Map of Ireland | Geography | People | Government | Economy | Energy | Communication
Military | Transportation | Transnational Issues | Year: Guide198919901991199219931994199519961997199819992000200120022003200420052006200720082009201020112012201320142015201620172018201920202021202220232024 | More stats

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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.


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Location:

Geographic coordinates

Map reference: Europe, Standard Time Zones of the World

Area
Total: 70,280 km²
Land: 68,890 km²

Land boundaries: total 360 km, UK 360 km

Coastline: 1,448 km
Continental shelf: not specified
Exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm
Territorial sea: 12 nm

Maritime claims

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, petroleum, barite, copper, gypsum, limestone, dolomite, peat, silver

Land use
Arable land: 14%
Permanent crops: 0%
Meadows and pastures: 71%
Forest and woodland: 5%
Other: 10%

Irrigated land: NA km²

Major rivers

Major watersheds area km²

Total water withdrawal

Total renewable water resources

Natural hazards

Geography


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Population: 3,529,566 (July 1993 est.)

Nationality
Noun: Irishman(men), Irishwoman(men), Irish (collective plural)
Adjective: Irish

Ethnic groups: Celtic, English

Languages: Irish (Gaelic), spoken mainly in areas located along the western seaboard, English is the language generally used

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

Demographic profile

Age structure

Dependency ratios

Median age

Population growth rate

Birth rate: 14.39 births/1000 population (1993 est.)

Death rate: 8.71 deaths/1000 population (1993 est.)

Net migration rate: -3.13 migrant(s)/1000 population (1993 est.)

Population distribution

Urbanization

Major urban areas

Environment
Current issues: deforestation
Current issues note:

Air pollutants

Sex ratio

Mothers mean age at first birth

Maternal mortality ratio

Infant mortality rate: 7.6 deaths/1000 live births (1993 est.)

Life expectancy at birth
Total population: 75.38 years
Male: 72.56 years
Female: 78.36 years (1993 est.)

Total fertility rate: 2.02 children born/woman (1993 est.)

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: age 15 and over can read and write (1981)
Total population: 98%
Male: NA%
Female: NA%

School life expectancy primary to tertiary education

Youth unemployment


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Country name
Conventional long form: none
Conventional short form: Ireland

Government type: republic

Capital:

Administrative divisions

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: 18 years of age; universal

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:

Diplomatic representation
In the us chief of mission: Ambassador Dermot A. GALLAGHER
In the us chancery: 2,234 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington DC 20,008
In the us telephone: (202) 462-3,939
In the us consulates general: Boston, Chicago, New York, and San Francisco
From the us chief of mission:
From the us embassy: 42 Elgin Road, Ballsbridge, Dublin
From the us mailing address: use embassy street address
From the us telephone: 353 (1) 687,122
From the us fax: 353 (1) 689,946

Flag description: three equal vertical bands of green (hoist side), white, and orange; similar to the flag of the Cote d'Ivoire, 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


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Economy overview: The economy is small and trade dependent. Agriculture, once the most important sector, is now dwarfed by industry, which accounts for 37% of GDP, about 80% of exports, and employs 28% of the labor force. Since 1987, real GDP growth, led by exports, has averaged 4% annually. Over the same period, inflation has fallen sharply and chronic trade deficits have been transformed into annual surpluses. Unemployment, at 22.7% remains a serious problem, however, and job creation is the main focus of government policy. To ease unemployment, Dublin aggressively courts foreign investors and recently created a new industrial development agency to aid small indigenous firms. Government assistance is constrained by Dublin's continuing deficit reduction measures. After five years of fiscal restraint, total government debt still exceeds GDP. Growth probably will moderate in 1993 as the heavily indebted and trade-dependent economy is highly sensitive to changes in exchange rates and world interest rates. Exports to the UK, Ireland's major export market, probably will be hurt by the recent appreciation of the Irish currency against sterling - for the first time since 1979 the value of the Irish pound exceeds that of its British counterpart.

Real gdp purchasing power parity

Real gdp growth rate: 2% (1992)

Real gdp per capita: $12,000 (1992)

Gross national saving

Gdp composition by end use

Gdp composition by sector of origin

Agriculture products: accounts for 11% of GDP and 13% 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:

Labor force: 1.37 million
By occupation services: 57.0%
By occupation manufacturing and construction: 28%
By occupation agriculture forestry and fishing: 13.5%
By occupation energy and mining: 1.5% (1992)

Unemployment rate: 22.7% (1992)

Youth unemployment

Population below poverty line

Gini index

Household income or consumption by percentage share

Distribution of family income gini index

Budget: revenues $16.0 billion; expenditures $16.6 billion, including

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: $28.3 billion (f.o.b., 1992)
Commodoties: chemicals, data processing equipment, industrial machinery, live animals, animal products
Partners: EC 75% (UK 32%, Germany 13%, France 10%), US 9%

Imports: $23.3 billion (c.i.f., 1992)
Commodoties: food, animal feed, data processing equipment, petroleum and petroleum products, machinery, textiles, clothing
Partners: EC 66% (UK 41%, Germany 8%, Netherlands 4%), US 15%

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 - 0.6118 (January 1993), 0.5864 (1992), 0.6190 (1991), 0.6030 (1990), 0.7472 (1989), 0.6553 (1988)


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Electricity
Production: 5,000,000 kW capacity; 14,500 million kWh produced, 4,120 kWh per capita (1992)

Coal

Petroleum

Crude oil

Refined petroleum

Natural gas

Carbon dioxide emissions

Energy consumption per capita


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Telephones

Telephone system

Broadcast media

Internet

Broadband fixed subscriptions


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Military expenditures
Percent of gdp: exchange rate conversion - $569 million, 1-2% of GDP (1993 est.)

Military and security forces

Military service age and obligation

Space program

Terrorist groups


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National air transport system

Civil aircraft registration country code prefix

Airports
Usable: 39
With permanentsurface runways: 13
With runways over 3659 m: 0
With runways 2440-3659 m: 2
With runways 1220-2439 m: 6

Heliports

Pipelines: natural gas 225 km

Railways

Roadways

Waterways: limited for commercial traffic

Merchant marine:

Ports and terminals


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Disputes international: 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)

Refugees and internally displaced persons

Illicit drugs