$Unique_ID{COW01832} $Pretitle{423} $Title{Ireland Statistical Profile of Ireland} $Subtitle{} $Author{Central Intelligence Agency} $Affiliation{United States Government} $Subject{rate km ireland irish uk billion government labor party seats} $Date{1990} $Log{National Anthem*61300010.aud Map of Ireland*0183201.scf Flag of Ireland*0183202.scf } Country: Ireland Book: CIA World Factbook Author: Central Intelligence Agency Affiliation: United States Government Date: 1990 [Hear National Anthem] [See Map of Ireland] [See Flag of Ireland] Statistical Profile of Ireland Geography Total area: 70,280 km2; land area: 68,890 km2 Comparative area: slightly larger than West Virginia Land boundary: 360 km with UK Coastline: 1,448 km Maritime claims: Exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm Territorial sea: 3 nm Disputes: maritime boundary with the UK; 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) 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 Natural resources: zinc, lead, natural gas, crude oil, barite, copper, gypsum, limestone, dolomite, peat, silver Land use: 14% arable land; NEGL% permanent crops; 71% meadows and pastures; 5% forest and woodland; 10% other Environment: deforestation People Population: 3,550,352 (July 1989), growth rate 0.2% (1989) Birth rate: 16 births/1,000 population (1989) Death rate: 9 deaths/1,000 population (1989) Net migration rate: - 6 migrants/1,000 population (1989) Infant mortality rate: 6 deaths/1,000 live births (1989) Life expectancy at birth: 72 years male, 78 years female (1989) Total fertility rate: 2.3 children born/woman (1989) Nationality: noun--Irishman(men), Irish (collective pl.); adjective--Irish Ethnic divisions: Celtic, with English minority Religion: 94% Roman Catholic, 4% Anglican, 2% other Language: Irish (Gaelic) and English; English is the language generally used, with Gaelic spoken in a few areas, mostly along the western seaboard Literacy: 99% Labor force: 1,301,667; 46.5% services, 21.4% manufacturing and construction, 12.9% agriculture, forestry, and fishing (1986) Organized labor: 36% of labor force Government Long-form name: Republic of Ireland 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) Constitution: 29 December 1937 Legal system: based on English common law, substantially modified by indigenous concepts; Constitution adopted 1937; judicial review of legislative acts in Supreme Court; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction National holiday: St. Patrick's Day, 17 March Branches: elected president; bicameral parliament (Seanad, Dail) reflecting proportional and vocational representation; judiciary appointed by president on advice of government Leaders: Chief of State Dr. Patrick J. HILLERY, President (since 3 December 1976); Head of Government Charles J. HAUGHEY, Prime Minister (since 10 March 1987) Suffrage: universal over age 18 Elections: Dail (lower house) elected every five years (last election February 1987); president elected for seven-year term (last election March 1987) 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 Voting strength: (1987 election) Dail--Fianna Fail, 80 seats (44.1%); Fine Gael, 51 seats (27.1); Progressive Democrats, 14 seats (11.8%), Labor Party, 12 seats (6.4%); Workers' Party, 4 seats (3.8%); independents, 4 seats; Democratic Socialist Party, 1 seat; Sinn Fein no seat (1.9%) Communists: under 500 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 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 Margaret M. O. HECKLER; Embassy at 42 Elgin Road, Ballsbridge, Dublin; telephone [353] (1) 688777 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 Economy 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 2% in 1988. In 1987, after years of deficits, the balance of payments was brought into the black. Unemployment, however, is a serious problem. A 1988 unemployment rate of 18.5% placed Ireland second only to Spain as the country with the worst jobless record in Western Europe. GNP: $30.6 billion, per capita $8,640; real growth rate 0.9% (1988) Inflation rate (consumer prices): 2.2% (1988) Unemployment rate: 18.5% (1988) Budget: revenues $12.3 billion; expenditures $14.1 billion, including capital expenditures of $2.1 billion (1988 est.) Exports: $17.7 billion (f.o.b., 1988); commodities--live animals, animal products, chemicals, data processing equipment, industrial machinery; partners--EC 74% (UK 34%, FRG 11%, France 9%), US 8% Imports: $14.6 billion (c.i.f., 1988); commodities--food, animal feed, chemicals, petroleum and petroleum products, machinery, textiles, clothing; partners--EC 66% (UK 42%, FRG 8%, France 4%), US 17% External debt: $16.4 billion (1987) Industrial production: growth rate 5.6% (1988) Electricity: 4,647,000 kW capacity; 13,794 million kWh produced, 3,890 kWh per capita (1988) Industries: food products, brewing, textiles, clothing, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, machinery, transportation equipment, glass and crystal Agriculture: livestock and dairy products, turnips, barley, potatoes, sugar beets, wheat; 85% self-sufficient; food shortages--grains, fruits, vegetables Aid: NA Currency: Irish pound (plural--pounds); 1 Irish pound (LIr) = 100 pence Exchange rates: Irish pounds (LIr) per US $1--0.6856 (January 1989), 0.6553 (1988), 0.6720 (1987), 0.7454 (1986), 0.9384 (1985) Fiscal year: calendar year Communications Railroads: Irish National Railways (CIE) operates 1,947 km 1.602-meter gauge, government owned; 485 km double track; 38 km electrified Highways: 92,294 km total; 87,422 km surfaced, 4,872 km gravel or crushed stone Inland waterways: limited for commercial traffic Pipelines: natural gas, 225 km Ports: Cork, Dublin, 10 secondary, and numerous minor ports Merchant marine: 49 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 115,779 GRT/138,411 DWT; includes 3 short-sea passenger, 28 cargo, 2 refrigerated cargo, 3 container, 1 roll-on/roll-off cargo, 3 petroleum, oils, and lubricants (POL) tanker, 1 specialized tanker, 3 chemical tanker, 5 bulk Civil air: 23 major transport aircraft Airports: 40 total, 37 usable; 18 with permanent-surface runways; 1 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 4 with runways 1,220-2,439 m Telecommunications: small, modern system using cable and radio relay circuits; 900,000 telephones; stations--45 AM, 16 (29 relays) FM, 18 (68 relays) TV; 4 coaxial submarine cables; 1 satellite ground station working in INTELSAT system Defense Forces Branches: Army, Naval Service, Army Air Corps Military manpower: males 15-49, 882,382; 717,618 fit for military service; 34,390 reach military age (17) annually Military budget: $169 million, 4.3% of central government budget (1987 est.)