist and agnostic. The population of Italy is

currently at 62,137,802 people. This number is quite high due to the size of Italy. Italy is only

slightly bigger than the state of Arizona in the United States. (CIA, 2017). Greece obtained their

independence from the Ottoman Empire in 1830. Throughout the 19th and 20th century, nearby

islands and areas were being added to Greece which helped increase the size of the country.

Greece allied with NATO, a military dictatorship, in 1952. Greeces new government, a

parliamentary republic, was created while its old government, a monarchy, was destroyed in

1974. Greece has constantly struggled with their economical stability, since 2009. (CIA World

Factbook, 2017).

When it comes to causes of poverty, of all Italy, 29.9% of the population is considered to

be under the line of poverty. (CIA, 2017). Over the years Italy has accumulated quite a large pile

of debt. Italys debt harms them tremendously because of all the eurozone, Italy is ranked

second for the highest debt, behind Greece. Italys debt totals over 2.6 trillion dollars.

(Weissmann, 2011). Greeces economy had an average growth of 4% each year between 2003

and 2007, but Greeces economy collapsed in 2009, because of reasons such as difficult credit
Comparing Global Issues 3

conditions, the world financial crisis, and a growing deficit that Athens never gave any attention

to. Greeces economy ended up resulting in a Recession because their international debt rating

was downgraded so much by credit rating agencies. This was due to Greeces public finances

worsening and statistics incorrectly representing the country. (Government and Politics 2017).

When it comes to the consequences of poverty, Italy remains the eighth largest economy in the

world. Therefore if their economy were to fall, the whole world would be affected tremendously.

Italy contains what some people call a split job market. This is the process where citizens of

the elder generation are given more stable jobs that are hard to lose whereas the younger

generation is left with short term jobs that they will most likely be let go from and will find

themselves searching for a new one. (Weissmann, 2011). Greeces poverty line is set at the

equivalent of $772.31. 45% of Greeks live below the poverty line. (Rodger & Stylianou 2015).

Greeces poverty line is determined by using a European metric known as relative poverty.

Relative poverty includes citizens who have an income lower than the set percentage of Greeces

economys average income. (Georgakopoulos 2016).

Finally, when it comes to gender inequality, As in all countries, Italy experiences its own

struggles with gender inequality. It is rare for an Italian woman to get a college degree in rather

math, science, or engineering which supply the most jobs in the country. Therefore this makes it

quite difficult in order for a woman to obtain a career in Italy. Only 6% of the largest companies

in Italy had women on their boards. (Editors, 2016). Although Greeces poverty is worse than in

Italys, the gender equality is actually somewhat fairer. Aspects that prove this statement include

that of the 97.7% literacy rate of Greeks age 15 years and older, 98.5% of males and 96.9% of

females are can read and write. Unemployment is another fairly close comparison as Greeks
Comparing Global Issues 4

from ages 15 to 24 years old, totals up to 49.8% of the population, including 45.2% being males

and 55% being females. (The World Factbook 2017).

As you can see, Italy and Greece both share very bad effects and struggle deeply from

poverty and gender inequality. Italy and Greece are currently in the top three for the highest

populations at risk for poverty. Despite the fact that both of these countries have amazing history

and beautiful landmarks and structures, dont be fooled because their economic statuses are not

so pretty. Although poverty is a problem that will take many years to heal, gender equality could

be a much quicker fix if people would put forth the effort and make a few changes within

companies or even the government rules.

Comparing Global Issues 5

References:

Weissmann, J. (2011, November 10). 4 Reasons Why Italy's Economy Is Such a Disaster.

Retrieved November 20, 2017, from

https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2011/11/4-reasons-why-italys-economy-is-
such-a-disaster/248238/

The World Factbook. Europe: Greece. CIA (2017, November 01). Retrieved from

https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/resources/the-world-factbook/geos/gr.html

The World Factbook: ITALY (2017, November 01). Retrieved November 06, 2017, from

https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/resources/the-world-factbook/geos/it.html

Editors, T. (2016, August 28). Societal Changes Needed for Gender Equality in Italy. Retrieved

November 24, 2017, from

https://www.worldpoliticsreview.com/trend-lines/19758/societal-changes-needed-for-
gender-equality-in-italy

Georgakopoulos, T (2016) Extreme Poverty in Greece. Dianeosis. Retrieved from

https://www.dianeosis.org/en/2016/06/extreme-poverty-greece-survey/