1998 Edition

Area

total: 70,280 sq km land: 68,890 sq km water: 1,390 sq km

Area-comparative

slightly larger than West Virginia

Climate

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

Coastline

1,448 km

Elevation extremes

lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m highest point: Carrauntoohill 1,041 m

Environment-current issues

water pollution, especially of lakes, from agricultural runoff

Environment-international agreements

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

Geographic coordinates

53 00 N, 8 00 W

Geography-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

Irrigated land

NA sq km

Land boundaries

total: 360 km border countries: UK 360 km

Land use

arable land: 13% permanent crops: 0% permanent pastures: 68% forests and woodland: 5% other: 14% (1993 est.)

Location

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

Map references

Europe

Maritime claims

continental shelf: not specified exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm territorial sea: 12 nm

Natural hazards

NA

Natural resources

zinc, lead, natural gas, 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

Age structure

0-14 years: 22% (male 406,741; female 384,459) 15-64 years: 67% (male 1,218,514; female 1,200,214) 65 years and over: 11% (male 173,978; female 235,574) (July 1998 est.)

Birth rate

13.49 births/1,000 population (1998 est.)

Death rate

8.51 deaths/1,000 population (1998 est.)

Ethnic groups

Celtic, English

Infant mortality rate

6.04 deaths/1,000 live births (1998 est.)

Languages

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

Life expectancy at birth

total population: 76.19 years male: 73.44 years female: 79.11 years (1998 est.)

Literacy

definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 98% (1981 est.) male: NA% female: NA%

Nationality

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

Net migration rate

-1.39 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1998 est.)

Population

3,619,480 (July 1998 est.)

Population growth rate

0.36% (1998 est.)

Religions

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

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 (1998 est.)

Total fertility rate

1.82 children born/woman (1998 est.)

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

Constitution

29 December 1937; adopted 1 July 1937 by plebiscite

Country name

conventional long form: none conventional short form: Ireland

Data code

EI

Executive branch

chief of state: President Mary MCALEESE (since 11 November 1997) head of government: Prime Minister Bertie AHERN (since 26 June 1997) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president with previous nomination by the prime minister and approval of the House of Representatives elections: president elected by popular vote for a seven-year term; election last held 31 October 1997 (next to be held NA November 2001); prime minister nominated by the House of Representatives and appointed by the president election results: Mary MCALEESE elected president; percent of vote-Mary MCALEESE 44.8%, Mary BANOTTI 29.6%

FAX

[1] (202) 232-5993 consulate(s) general: Boston, Chicago, New York, and San Francisco Diplomatic representation from the US: chief of mission: Ambassador Jean Kennedy SMITH embassy: 42 Elgin Road, Ballsbridge, Dublin mailing address: use embassy street address telephone: [353] (1) 6688777

[353] (1) 6689946

Flag description

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

Government type

republic

Independence

6 December 1921 (from UK)

International organization participation

Australia Group, BIS, CCC, CE, EBRD, ECE, EIB, ESA, EU, FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU, MINURSO, MTCR, NEA, NSG, OECD, OSCE, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNFICYP, UNIDO, UNIFIL, UNIKOM, UNITAR, UNMIBH, UNMOP, UNPREDEP, UNTSO, UPU, WEU (observer), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTrO, ZC Diplomatic representation in the US: chief of mission: Ambassador Sean O'HUIGINN chancery: 2234 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 462-3939

Judicial branch

Supreme Court, judges appointed by the president on the advice of the government (prime minister and cabinet) Political parties and leaders: Democratic Left [Proinsias DE ROSSA]; Fianna Fail [Bertie AHERN]; Labor Party [Ruairi QUINN]; Fine Gael [John BRUTON]; Communist Party of Ireland [Michael O'RIORDAN]; Sinn Fein [Gerry ADAMS]; Progressive Democrats [Mary HARNEY]; The Workers' Party [Marion DONNELLY]; Green Alliance [Patricia HOWARD] note: Prime Minister AHERN heads a two-party coalition consisting of Fianna Fail and the Progressive Democrats

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 or Oireachtas consists of the Senate or Seanad Eireann (60 seats, 49 elected by the universities and from candidates put forward by five vocational panels, 11 are nominated by the prime minister; members serve five-year terms) and the House of Representatives or Dail Eireann (166 seats; members are elected by direct popular vote and proportional representation to serve five-year terms) elections: Senate-last held NA August 1997 (next to be held NA 2002); House of Representatives-last held 6 June 1997 (next to be held NA 2002) election results: Senate-percent of vote by party-NA; seats by party-NA; House of Representatives-percent of vote by party-NA; seats by party-Fianna Fail 77, Fine Gael 54, Labor Party 17, Progressive Democrats 4, Democratic Left 4, Greens 2, Sinn Fein 1, independents 7

National capital

Dublin

National holiday

Saint Patrick's Day, 17 March

Suffrage

18 years of age; universal

Agriculture-products

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

Budget

revenues: $20.6 billion expenditures: $20.3 billion, including capital expenditures of $5.2 billion (1997)

Currency

1 Irish pound (£Ir) = 100 pence

Debt-external

$14 billion (1996)

Economic aid

donor: ODA, $81 million (1993)

Economy-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 27% 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. Since the 1980s, 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.

