Ireland Geography 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: 70,280 sq km land: 68,890 sq km water: 1,390 sq km AreaÑcomparative: slightly larger than West Virginia Land boundaries: total: 360 km border countries: UK 360 km Coastline: 1,448 km Maritime claims: continental shelf: not specified exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm territorial sea: 12 nm 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 extremes: lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m highest point: Carrauntoohill 1,041 m Natural resources: zinc, lead, natural gas, barite, copper, gypsum, limestone, dolomite, peat, silver Land use: arable land: 13% permanent crops: 0% permanent pastures: 68% forests and woodland: 5% other: 14% (1993 est.) Irrigated land: NA sq km Natural hazards: NA EnvironmentÑcurrent issues: water pollution, especially of lakes, from agricultural runoff EnvironmentÑinternational 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 GeographyÑnote: 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: 3,619,480 (July 1998 est.) 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.) Population growth rate: 0.36% (1998 est.) Birth rate: 13.49 births/1,000 population (1998 est.) Death rate: 8.51 deaths/1,000 population (1998 est.) Net migration rate: -1.39 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1998 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 (1998 est.) Infant mortality rate: 6.04 deaths/1,000 live births (1998 est.) Life expectancy at birth: total population: 76.19 years male: 73.44 years female: 79.11 years (1998 est.) Total fertility rate: 1.82 children born/woman (1998 est.) Nationality: noun: Irishman(men), Irishwoman(men), Irish (collective plural) adjective: Irish Ethnic groups: 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: definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 98% (1981 est.) male: NA% female: NA% Government Country name: conventional long form: none conventional short form: Ireland Data code: EI Government type: republic National 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 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 voteÑMary MCALEESE 44.8%, Mary BANOTTI 29.6% 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: SenateÑlast held NA August 1997 (next to be held NA 2002); House of RepresentativesÑlast held 6 June 1997 (next to be held NA 2002) election results: SenateÑpercent of vote by partyÑNA; seats by partyÑNA; House of RepresentativesÑpercent of vote by partyÑNA; seats by partyÑFianna Fail 77, Fine Gael 54, Labor Party 17, Progressive Democrats 4, Democratic Left 4, Greens 2, Sinn Fein 1, independents 7 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 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 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 FAX: [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 reversedÑorange (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 EconomyÑoverview: 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. GDP: purchasing power parityÑ$59.9 billion (1997 est.) GDPÑreal growth rate: 6% (1997 est.) GDPÑper capita: purchasing power parityÑ$18,600 (1997 est.) GDPÑcomposition by sector: agriculture: 8.5% industry: 38.3% services: 53.2% (1995) Inflation rateÑconsumer 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.) Unemployment rate: 11.8% (1997) Budget: revenues: $20.6 billion expenditures: $20.3 billion, including capital expenditures of $5.2 billion (1997) Industries: food products, brewing, textiles, clothing, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, machinery, transportation equipment, glass and crystal Industrial production growth rate: 10.1% (1997 est.) ElectricityÑcapacity: 3.62 million kW (1995) ElectricityÑproduction: 16.586 billion kWh (1995) ElectricityÑconsumption per capita: 4,672 kWh (1995) AgricultureÑproducts: turnips, barley, potatoes, sugar beets, wheat; meat and dairy products 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% 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% DebtÑexternal: $14 billion (1996) Economic aid: donor: ODA, $81 million (1993) Currency: 1 Irish pound (£Ir) = 100 pence Exchange rates: Irish pounds (£Ir) per US$1Ñ0.7233 (January 1997), 0.6588 (1997), 0.6248 (1996), 0.6235 (1995), 0.6676 (1994), 0.6816 (1993) Fiscal year: calendar year Communications Telephones: 900,000 (1987 est.) Telephone system: modern digital system using cable and microwave radio relay domestic: microwave radio relay international: satellite earth stationÑ1 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.) Transportation Railways: total: 1,947 km broad gauge: 1,947 km 1.600-m gauge (38 km electrified; 485 km double track) (1996) Highways: total: 92,500 km paved: 87,042 km (including 80 km of expressways) unpaved: 5,458 km (1996 est.) Waterways: limited for commercial traffic Pipelines: natural gas 225 km Ports and harbors: Arklow, Cork, Drogheda, Dublin, Foynes, Galway, Limerick, New Ross, Waterford 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.) Airports: 44 (1997 est.) AirportsÑwith 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.) AirportsÑwith unpaved runways: total: 29 914 to 1,523 m: 4 under 914 m: 25 (1997 est.) Military Military branches: Army (includes Naval Service and Air Corps), National Police (Garda Siochana) Military manpowerÑmilitary age: 17 years of age Military manpowerÑavailability: males age 15-49: 967,621 (1998 est.) Military manpowerÑfit for military service: males: 784,766 (1998 est.) Military manpowerÑreaching military age annually: males: 35,338 (1998 est.) Military expendituresÑdollar figure: $618 million (1994) Military expendituresÑpercent of GDP: 1.3% (1994) Transnational Issues DisputesÑinternational: 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