San Marino

THE LAND-LOCKED REPUBLIC, entirely surrounded by Italy, has a land area of 23.5 sq. mi. (61 sq. km.), with a population of 31,000 (2006 est.) and a population density of 1,198 people per sq. mi. (461 people per sq. km.), the 20th highest density in the world. It is a very prosperous country, with gross domestic product per capita being US$34,600. As a result, it makes heavy use of electricity—air conditioning in the hot summers and heating for the winter, as well as regular domestic and business use. All electricity for San Marino is supplied by Italy, which produces some 80 percent of its electricity from fossil fuels.

Because of its geographical position, there are few data available for San Marino for greenhouse gas emissions, with Sanmarinesi emissions usually included under Italy, which has had carbon dioxide emissions per capita ranging from 6.9 metric tons per person in 1990, rising to 7.7 metric tons per person by 2003. With tourism being the major source of income, most tourists come to the country in buses or by train from the nearby Italian town of Borgo Maggiore. The Sanmarinesi government took part in the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, signed in Rio de Janeiro in May 1992, but has, so far, not expressed any policy position on the Kyoto Protocol to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change.