Statistical information Ireland 1992

Ireland in the World

Ireland - Introduction 1992

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Background: Growing Irish nationalism resulted in independence from the United Kingdom in 1921, with six largely Protestant northern counties remaining within the UK. After World War II bloody strife between Catholics and Protestants over the status of Northern Ireland cost thousands of lives.

Ireland - Geography 1992

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Location

Geographic coordinates

Map reference

Area
Total: 70,280 km²
Land: 68,890 km²
Comparative: slightly larger than West Virginia

Land boundaries: 360 km; UK 360 km

Coastline: 1,448 km

Maritime claims
Continental shelf: no precise definition
Exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm
Territorial sea: 12 nm
Disputes: Northern Ireland question with the UK; Rockall continental shelf dispute involving Denmark, Iceland, and the UK (Ireland and the UK have signed a boundary agreement in the Rockall area)

Climate: temperate maritime; modified by North Atlantic Current; mild winters, cool summers; consistently humid; overcast about half the time

Terrain: mostly level to rolling interior plain surrounded by rugged hills and low mountains; sea cliffs on west coast

Elevation

Natural resources: zinc, lead, natural gas, crude oil, barite, copper, gypsum, limestone, dolomite, peat, silver

Land use

Land use: arable land: 14%; permanent crops: NEGL%; meadows and pastures 71%; forest and woodland 5%; other 10%

Irrigated land

Major rivers

Major watersheds area km²

Total water withdrawal

Total renewable water resources

Natural hazards

Geography

Ireland - People 1992

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Population: 3,521,207 (July 1992), growth rate 0.2% (1992)

Nationality:

noun - Irishman(men), Irish (collective pl.); adjective -
Irish

Ethnic groups: Celtic, with English minority

Languages: Irish (Gaelic) and English; English is the language generally used, with Gaelic spoken in a few areas, mostly along the western seaboard

Religions: Roman Catholic 93%, Anglican 3%, none 1%, unknown 2%, other 1% (1981)

Demographic profile

Age structure

Age structure

Dependency ratios

Median age

Population growth rate

Birth rate: 15 births/1000 population (1992)

Death rate: 9 deaths/1000 population (1992)

Net migration rate: -4 migrants/1000 population (1992)

Population distribution

Urbanization

Major urban areas

Environment
Current issues: deforestation

Air pollutants

Sex ratio

Mothers mean age at first birth

Maternal mortality ratio

Infant mortality rate: 8 deaths/1000 live births (1992)

Life expectancy at birth: 72 years male, 78 years female (1992)

Total fertility rate: 2.0 children born/woman (1992)

Contraceptive prevalence rate

Drinking water source

Current health expenditure

Physicians density

Hospital bed density

Sanitation facility access

Hiv/Aids

Major infectious diseases

Obesity adult prevalence rate

Alcohol consumption

Tobacco use

Children under the age of 5 years underweight

Education expenditures

Literacy: 98% (male NA%, female NA%) age 15 and over can read and write (1981)

School life expectancy primary to tertiary education

Youth unemployment

Ireland - Government 1992

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Country name
Conventional long form: none

Government type: republic

Capital: Dublin

Administrative divisions:

26 counties; Carlow, Cavan, Clare, Cork,
Donegal, Dublin, Galway, Kerry, Kildare, Kilkenny, Laois, Leitrim, Limerick,
Longford, Louth, Mayo, Meath, Monaghan, Offaly, Roscommon, Sligo, Tipperary,
Waterford, Westmeath, Wexford, Wicklow

Dependent areas

Independence: 6 December 1921 (from UK)

National holiday: Saint Patrick's Day, 17 March

Constitution: 29 December 1937; adopted 1937

Legal system: based on English common law, substantially modified by indigenous concepts; judicial review of legislative acts in Supreme Court; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

International law organization participation

Citizenship

Suffrage: universal at age 18
President: last held 9 November 1990 (next to be held November 1997); results - Mary Bourke ROBINSON 52.8%, Brian LENIHAN 47.2%
Senate:

last held on 17 February 1987 (next to be held February 1992); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats - (60 total, 49 elected) Fianna
Fail 30, Fine Gael 16, Labor 3, independents 11

House of Representatives:

last held on 12 July 1989 (next to be held
June 1994); results - Fianna Fail 44.0%, Fine Gael 29.4%, Labor Party 9.3%,
Progressive Democrats 5.4%, Workers' Party 4.9%, Sinn Fein 1.1%, independents 5.9%; seats - (166 total) Fianna Fail 77, Fine Gael 55, Labor
Party 15, Workers' Party 7, Progressive Democrats 6, independents 6

Communists: under 500

Executive branch:

president, prime minister, deputy prime minister,
Cabinet

Legislative branch:

bicameral Parliament (Oireachtas) consists of an upper house or Senate (Seanad Eireann) and a lower house or House of
Representatives (Dail Eireann)

Judicial branch: Supreme Court

Political parties and leaders

International organization participation:

AG, BIS, CCC, CE, CSCE, EBRD, EC, ECE, EIB, ESA, FAO, GATT,
IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT,
INTERPOL, IOC, ISO, ITU, LORCS, NEA, NSG, OECD, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNFICYP,
UNIDO, UNIFIL, UNIIMOG, UNTSO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, ZC

