Background: Growing Irish nationalism resulted in independence from the United Kingdom in 1921, with six largely Protestant northern counties remaining within the UK. After World War II bloody strife between Catholics and Protestants over the status of Northern Ireland cost thousands of lives. In 1998, substantial steps toward peace were agreed to by the British and Irish governments and the Roman Catholics and Protestants of Northern Ireland.

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

Area—comparative: 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

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

Environment—international agreements:
party to: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Sulphur 94, 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-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Endangered Species, Marine Life Conservation, Tropical Timber 94

Geography—note: strategic location on major air and sea routes between North America and northern Europe; over 40% of the population resides within 97 km of Dublin

Population: 3,632,944 (July 1999 est.)

Age structure:
0-14 years: 21% (male 399,379; female 377,366)
15-64 years: 67% (male 1,232,072; female 1,213,364)
65 years and over: 12% (male 174,519; female 236,244) (1999 est.)

Population growth rate: 0.38% (1999 est.)

Birth rate: 13.58 births/1,000 population (1999 est.)

Death rate: 8.43 deaths/1,000 population (1999 est.)

Net migration rate: -1.31 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1999 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
total population: 0.99 male(s)/female (1999 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 5.94 deaths/1,000 live births (1999 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 76.39 years
male: 73.64 years
female: 79.32 years (1999 est.)

Total fertility rate: 1.81 children born/woman (1999 est.)

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

Ethnic groups: Celtic, English

Religions: Roman Catholic 92%, Anglican 3%, Islamic 0.11%, Jehovah's Witness 0.1%, Jewish 0.04%, other 4.75% (1991)

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

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

Country name:
conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Ireland

Data code: EI

Government type: 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

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 2004); 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%

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 popular vote on the basis of 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 76, Fine Gael 53, Labor Party 19, 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: 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; Democratic Left merged into the Labor Party on 1 February 1999

International organization participation: Australia Group, BIS, CCC, CE, EBRD, ECE, EIB, EMU, 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, OPCW, 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 Michael SULLIVAN
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 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—overview: Ireland is a small, modern, trade-dependent economy with growth averaging 9.5% in 1995-98. Agriculture, once the most important sector, is now dwarfed by industry, which accounts for 39% 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. Over the past decade, the Irish government has implemented a series of national economic programs designed to curb inflation, reduce government spending, and promote foreign investment. Although the unemployment rate has been halved, it remains high, and job creation is a primary concern of government policy. Recent efforts have concentrated on improving workers qualifications and the education system. Ireland joined in launching the euro currency system in January 1999 along with 10 other EU nations.

GDP: purchasing power parity—$67.1 billion (1998 est.)

GDP—real growth rate: 9.5% (1998 est.)

GDP—per capita: purchasing power parity—$18,600 (1998 est.)

GDP—composition by sector:
agriculture: 7%
industry: 39%
services: 54% (1997)

Population below poverty line: NA%

Household income or consumption by percentage share:
lowest 10%: 2.5%
highest 10%: 27.4% (1987)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 2.4% (1998)

Labor force: 1.52 million (1997 est.)

Labor force—by occupation: services 62.1%, manufacturing and construction 27%, agriculture, forestry, and fishing 10%, utilities 0.9% (1996 est.)

Unemployment rate: 7.7% (1998 est.)

Budget:
revenues: $23.5 billion
expenditures: $20.6 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (1998)

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

Industrial production growth rate: 15.8% (1998 est.)

Electricity—production: 17.843 billion kWh (1996)

Electricity—production by source:
fossil fuel: 95.83%
hydro: 3.99%
nuclear: 0%
other: 0.18% (1996)

Electricity—consumption: 17.743 billion kWh (1996)

Electricity—exports: 200 million kWh (1996)

Electricity—imports: 100 million kWh (1996)

Agriculture—products: turnips, barley, potatoes, sugar beets, wheat; beef, dairy products

Exports: $60.9 billion (f.o.b., 1998)

Exports—commodities: chemicals, data processing equipment, industrial machinery, live animals, animal products (1997)

Exports—partners: EU 67% (UK 24%, Germany 12%, France 8%), US 11% (1997)

Imports: $43.7 billion (c.i.f., 1998)

Imports—commodities: food, animal feed, data processing equipment, petroleum and petroleum products, machinery, textiles, clothing (1997)

Imports—partners: EU 55% (UK 34%, Germany 6%, France 6%), US 15% (1997)

Debt—external: $11 billion (1998)

Economic aid—donor: ODA, $153 million (1995)

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

Exchange rates: Irish pounds (£Ir) per US$1—0.6815 (January 1999), 0.7014 (1998), 0.6588 (1997), 0.6248 (1996), 0.6235 (1995), 0.6676 (1994)
note: on 1 January 1999, the European Union introduced a common currency that is now being used by financial institutions in some member countries at the rate of 0.8597 euros per US$ and a fixed rate of 0.78764 Irish pounds per euro; the euro will replace the local currency in consenting countries for all transactions in 2002

Fiscal year: calendar year

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: 10 (in addition, there are 36 low-power repeaters) (1997)

Televisions: 1.025 million (1990 est.)

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: 31 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 79,284 GRT/117,652 DWT
ships by type: bulk 1, cargo 28, container 2 (1998 est.)

Airports: 44 (1998 est.)

Airports—with paved runways:
total: 16
over 3,047 m: 1
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 4
914 to 1,523 m: 3
under 914 m: 7 (1998 est.)

Airports—with unpaved runways:
total: 28
914 to 1,523 m: 3
under 914 m: 25 (1998 est.)

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

Military manpower—military age: 17 years of age

Military manpower—availability:
males age 15-49: 974,226 (1999 est.)

Military manpower—fit for military service:
males age 15-49: 790,155 (1999 est.)

Military manpower—reaching military age annually:
males: 33,810 (1999 est.)

Military expenditures—dollar figure: $771 million (1997)

Military expenditures—percent of GDP: 1% (1997)

Disputes—international: Northern Ireland issue with the UK (historic peace agreement signed 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 destined for Western Europe

Source: 1999 CIA World Factbook