Electricity-capacity

3.62 million kW (1995)

Electricity-consumption per capita

4,672 kWh (1995)

Electricity-production

16.586 billion kWh (1995)

Exchange rates

Irish pounds (£Ir) per US$1-0.7233 (January 1997), 0.6588 (1997), 0.6248 (1996), 0.6235 (1995), 0.6676 (1994), 0.6816 (1993)

Exports

total value: $54.8 billion (f.o.b., 1997) commodities: chemicals, data processing equipment, industrial machinery, live animals, animal products partners: EU 66% (UK 22%, Germany 13%, France 8%), US 6%

Fiscal year

calendar year Communications

GDP

purchasing power parity-$59.9 billion (1997 est.)

GDP-composition by sector

agriculture: 8.5% industry: 38.3% services: 53.2% (1995)

GDP-per capita

purchasing power parity-$18,600 (1997 est.)

GDP-real growth rate

6% (1997 est.)

Imports

total value: $44.9 billion (c.i.f., 1997) commodities: food, animal feed, data processing equipment, petroleum and petroleum products, machinery, textiles, clothing partners: EU 52% (UK 29%, Germany 10.2%, France 4%), US 12%

Industrial production growth rate

10.1% (1997 est.)

Industries

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

Inflation rate-consumer price index

1.6% (1997)

Labor force

total: 1.52 million (1997 est.) by occupation: services 62.1%, manufacturing and construction 27.0%, agriculture, forestry, and fishing 10.0%, utilities 0.9% (1996 est.)

Radio broadcast stations

AM 9, FM 45, shortwave 0

Radios

2.2 million (1991 est.)

Telephone system

modern digital system using cable and microwave radio relay domestic: microwave radio relay international: satellite earth station-1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean)

Telephones

900,000 (1987 est.)

Television broadcast stations

86 (1987 est.)

Televisions

1.025 million (1990 est.)

Unemployment rate

11.8% (1997)

Airports

44 (1997 est.) Airports-with paved runways: total: 15 over 3,047 m: 1 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 3 914 to 1,523 m: 3 under 914 m: 7 (1997 est.) Airports-with unpaved runways: total: 29 914 to 1,523 m: 4 under 914 m: 25 (1997 est.)

Highways

total: 92,500 km paved: 87,042 km (including 80 km of expressways) unpaved: 5,458 km (1996 est.)

Merchant marine

total: 39 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 116,059 GRT/149,149 DWT ships by type: bulk 1, cargo 30, chemical tanker 1, container 3, oil tanker 2, short-sea passenger 2 (1997 est.)

Pipelines

natural gas 225 km Ports and harbors: Arklow, Cork, Drogheda, Dublin, Foynes, Galway, Limerick, New Ross, Waterford

Railways

total: 1,947 km broad gauge: 1,947 km 1.600-m gauge (38 km electrified; 485 km double track) (1996)

Waterways

limited for commercial traffic

Military branches

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

Military expenditures-dollar figure

$618 million (1994)

Military expenditures-percent of GDP

1.3% (1994)

Military manpower-availability

males age 15-49: 967,621 (1998 est.) Military manpower-fit for military service: males: 784,766 (1998 est.)

Military manpower-military age

17 years of age

Military manpower-reaching military age annually

males: 35,338 (1998 est.)

Current issues

The territories occupied by Israel since the 1967 war are not included in the data below, unless otherwise noted. In keeping with the framework established at the Madrid Conference in October 1991, bilateral negotiations are being conducted between Israel and Palestinian representatives, and Israel and Syria, to achieve a permanent settlement between them. On 25 April 1982, Israel withdrew from the Sinai pursuant to the 1979 Israel-Egypt Peace treaty. Outstanding territorial and other disputes with Jordan were resolved in the 26 October 1994 Israel-Jordan Treaty of Peace.

Disputes-international

Northern Ireland question with the UK (historic peace agreement approved 10 April 1998); Rockall continental shelf dispute involving Denmark, Iceland, and the UK (Ireland and the UK have signed a boundary agreement in the Rockall area)

Illicit drugs

transshipment point for and consumer of hashish from North Africa to the UK and Netherlands and of European-produced synthetic drugs; transshipment point for heroin and cocaine (also see separate Introduction