Diplomatic representation:

Ambassador Dermot GALLAGHER; Chancery at 2,234
Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20,008; telephone (202) 462-3,939; there are Irish Consulates General in Boston, Chicago, New York, and San
Francisco

US:

Ambassador Richard A. MOORE; Embassy at 42 Elgin Road, Ballsbridge,
Dublin; telephone 353 (1) 688,777; FAX 353 (1) 689-946

Diplomatic representation

Flag description

: three equal vertical bands of green (hoist side), white, and orange; similar to the flag of the Ivory Coast, which is shorter and has the colors reversed - orange (hoist side), white, and green; also similar to the flag of Italy, which is shorter and has colors of green (hoist side), white, and red

National symbols

National anthem

National heritage

Ireland - Economy 1992

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Economy overview:

The economy is small, open, and trade dependent. Agriculture, once the most important sector, is now dwarfed by industry, which accounts for 37% of GDP and about 80% of exports and employs 26% of the labor force.
The government has successfully reduced the rate of inflation from double-digit figures in the late 1970s to 3.8% in 1991. In 1987, after years of deficits, the balance of payments was brought into the black.
Unemployment, however, remains a serious problem. A 1991 unemployment rate of 20.4% placed Ireland along with Spain as the countries with the worst jobless records in Western Europe.

GDP: purchasing power equivalent - $39.2 billion, per capita $11,200; real growth rate 1.3% (1991 est.)

Real gdp purchasing power parity

Real gdp growth rate

Real gdp per capita

Gross national saving

Gdp composition by sector of origin

Gdp composition by end use

Gdp composition by sector of origin

Agriculture products: accounts for 11% of GDP and 15% of the labor force; principal crops - turnips, barley, potatoes, sugar beets, wheat; livestock - meat and dairy products; 85% self-sufficient in food; food shortages include bread grain, fruits, vegetables

Industries: food products, brewing, textiles, clothing, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, machinery, transportation equipment, glass and crystal

Industrial production growth rate: growth rate 3.0% (1991; accounts for 37% of GDP

Labor force: 1,333,000; services 57.0%, manufacturing and construction 26.1%, agriculture, forestry, and fishing 15.0%, energy and mining 1.9% (1991)
Organized labor: 58% of labor force (1991)

Labor force

Unemployment rate: 20.4% (1991)

Youth unemployment

Population below poverty line

Gini index

Household income or consumption by percentage share

Distribution of family income gini index

Budget: revenues $11.4 billion; expenditures $12.6 billion, including capital expenditures of $1.6 billion (1992 est.)

Taxes and other revenues

Public debt

Revenue

Fiscal year: calendar year

Inflation rate consumer prices

Central bank discount rate

Commercial bank prime lending rate

Stock of narrow money

Stock of broad money

Stock of domestic credit

Market value of publicly traded shares

Current account balance

Exports: $27.8 billion (f.o.b., 1991)
Commodoties: chemicals, data processing equipment, industrial machinery, live animals, animal products
Partners: EC 74% (UK 34%, Germany 11%, France 10%), US 8%

Imports: $24.5 billion (c.i.f., 1991)
Commodoties: food, animal feed, chemicals, petroleum and petroleum products, machinery, textiles, clothing
Partners: EC 66% (UK 41%, Germany 9%, France 4%), US 14%

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold

Debt external

Stock of direct foreign investment at home

Stock of direct foreign investment abroad

Exchange rates: Irish pounds (#Ir) per US$1 - 0.6227 (March 1992), 0.6190 (1991), 0.6030 (1990), 0.7472 (1989), 0.6553 (1988), 0.6720 (1987)

Ireland - Energy 1992

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Electricity
Production: 4,957,000 kW capacity; 14,480 million kWh produced, 4,080 kWh per capita (1991)

Coal

Petroleum

Crude oil

Refined petroleum

Natural gas

Carbon dioxide emissions

Energy consumption per capita

Ireland - Communication 1992

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Telephones

Telephone system

Broadcast media

Internet

Broadband fixed subscriptions

Ireland - Military 1992

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Military expenditures
Percent of gdp:

exchange rate conversion - $566 million, 1-2% of
GDP (1992 est.)

Military and security forces

Military service age and obligation

Space program

Terrorist groups

Ireland - Transportation 1992

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National air transport system

Civil aircraft registration country code prefix

Airports:

36 total, 35 usable; 17 with permanent-surface runways; none
with runways over 3,659 m; 2
with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 6
with runways 1,220-2,439 m

Heliports

Pipelines: natural gas 225 km

Railways

Roadways

Waterways: limited for commercial traffic

Merchant marine:

55 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 146,081
GRT/177,058 DWT; includes 4 short-sea passenger, 32 cargo, 2 refrigerated cargo, 3 container, 3 petroleum tanker, 3 specialized tanker, 2 chemical tanker, 6 bulk

Civil air: 23 major transport aircraft

Ports and terminals

Ireland - Transnational issues 1992

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Disputes international

Refugees and internally displaced persons

Illicit drugs