Location: Western Europe, occupying five-sixths of the island of Ireland in the North Atlantic Ocean, west of Great Britain

Geographic coordinates: 53 00 N, 8 00 W

Map references: Europe

Area:

total area: 70,280 sq km

land area: 68,890 sq km

comparative area: slightly larger than West Virginia

Land boundaries:

total: 360 km

border country: UK 360 km

Coastline: 1,448 km

Maritime claims:

continental shelf: not specified

exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm

territorial sea: 12 nm

International 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

lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m

highest point: Carrauntoohill 1,041 m

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 sq km

Environment:

current issues: water pollution, especially of lakes, from agricultural runoff

natural hazards: NA

international agreements: party to - Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Climate Change, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Tropical Timber 83, Wetlands, Whaling; signed, but not ratified - Air Pollution-Sulphur 94, Biodiversity, Desertification, Endangered Species, Law of the Sea, Marine Life Conservation

Geographic note: strategic location on major air and sea routes between North America and northern Europe; over 40% of the population resides within 60 miles of Dublin

People

Population: 3,566,833 (July 1996 est.)

Age structure:

0-14 years: 23% (male 424,558; female 402,062)

15-64 years: 65% (male 1,175,383; female 1,157,960)

65 years and over: 12% (male 173,150; female 233,720) (July 1996 est.)

Population growth rate: -0.22% (1996 est.)

Birth rate: 13.22 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Death rate: 8.93 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Net migration rate: -6.46 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Sex ratio:

at birth: 1.07 male(s)/female

under 15 years: 1.06 male(s)/female

15-64 years: 1.02 male(s)/female

65 years and over: 0.74 male(s)/female

all ages: 0.99 male(s)/female (1996 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 6.4 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:

total population: 75.58 years

male: 72.88 years

female: 78.46 years (1996 est.)

Total fertility rate: 1.83 children born/woman (1996 est.)

Nationality:

noun: Irishman(men), Irishwoman(men), Irish (collective plural)

adjective: Irish

Ethnic divisions: Celtic, English

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

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

Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1981 est.)

total population: 98%

male: NA%

female: NA%

Government

Name of country:

conventional long form: Republic of Ireland

conventional short form: Ireland

Data code: EI

Type of government: 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

Independence: 6 December 1921 (from UK)

National holiday: Saint Patrick’s Day, 17 March

Constitution: 29 December 1937; adopted 1 July 1937 by plebiscite

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

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

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

Economy

Economic overview: The economy is small and trade dependent. Agriculture, once the most important sector, is now dwarfed by industry, which accounts for 38% of GDP, about 80% of exports, and employs 28% of the labor force. Although exports remain the primary engine for Ireland’s robust growth, the economy is also benefiting from a rise in consumer spending and recovery in both construction and business investment. Ireland has substantially reduced its external debt since 1987, to 40% of GDP in 1994. Over the same period, inflation has fallen sharply and chronic trade deficits have been transformed into annual surpluses. Unemployment 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.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $54.6 billion (1995 est.)

GDP real growth rate: 7% (1995 est.)

GDP per capita: $15,400 (1995 est.)

GDP composition by sector:

agriculture: 6.8%

industry: 35.3%

services: 57.9% (1994)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 2.8% (1995 est.)

Labor force: 1.37 million

by occupation: services 57.0%, manufacturing and construction 28%, agriculture, forestry, and fishing 13.5%, energy and mining 1.5% (1992)

Unemployment rate: 13.5% (1995 est.)

Budget:

revenues: $19.3 billion

expenditures: $20.3 billion, including capital expenditures of $3.6 billion (1994)

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

Industrial production growth rate: 8.9% (1995 est.)

Electricity:

capacity: 3,930,000 kW

production: 14.9 billion kWh

consumption per capita: 3,938 kWh (1993)

Agriculture: turnips, barley, potatoes, sugar beets, wheat; meat and dairy products

Illicit drugs: transshipment point for hashish from North Africa to the UK and Netherlands

Exports: $29.9 billion (f.o.b., 1994)

commodities: chemicals, data processing equipment, industrial machinery, live animals, animal products

partners: EU 73% (UK 27%, Germany 14%, France 9%), US 9%

Imports: $25.3 billion (c.i.f., 1994)

commodities: food, animal feed, data processing equipment, petroleum and petroleum products, machinery, textiles, clothing

partners: EU 58% (UK 36%, Germany 7%, France 4%), US 18%

External debt: $19.5 billion (1994 est.)

Economic aid:

donor: ODA, $81 million (1993)

Currency: 1 Irish pound (£Ir) = 100 pence

Exchange rates: Irish pounds (£Ir) per US$1 - 0.6315 (January 1996), 0.6235 (1995), 0.6676 (1994), 0.6816 (1993), 0.5864 (1992), 0.6190 (1991)

Fiscal year: calendar year

Transportation

Railways:

total: 1,944 km

broad gauge: 1,944 km 1.600-m gauge (37 km electrified; 485 km double track) (1995)

Highways:

total: 92,327 km

paved: 86,787 km (including 32 km of expressways)

unpaved: 5,540 km (1992 est.)

Waterways: limited for commercial traffic

Pipelines: natural gas 225 km

Ports: Arklow, Cork, Drogheda, Dublin, Foynes, Galway, Limerick, New Ross, Waterford

Merchant marine:

total: 42 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 129,027 GRT/155,371 DWT

ships by type: bulk 4, cargo 27, chemical tanker 1, container 3, oil tanker 2, short-sea passenger 3, specialized tanker 2 (1995 est.)

Airports:

total: 40

with paved runways over 3,047 m: 1

with paved runways 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1

with paved runways 1,524 to 2,437 m: 3

with paved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 3

with paved runways under 914 m: 29

with unpaved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 3 (1995 est.)

Communications

Telephones: 900,000 (1987 est.)

Telephone system: modern digital system using cable and microwave radio relay

domestic: microwave radio relay

international: satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean)

Radio broadcast stations: AM 9, FM 45, shortwave 0

Radios: 2.2 million (1991 est.)

Television broadcast stations: 86 (1987 est.)

Televisions: 1.025 million (1990 est.)

Defense

Branches: Army (includes Naval Service and Air Corps), National Police (Garda Siochana)

Manpower availability:

males age 15-49: 939,237

males fit for military service: 761,048

males reach military age (17) annually: 35,904 (1996 est.)

Defense expenditures: exchange rate conversion - $618 million, 1.3% of GDP (1994)

Central Intelligence Agency, The World Factbook 1996, (Washington, DC: Central Intelligence Agency) 1996.