Aosta Valley - Атлас этнических региональных автономий - Сеть по исследованию идентичности

Description of the autonomy

One of the five regions with a special status in the Italian Republic. The smallest province by the territory and population of all 20 Italian regions, Aosta Valley (Valle d'Aosta) is located in the north-west of the country on the border with France and Switzerland (mainly French-speaking canton of Valais). Its level of economic well-being is much higher than the national average.

The title group is French-speaking Valdostani. The region became a part of Italian state in 1861 when representatives of Savoy dynasty established the Kingdom of Italy. France can be regarded as a kin-state to Valle d'Aosta, the connection being not of a political but a cultural-linguistic nature.

At the end of the Second World War, the Valle d'Aosta inhabitants continuously expressed strong autonomist and separatist sentiments. However, without the support of France and international guarantees, the separatists lost their cause. The province remained a part of Italy and received an autonomous status in 1945, which was constitutionally secured in 1948.

By this moment, the region has significantly changed its attitude towards the ethnolinguistic situation. French and Italian have the same official status in the public sphere of the whole province; the Walser language (of German origin) in Valle del Lys has the localized official status. Also, the local variant of the Franco-Provençal (Arpita) language is highly visible in the region. Despite the plurality of spoken languages, the majority of the population considers Italian as their native language (about 70% as of 2001) and the language of everyday communication. About half of the residents (2001) can speak all three major languages; French and Franco-Provençal occupy separate functional niches. Specific policies to preserve the multilingualism of the region are widely employed.

Autonomy's characteristics

Year of the creation of the autonomy:

Geographic

Where is the autonomy situated:
Autonomy area: km²
Share of the autonomy in the area of the country: %
Autonomy population:the latest census thousands of people
Share of the autonomy in the population of the country: %

Country's characteristics

Level of economic development of the country:GDP per capita in 2015 in current price in $ in $
Political regime in the country:It is based on the Freedom House Index, 2015. All countries of the world are located on a scale from 1 (most free) to 7 (least free). Countries whose ratings fall between 1.0 and 2.5 are “Free”, between 3.0 and 5.0 are "Partly Free," and those between 5.5 and 7.0 are "Not Free."

Economic

Share of the autonomy in the economy of the country:GRP of the autonomy divided to GDP of the country (%) %
Level of economic development of the autonomy:relative to the country (%): GRP per capita of the autonomy divided to GDP per capita of the country %

Ethnic

Share of the dominant in the country ethnic group in the population of the autonomy:in %: population size of the dominant in the country ethnic group divided to overal population size of the autonomy (the latest census; expert estimations) %
Share of the titular ethnic group in the population of the autonomy:in %: population size of the titular ethnic group of the autonomy divided to overal population size of the autonomy (the latest census; expert estimations) %
Ethnic peculiarity:It indicates a key characteristic of autonomy's ethnic identity - language or religion or both
Diversity of ethnic composition:The presence of other (in addition to the titular group in the autonomy and the dominant group in the country) significant ethnic groups in the population of the autonomy

Political

Degree of self-rule of the autonomy:It is based on the Regional Authority Index project that aims at measuring the powers of all the regions in 81 countries. Here the index "tier_selfrule" (2010) is used. It summarizes five dimensions of self-rule: institutional depth; policy scope; fiscal autonomy; borrowing autonomy; and the extent to which a region has an independent legislature and executive. The index takes value from 0 to 18
Degree of shared-rule of the autonomy:It is based on the Regional Authority Index project that aims at measuring the powers of all the regions in 81 countries. Here the index "tier_sharedrule" (2010) is used. It summarizes five dimensions of shared-rule: participation of a region in national law-making; intergovernmental meetings; the distribution of national tax revenues; borrowing; and constitutional change. The index takes value from 0 to 12
The presence of the "kin-state":"Kin-state" is a state whose main population shares the ethnic characteristics of the titular ethnic group of the autonomy
Linguistic preferences:It indicates how the language of the titular ethnic group of the autonomy is learned in secondary schools in the autonomy
Ethnic conflicts:It indicates whether the serious conflicts between the autonomy and the central government as well as between ethnic groups within the authority take place in 2001-2015. The level of conflict is determined on the basis of the annual reports of Conflict Barometer