THE ITALIAN PENINSULA 633

tion of 56 per cent of the working population. Consequently, it is
rather surprising to find 66 per cent of all the people living in towns
and cities with a population of over 3000. Napoli (Naples) is the larg-
est city and contains nearly 1,000,000 people, but there are seventeen
other cities with a population of over 100,000.

TABLE 137
OCCUPATIONS OF THE POPULATION OF ITALY1

Percentage of
Occupation Gainfully Employed

Agriculture............................. ^2 I

Mines and quarries...................... • 0 5

Industry............................... 24. o

Commerce and transportation............ 10.4.

Army and navy......................... 2.0

Professions............................. 2. o

Domestic service........................ 2.4

Others.

............................ 5-5

Total.............................. 100. o

Emigration.—Italy's limited resources and dense population create
a problem of the first magnitude. This problem is becoming constantly
more serious, for the death rate is dropping more rapidly than the
birth rate, and the population is thus steadily increasing. Prior to the
World War, emigration provided a safety valve, and an increasing
number of Italians were finding homes in foreign lands. This move-
ment became so tremendous that in. 1913 alone 872,000 people left
Italy. At least half of all of these were temporary emigrants who later
returned. The result of this emigration was decidedly beneficial. It
temporarily relieved the population problem of the country, and the
remittances sent home provided much-needed capital and aided in rais-
ing the standards of living. Moreover, those who returned brought
with them a knowledge of and desire for improved standards which
proved beneficial to the entire population.

However, conditions changed following the World War. Restric-
tions on the part of foreign governments closed the doors to Italian
emigrants in many areas, and other regions to which they were ac-
customed to move were becoming saturated. Thus the home population
increased rapidly, and the country no longer had the advantage of
large remittances from overseas. Today emigration does not provide
adequate relief from the pressure of population. The resulting situa-
tion is dangerous, and has provided the principal incentive for attempts
at increased industrialization and improvements in agriculture.

1 Statistical Year Book of the Leagiw of Nations,