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The Province of Trento (Trentino) (which belongs to the Trentino / Alto Adige Region together with the Province of Bolzano/South Tyrol) enjoys special autonomous financial and legislative powers as provided by the Italian Constitution, thus permitting each single Province to be considered as a de facto Region by itself. Located in the north-eastern part of Italy, in the heart of the Alps, Trentino-South Tyrol borders Switzerland to the north-west and Austria to the north.
Trentino represents 2.9% of the Italian territory (6,200 km2) and 0.8% of the national population (477,000 inhabitants). With an average 75 inhabitants per km2, Trentino has one of the lowest concentrations of population in Europe (the EU average is 89 inhabitants per km2), which is mostly a consequence of the fact that about 50% of the territory is covered by mountains and forests. In terms of GDP (Gross Domestic Product, the Italian P.I.L.) per inhabitant, Trentino is part of the richest area in Italy, whose per capita GDP is amongst the highest at the EU level, well above the European average (136% of the EU15). The unemployment rate is quite low (3.4%), especially if compared with the national average (9.2%). (Sources: European Commission 2001; Istat 2003; Autonomous Province of Trento 2003; Chamber of Commerce of Trento 2000.)
Since the 1960s Trentino has experienced a "soft" industrialisation mainly characterised by small and medium-sized enterprises, with a subsequent shift of labour force from agriculture to industry. The 1970s have witnessed an impressive growth of the secondary and tertiary sectors. Nowadays, the secondary sector is mainly boosted by three industries (namely tourism, the construction industry, and the agricultural and food industry) and it employs a quarter of the local workforce. Agriculture, despite a steady decrease in employment, still has a strategic importance for the provincial economy.
The service sector employs half of the workforce of the province and is now experiencing a very dynamic phase based on innovation, mainly in computer and ICT technologies. In Trentino, the last fifteen years have witnessed an impressive growth in the number of businesses involved in Information Technology, thus contributing to the creation of what is commonly defined as an 'innovation cluster'.
In terms of scientific and technological institutions, Trentino is well-endowed with the Instituto Trentino di Cultura (and, in particular, its scientific and technological research centre, ITC-IRST), the University of Trento, the Istituto Agrario di San Michele all'Adige, the Museum of Science, the Fiat Research Centre and some institutes and centres financed by the Italian National Research Council (CNR).
The promotion of innovation is one of the main objectives of the Autonomous Province of Trento, which also set up a Regional Development Agency with some Business Innovation Centres directed towards stimulating industrial innovation and improving the technological transfer from research to industry.
To know more about Trentino, please visit the following websites:
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