Ireland

Airports

total: 40 usable: 39 with permanent-surface runways: 13 with runways over 3,659 m: 0 with runways 2,440-3,659 m: 2 with runways 1,220-2,439 m: 6

Highways

92,294 km total; 87,422 km paved, 4,872 km gravel or crushed stone

Inland waterways

limited for commercial traffic

Merchant marine

57 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 154,647 GRT/186,432 DWT; includes 4 short-sea passenger, 33 cargo, 2 refrigerated cargo, 4 container, 3 oil tanker, 3 specialized tanker, 3 chemical tanker, 5 bulk

Pipelines

natural gas 225 km

Ports

Cork, Dublin, Waterford

Railroads

Irish National Railways (CIE) operates 1,947 km 1.602-meter gauge, government owned; 485 km double track; 37 km electrified

Telecommunications

modern system using cable and digital microwave circuits; 900,000 telephones; broadcast stations - 9 AM, 45 FM, 86 TV; 2 coaxial submarine cables; 1 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT earth station

Affiliation

(also see separate Gaza Strip and West Bank entries)

Branches

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

Defense expenditures

exchange rate conversion - $569 million, 1-2% of GDP (1993 est.)

Manpower availability

males age 15-49 903,536; fit for military service 731,085; reach military age (17) annually 33,932 (1993 est.)

Note

The Arab territories occupied by Israel since the 1967 war are not included in the data below. As stated in the 1978 Camp David Accords and reaffirmed by President Bush's post-Gulf crisis peace initiative, the final status of the West Bank and Gaza Strip, their relationship with their neighbors, and a peace treaty between Israel and Jordan are to be negotiated among the concerned parties. The Camp David Accords further specify that these negotiations will resolve the location of the respective boundaries. Pending the completion of this process, it is US policy that the final status of the West Bank and Gaza Strip has yet to be determined (see West Bank and Gaza Strip entries). On 25 April 1982, Israel relinquished control of the Sinai to Egypt. Statistics for the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights are included in the Syria entry.

Agriculture

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

Budget

revenues $16.0 billion; expenditures $16.6 billion, including capital expenditures of $1.6 billion (1992 est.)

Currency

1 Irish pound (#Ir) = 100 pence

Economic aid

donor - ODA commitments (1980-89), $90 million

Electricity

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

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)

Exports

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

External debt

$15 billion (1990)

Fiscal year

calendar year

Imports

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

Industrial production

growth rate 8.0% (1992 est.); accounts for 37% of GDP

Industries

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

Inflation rate (consumer prices)

3.5% (1992)

National product

GDP - purchasing power equivalent - $42.4 billion (1992)

National product per capita

$12,000 (1992)

National product real growth rate

2% (1992)

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.

Unemployment rate

22.7% (1992)

Area

total area: 70,280 km2 land area: 68,890 km2 comparative area: 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

Environment

deforestation

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)

Irrigated land

NA km2

Land boundaries

total 360 km, UK 360 km

Land use

arable land: 14% permanent crops: 0% meadows and pastures: 71% forest and woodland: 5% other: 10%

Location

in the North Atlantic Ocean, across the Irish Sea from Great Britain

Map references

Europe, Standard Time Zones of the World

Maritime claims

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

Natural resources

zinc, lead, natural gas, petroleum, barite, copper, gypsum, limestone, dolomite, peat, silver

Note

strategic location on major air and sea routes between North American and northern Europe

Terrain

mostly level to rolling interior plain surrounded by rugged hills and low mountains; sea cliffs on west coast

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

Constitution

29 December 1937; adopted 1937

Digraph

EI

Diplomatic representation in US

chief of mission: Ambassador Dermot A. GALLAGHER chancery: 2234 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington DC 20008 telephone: (202) 462-3939 consulates general: Boston, Chicago, New York, and San Francisco

Elections

President: last held 9 November 1990 (next to be held November 1997); results - Mary Bourke ROBINSON 52.8%, Brian LENIHAN 47.2% Senate: last held on NA February 1992 (next to be held February 1997); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats - (60 total, 49 elected) Fianna Fail 26, Fine Gael 16, Labor 9, Progressive Democrats 2, Democratic Left 1, independents 6 House of Representatives: last held on 25 November 1992 (next to be held by June 1995); results - Fianna Fail 39.1%, Fine Gael 24.5%, Labor Party 19.3%, Progressive Democrats 4.7%, Democratic Left 2.8%, Sinn Fein 1.6%, Workers' Party 0.7%, independents 5.9%; seats - (166 total) Fianna Fail 68, Fine Gael 45, Labor Party 33, Progressive Democrats 10, Democratic Left 4, Greens 1, independents 5

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 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

Independence

6 December 1921 (from UK)

Judicial branch

Supreme Court

Leaders

Chief of State: President Mary Bourke ROBINSON (since 9 November 1990) Head of Government: Prime Minister Albert REYNOLDS (since 11 February 1992)

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)

Member of

Australian Group, BIS, CCC, CE, COCOM (cooperating country), CSCE, EBRD, EC, ECE, EIB, ESA, FAO, GATT, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, ISO, ITU, LORCS, MINURSO, MTCR, NEA, NSG, OECD, ONUSAL, UN, UNAVEM II, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNFICYP, UNIDO, UNIFIL, UNIKOM, UNPROFRO, UNTAC, UNTSO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, ZC

Names

conventional long form: none conventional short form: Ireland

National holiday

Saint Patrick's Day, 17 March

Political parties and leaders

Democratic Left, Proinsias DE ROSSA; Fianna Fail, Albert REYNOLDS; Labor Party, Richard SPRING; Fine Gael, John BRUTON; Communist Party of Ireland, Michael O'RIORDAN; Sinn Fein, Gerry ADAMS; Progressive Democrats, Desmond O'MALLEY note: Prime Minister REYNOLDS heads a coalition consisting of the Fianna Fail and the Labor Party

Suffrage

18 years of age; universal

Type

republic

US diplomatic representation

chief of mission: Ambassador William Henry G. FITZGERALD; Ambassador Designate Jean Kennedy SMITH (17 March 1993) embassy: 42 Elgin Road, Ballsbridge, Dublin mailing address: use embassy street address telephone: [353] (1) 687122 FAX: [353] (1) 689946

Birth rate

14.39 births/1,000 population (1993 est.)

Death rate

8.71 deaths/1,000 population (1993 est.)

Ethnic divisions

Celtic, English

Infant mortality rate

7.6 deaths/1,000 live births (1993 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)

Languages

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

Life expectancy at birth

total population: 75.38 years male: 72.56 years female: 78.36 years (1993 est.)

Literacy

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

Nationality

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

Net migration rate

-3.13 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1993 est.)

Population

3,529,566 (July 1993 est.)

Population growth rate

0.26% (1993 est.)

Religions

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

Total fertility rate

2.02 children born/woman (1993 est.)