EN
Basic facts about the country and its population, followed by agricultural, animal breeding and animal production characteristics were presented as a background for the status of veterinary medicine in Italy. The veterinary educational system starts at the universities, where 13 faculties of veterinary medicine were attended by 1543 undergraduate new students during the academic year 1997/98. Additional, post-graduate and doctoral studies connected to university teaching, as well as specialization courses, are taking place. The number of active veterinarians is 18 324 as of October 13, 1997, acting in many professional and cultural organizations, of which FNOVI is the fundamental one. In the future a trend toward specialization is most probable in veterinary medicine in Italy.