1990 Edition
CIA World Factbook 1990 (Project Gutenberg)
Geography
Climate
temperate maritime; modified by North Atlantic Current; mild winters, cool summers; consistently humid; overcast about half the time
Coastline
1,448 km
Comparative area
slightly larger than West Virginia
Continental shelf
no precise definition;
Disputes
maritime boundary with the UK; Northern Ireland question with the UK; Rockall continental shelf dispute involving Denmark, Iceland, and the UK
Environment
deforestation
Exclusive fishing zone
200 nm;
Land boundary
360 km with UK
Land use
14% arable land; NEGL% permanent crops; 71% meadows and pastures; 5% forest and woodland; 10% other
Natural resources
zinc, lead, natural gas, crude oil, barite, copper, gypsum, limestone, dolomite, peat, silver
Terrain
mostly level to rolling interior plain surrounded by rugged hills and low mountains; sea cliffs on west coast
Territorial sea
12 nm
Total area
70,280 km2; land area: 68,890 km2
People and Society
Birth rate
15 births/1,000 population (1990)
Death rate
9 deaths/1,000 population (1990)
Ethnic divisions
Celtic, with English minority
Infant mortality rate
6 deaths/1,000 live births (1990)
Labor force
1,310,000; 57.3% services, 19.1% manufacturing and construction, 14.8% agriculture, forestry, and fishing (1988)
Language
Irish (Gaelic) and English; English is the language generally used, with Gaelic spoken in a few areas, mostly along the western seaboard
Life expectancy at birth
72 years male, 78 years female (1990)
Literacy
99%
Nationality
noun--Irishman(men), Irish (collective pl.); adjective--Irish
Net migration rate
- 10 migrants/1,000 population (1990)
Organized labor
36% of labor force
Population
3,500,212 (July 1990), growth rate -0.4% (1990)
Religion
94% Roman Catholic, 4% Anglican, 2% other
Total fertility rate
2.1 children born/woman (1990)
Government
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
Capital
Dublin
Communists
under 500
Constitution
29 December 1937; adopted 1937
Diplomatic representation
Ambassador Padraic N. MACKERNAN; Chancery at 2234 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington DC 20008; telephone (202) 462-3939; 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) 688777
Elections
President--last held 21 October 1983 (next to be held October 1990); results--Dr. Patrick Hillery reelected; 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 NA 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
Executive branch
president, prime minister, deputy prime minister, Cabinet
Flag
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
Independence
6 December 1921 (from UK)
Judicial branch
Supreme Court
Leaders
Chief of State--President Dr. Patrick J. HILLERY (since 3 December 1976); Head of Government--Prime Minister Charles J. HAUGHEY (since 12 July 1989, the fourth time elected as prime minister)
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
Legislative branch
bicameral Parliament (Oireachtas) consists of an upper house or Senate (Seanad Eireann) and a lower house or House of Representatives (Dail Eireann)
Long-form name
Republic of Ireland
Member of
CCC, Council of Europe, EC, EMS, ESA, FAO, GATT, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICES, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IPU, ISO, ITC, ITU, IWC--International Wheat Council, OECD, UN, UNESCO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WSG
National holiday
St. Patrick's Day, 17 March
Political parties and leaders
Fianna Fail, Charles Haughey; Labor Party, Richard Spring; Fine Gael, Alan Dukes; Communist Party of Ireland, Michael O'Riordan; Workers' Party, Proinsias DeRossa; Sinn Fein, Gerry Adams; Progressive Democrats, Desmond O'Malley; note--Prime Minister Haughey heads a coalition consisting of the Fianna Fail and the Progressive Democrats
Suffrage
universal at age 18
Type
republic
Economy
Agriculture
accounts for 11% of GNP and 14.8% 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
Aid
NA
Budget
revenues $10.9 billion; expenditures $11.2 billion, including capital expenditures of $1.5 billion (1989)
Currency
Irish pound (plural--pounds); 1 Irish pound (LIr) = 100 pence
Electricity
4,957,000 kW capacity; 14,480 million kWh produced, 4,080 kWh per capita (1989)
Exchange rates
Irish pounds (LIr) per US$1--0.6399 (January 1990), 0.7047 (1989), 0.6553 (1988), 0.6720 (1987), 0.7454 (1986), 0.9384 (1985)
Exports
$20.3 billion (f.o.b., 1989); commodities--live animals, animal products, chemicals, data processing equipment, industrial machinery; partners--EC 74% (UK 35%, FRG 11%, France 9%), US 8%
External debt
$16.1 billion (1988)
Fiscal year
calendar year
GDP
$31.4 billion, per capita $8,900; real growth rate 4.3% (1989 est.)
Imports
$17.3 billion (c.i.f., 1989); commodities--food, animal feed, chemicals, petroleum and petroleum products, machinery, textiles, clothing; partners--EC 66% (UK 42%, FRG 9%, France 4%), US 16%
Industrial production
growth rate 9.5% (1989 est.)
Industries
food products, brewing, textiles, clothing, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, machinery, transportation equipment, glass and crystal
Inflation rate (consumer prices)
4.2% (1989)
Overview
The economy is small, open, and trade dependent. Agriculture, once the most important sector, is now dwarfed by industry, which accounts for 35% of GNP and about 80% of exports and employs 20% of the labor force. The government has successfully reduced the rate of inflation from double-digit figures in the late 1970s to about 4% in 1989. In 1987, after years of deficits, the balance of payments was brought into the black. Unemployment, however, is a serious problem. A 1989 unemployment rate of 17.7% placed Ireland along with Spain as the countries with the worst jobless records in Western Europe.
Unemployment rate
17.7% (1989)
Communications
Airports
40 total, 37 usable; 18 with permanent-surface runways; none with runways over 3,659 m; 2 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 5 with runways 1,220-2,439 m
Civil air
23 major transport aircraft
Highways
92,294 km total; 87,422 km surfaced, 4,872 km gravel or crushed stone
Inland waterways
limited for commercial traffic
Merchant marine
67 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 113,569 GRT/139,681 DWT; includes 3 short-sea passenger, 29 cargo, 2 refrigerated cargo, 2 container, 23 petroleum, oils, and lubricants (POL) tanker, 1 specialized tanker, 2 chemical tanker, 5 bulk
Pipelines
natural gas, 225 km
Ports
Cork, Dublin, Shannon Estuary, Waterford
Railroads
Irish National Railways (CIE) operates 1,947 km 1.602-meter gauge, government owned; 485 km double track; 38 km electrified
Telecommunications
small, modern system using cable and radio relay circuits; 900,000 telephones; stations--45 AM, 16 (29 relays) FM, 18 (68 relays) TV; 5 coaxial submarine cables; 2 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT earth stations
Military and Security
Branches
Army, Naval Service, Army Air Corps
Defense expenditures
1.6% of GDP, or $500 million (1989 est.)
Military manpower
males 15-49, 870,161; 705,765 fit for military service; 33,259 reach military age (17) annually