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2 definitions found
From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:
Ireland
n 1: a republic consisting of 26 of 32 counties comprising the
island of Ireland; achieved independence from the United
Kingdom in 1921 [syn: {Eire}, {Irish Free State}]
2: an island comprising the republic of Ireland and Northern
Ireland [syn: {Hibernia}, {Emerald Isle}]
From CIA World Factbook 2002 [world02]:
Ireland
Introduction Ireland
--------------------
Background: A failed 1916 Easter Monday
Rebellion touched off several years
of guerrilla warfare that in 1921
resulted in independence from the UK
for the 26 southern counties; the
six northern counties (Ulster)
remained part of Great Britain. In
1948 Ireland withdrew from the
British Commonwealth; it joined the
European Community in 1973. Irish
governments have sought the peaceful
unification of Ireland and have
cooperated with Britain against
terrorist groups. A peace settlement
for Northern Ireland, known as the
Good Friday Agreement and approved
in 1998, is currently being
implemented.
Geography 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
water: 1,390 sq km
land: 68,890 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: 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: Carrauntoohil 1,041 m
Natural resources: zinc, lead, natural gas, barite,
copper, gypsum, limestone, dolomite,
peat, silver
Land use: arable land: 19.49%
permanent crops: 0.04%
other: 80.46% (1998 est.)
Irrigated land: NA sq km
Natural hazards: NA
Environment - current issues: water pollution, especially of
lakes, from agricultural runoff
Environment - international party to: Air Pollution, Air
agreements: 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,
Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands,
Whaling
signed, but not ratified: Air
Pollution-Persistent Organic
Pollutants, Climate Change-Kyoto
Protocol, Endangered Species, Marine
Life Conservation
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
People Ireland
--------------
Population: 3,883,159 (July 2002 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: 21.3% (male 425,366;
female 403,268)
15-64 years: 67.3% (male 1,307,469;
female 1,305,038)
65 years and over: 11.4% (male
191,927; female 250,091) (2002 est.)
Population growth rate: 1.07% (2002 est.)
Birth rate: 14.62 births/1,000 population (2002
est.)
Death rate: 8.01 deaths/1,000 population (2002
est.)
Net migration rate: 4.12 migrant(s)/1,000 population
(2002 est.)
Sex ratio: at birth: 1.07 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.77 male(s)/
female
total population: 0.98 male(s)/
female (2002 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 5.43 deaths/1,000 live births (2002
est.)
Life expectancy at birth: total population: 77.17 years
female: 80.12 years (2002 est.)
male: 74.41 years
Total fertility rate: 1.9 children born/woman (2002 est.)
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: 0.1% (1999 est.)
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/ 2,200 (1999 est.)
AIDS:
HIV/AIDS - deaths: less than 100 (1999 est.)
Nationality: noun: Irishman(men), Irishwoman
(women), Irish (collective plural)
adjective: Irish
Ethnic groups: Celtic, English
Religions: Roman Catholic 91.6%, Church of
Ireland 2.5%, other 5.9% (1998)
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%
Government Ireland
------------------
Country name: conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Ireland
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 by treaty)
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
note: government coalition - Fianna
Fail and the Progressive Democrats
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)
election results: Senate - percent
of vote by party - NA%; seats by
party - Fianna Fail 29, Fine Gael
16, Labor Party 4, Progressive
Democrats 4, others 7; House of
Representatives - percent of vote by
party - NA%; seats by party - Fianna
Fail 80, Fine Gael 31, Labor Party
21, Progressive Democrats 8, Green
Party 6, Sinn Fein 5, others 15
elections: Senate - last held NA
August 1997 (next to be held NA
August 2002); House of
Representatives - last held 17 May
2002 (next to be held NA May 2007)
Judicial branch: Supreme Court (judges appointed by
the president on the advice of the
prime minister and cabinet)
Political parties and leaders: Fianna Fail [Bertie AHERN]; Fine
Gael [Michael NOONAN]; Green Party
[Trevor SARGENT]; Labor Party
[Ruairi QUINN]; Progressive
Democrats [Mary HARNEY]; Sinn Fein
[Gerry ADAMS]; Socialist Party [Joe
HIGGINS]; The Workers' Party [Tom
FRENCH]
Political pressure groups and NA
leaders:
International organization Australia Group, BIS, CCC, CE, EAPC,
participation: EBRD, ECE, EIB, EMU, ESA, EU, FAO,
IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM,
IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO,
IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM
(observer), ISO, ITU, MINURSO,
MONUC, NAM (guest), NEA, NSG, OAS
(observer), OECD, OPCW, OSCE, PFP,
UN, UN Security Council (temporary),
UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNFICYP, UNHCR,
UNIDO, UNIFIL, UNIKOM, UNITAR,
UNMEE, UNMIBH, UNMIK, UNMOP, UNTAET,
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
consulate(s) general: Boston,
Chicago, New York, and San Francisco
FAX: [1] (202) 232-5993
telephone: [1] (202) 462-3939
Diplomatic representation from the chief of mission: Ambassador Richard
US: J. EGAN
embassy: 42 Elgin Road, Ballsbridge,
Dublin 4
mailing address: use embassy street
address
telephone: [353] (1) 668-7122/668-
8777
FAX: [353] (1) 668-9946
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 Ireland
---------------
Economy - overview: Ireland is a small, modern, trade-
dependent economy with growth
averaging a robust 9% in 1995-2001.
Agriculture, once the most important
sector, is now dwarfed by industry,
which accounts for 38% 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, increase
labor force skills, and promote
foreign investment. Ireland joined
in launching the euro currency
system in January 1999 along with 10
other EU nations. The economy felt
the impact of the global economic
slowdown in 2001, particularly in
the high-tech export sector; the
growth rate was cut by nearly half.
Growth in 2002 is expected to fall
in the 3%-5% range.
GDP: purchasing power parity - $104.7
billion (2001 est.)
GDP - real growth rate: 5.6% (2001 est.)
GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $27,300
(2001 est.)
GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: 4%
industry: 38%
services: 58% (2000)
Population below poverty line: 10% (1997 est.)
Household income or consumption by lowest 10%: 2%
percentage share: highest 10%: 27.3% (1997)
Distribution of family income - Gini 35.9 (1987)
index:
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 4.9% (2001)
Labor force: 1.8 million (2001)
Labor force - by occupation: services 64%, industry 28%,
agriculture 8% (2000 est.)
Unemployment rate: 4.3% (2001)
Budget: revenues: $34 billion
expenditures: $27 billion, including
capital expenditures of $NA (2001)
Industries: food products, brewing, textiles,
clothing; chemicals,
pharmaceuticals, machinery,
transportation equipment, glass and
crystal; software
Industrial production growth rate: 6.5% (2001 est.)
Electricity - production: 22.285 billion kWh (2000)
Electricity - production by source: fossil fuel: 94.86%
hydro: 3.77%
other: 1.37% (2000)
nuclear: 0%
Electricity - consumption: 20.823 billion kWh (2000)
Electricity - exports: 71 million kWh (2000)
Electricity - imports: 169 million kWh (2000)
Agriculture - products: turnips, barley, potatoes, sugar
beets, wheat; beef, dairy products
Exports: $75.9 billion (f.o.b., 2001)
Exports - commodities: machinery and equipment, computers,
chemicals, pharmaceuticals; live
animals, animal products
Exports - partners: EU 63% (UK 20%, Germany 11%, France
8%, Netherlands 6%, Belgium 5%), US
20% (2000)
Imports: $49.5 billion (f.o.b., 2001)
Imports - commodities: data processing equipment, other
machinery and equipment, chemicals;
petroleum and petroleum products,
textiles, clothing
Imports - partners: EU 61% (UK 33%, Germany 6%, France
5%, Netherlands 4%), US 16%, Japan
4% (2000)
Debt - external: $11 billion (1998)
Economic aid - donor: ODA, $283 million (2001)
Currency: euro (EUR); Irish pound (IEP)
note: on 1 January 1999, the
European Monetary Union introduced
the euro as a common currency to be
used by financial institutions of
member countries; on 1 January 2002,
the euro became the sole currency
for everyday transactions within the
member countries
Currency code: EUR; IEP
Exchange rates: euros per US dollar - 1.1324
(January 2002), 1.1175 (2001),
1.0854 (2000), 0.9386 (1999); Irish
pounds per US dollar - 0.7014
(1998), 0.6588 (1997)
Fiscal year: calendar year
Communications Ireland
----------------------
Telephones - main lines in use: 1.59 million (2001)
Telephones - mobile cellular: 2 million (2001)
Telephone system: general assessment: 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 106, shortwave 0 (1998)
Radios: 2.55 million (1997)
Television broadcast stations: 4 (many low-power repeaters) (2001)
Televisions: 1.82 million (2001)
Internet country code: .ie
Internet Service Providers (ISPs): 22 (2000)
Internet users: 1.25 million (2001)
Transportation Ireland
----------------------
Railways: total: 3,314 km
broad gauge: 1,949 km 1.600-m gauge
(38 km electrified; 485 km double-
tracked)
narrow gauge: 1,365 km 0.914-m gauge
(operated by the Irish Peat Board to
transport peat to power stations and
briqueting plants) (2001)
Highways: total: 92,500 km
paved: 87,043 km (including 115 km
of expressways)
unpaved: 5,457 km (1999 est.)
Waterways: 700 km (limited facilities for
commercial traffic) (1998)
Pipelines: natural gas 7,592 km (transmission
1,158 km; distribution 6,434 km)
(2000)
Ports and harbors: Arklow, Cork, Drogheda, Dublin,
Foynes, Galway, Limerick, New Ross,
Waterford
Merchant marine: total: 26 ships (1,000 GRT or over)
totaling 110,741 GRT/127,342 DWT
note: includes some foreign-owned
ships registered here as a flag of
convenience: Germany 2 (2002 est.)
ships by type: bulk 4, cargo 20,
container 1, short-sea passenger 1
Airports: 41 (2001)
Airports - with paved runways: total: 17
over 3,047 m: 1
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 3
914 to 1,523 m: 5
under 914 m: 7 (2001)
Airports - with unpaved runways: total: 24
914 to 1,523 m: 2
under 914 m: 22 (2001)
Military Ireland
----------------
Military branches: Army (including Naval Service and
Air Corps), National Police (Garda
Siochana)
Military manpower - military age: 17 years of age (2002 est.)
Military manpower - availability: males age 15-49: 1,013,739 (2002
est.)
Military manpower - fit for military males age 15-49: 816,744 (2002 est.)
service:
Military manpower - reaching males: 32,287 (2002 est.)
military age annually:
Military expenditures - dollar $700 million (FY00/01)
figure:
Military expenditures - percent of 0.9% (FY00/01)
GDP:
Transnational Issues Ireland
----------------------------
Disputes - international: disputes with Iceland, Denmark, and
the UK over the Faroe Islands
continental shelf boundary outside
200 NM
Illicit drugs: transshipment point for and consumer
of hashish from North Africa to the
UK and Netherlands and of European-
produced synthetic drugs; minor
transshipment point for heroin and
cocaine destined for Western Europe
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