265 lines
21 KiB
Plaintext
265 lines
21 KiB
Plaintext
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IRELAND
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GEOGRAPHY
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Total area: 70,280 km2; land area: 68,890 km2
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Comparative area: slightly larger than West Virginia
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Land boundary: 360 km with UK
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Coastline: 1,448 km
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Maritime claims:
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Continental shelf: no precise definition;
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Exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm;
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Territorial sea: 12 nm
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Disputes: Northern Ireland question with the UK; Rockall
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continental shelf dispute involving Denmark, Iceland, and the UK (Ireland
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and the UK have signed a boundary agreement in the Rockall area)
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Climate: temperate maritime; modified by North Atlantic Current;
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mild winters, cool summers; consistently humid; overcast about half the
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time
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Terrain: mostly level to rolling interior plain surrounded by
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rugged hills and low mountains; sea cliffs on west coast
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Natural resources: zinc, lead, natural gas, crude oil, barite,
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copper, gypsum, limestone, dolomite, peat, silver
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Land use: arable land 14%; permanent crops NEGL%; meadows and
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pastures 71%; forest and woodland 5%; other 10%
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Environment: deforestation
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PEOPLE
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Population: 3,489,165 (July 1991), growth rate - 0.3% (1991)
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Birth rate: 15 births/1,000 population (1991)
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Death rate: 9 deaths/1,000 population (1991)
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Net migration rate: - 9 migrants/1,000 population (1991)
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Infant mortality rate: 6 deaths/1,000 live births (1991)
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Life expectancy at birth: 73 years male, 79 years female (1991)
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Total fertility rate: 2.1 children born/woman (1991)
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Nationality: noun--Irishman(men), Irish (collective pl.);
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adjective--Irish
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Ethnic divisions: Celtic, with English minority
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Religion: Roman Catholic 93%, Anglican 3%, none 1%, unknown 2%,
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other 1% (1981)
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Language: Irish (Gaelic) and English; English is the language
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generally used, with Gaelic spoken in a few areas, mostly along the
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western seaboard
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Literacy: 98% (male NA%, female NA%) age 15 and over can
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read and write (1981 est.)
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Labor force: 1,293,000; services 57.0%, manufacturing and
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construction 26.1%, agriculture, forestry, and fishing 15.0%,
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energy and mining 1.9% (1988)
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Organized labor: 36% of labor force
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GOVERNMENT
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Long-form name: none
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Type: republic
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Capital: Dublin
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Administrative divisions: 26 counties; Carlow, Cavan, Clare, Cork,
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Donegal, Dublin, Galway, Kerry, Kildare, Kilkenny, Laois, Leitrim,
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Limerick, Longford, Louth, Mayo, Meath, Monaghan, Offaly, Roscommon,
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Sligo, Tipperary, Waterford, Westmeath, Wexford, Wicklow
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Independence: 6 December 1921 (from UK)
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Constitution: 29 December 1937; adopted 1937
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Legal system: based on English common law, substantially modified
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by indigenous concepts; judicial review of legislative acts in Supreme
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Court; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
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National holiday: Saint Patrick's Day, 17 March
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Executive branch: president, prime minister, deputy prime minister,
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Cabinet
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Legislative branch: bicameral Parliament (Oireachtas) consists of
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an upper house or Senate (Seanad Eireann) and a lower house or House of
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Representatives (Dail Eireann)
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Judicial branch: Supreme Court
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Leaders:
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Chief of State--President Mary Bourke ROBINSON (since 9 November
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1990);
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Head of Government--Prime Minister Charles J. HAUGHEY (since
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12 July 1989, the fourth time elected as Prime Minister)
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Political parties and leaders:
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Fianna Fail, Charles HAUGHEY;
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Labor Party, Richard SPRING;
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Fine Gael, John BRUTON;
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Communist Party of Ireland, Michael O'RIORDAN;
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Workers' Party, Proinsias DEROSSA;
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Sinn Fein, Gerry ADAMS;
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Progressive Democrats, Desmond O'MALLEY;
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note--Prime Minister HAUGHEY heads a coalition consisting of the
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Fianna Fail and the Progressive Democrats
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Suffrage: universal at age 18
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Elections:
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President--last held 9 November 1990 (next to be held November
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1997); results--Mary Bourke ROBINSON 52.8%, Brian LENIHAN 47.2%;
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Senate--last held on 17 February 1987 (next to be held February
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1992);
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results--percent of vote by party NA;
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seats--(60 total, 49 elected) Fianna Fail 30, Fine Gael 16, Labor 3,
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Independents 11;
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House of Representatives--last held on 12 July 1989 (next to be
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held NA June 1994);
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results--Fianna Fail 44.0%, Fine Gael 29.4%, Labor Party 9.3%,
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Progressive Democrats 5.4%, Workers' Party 4.9%, Sinn Fein 1.1%,
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independents 5.9%;
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seats--(166 total) Fianna Fail 77, Fine Gael 55, Labor Party 15,
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Workers' Party 7, Progressive Democrats 6, independents 6
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Communists: under 500
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Member of: BIS, CCC, CE, CSCE, EBRD, EC, ECE, EIB, ESA, FAO, GATT,
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IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT,
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INTERPOL, IOC, ISO, ITU, LORCS, NEA, OECD, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNFICYP,
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UNIDO, UNIFIL, UNIIMOG, UNTSO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO
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Diplomatic representation: Ambassador Padraic N. MACKERNAN;
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Chancery at 2234 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington DC 20008; telephone
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(202) 462-3939; there are Irish Consulates General in Boston, Chicago,
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New York, and San Francisco;
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US--Ambassador Richard A. MOORE; Embassy at 42 Elgin Road,
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Ballsbridge, Dublin; telephone 353 (1) 688777
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Flag: three equal vertical bands of green (hoist side), white, and
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orange; similar to the flag of the Ivory Coast which is shorter and
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has the colors reversed--orange (hoist side), white, and green; also
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similar to the flag of Italy which is shorter and has colors of green
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(hoist side), white, and red
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ECONOMY
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Overview: The economy is small, open, and trade dependent.
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Agriculture, once the most important sector, is now dwarfed by industry,
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which accounts for 37% of GDP and about 80% of exports and employs 26%
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of the labor force. The government has successfully reduced the rate of
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inflation from double-digit figures in the late 1970s to 3.3% in
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1990. In 1987, after years of deficits, the balance of payments was
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brought into the black. Unemployment, however, is a serious problem. A
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1990 unemployment rate of 16.6% placed Ireland along with Spain as the
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countries with the worst jobless records in Western Europe.
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GDP: $33.9 billion, per capita $9,690; real growth rate 4.1%
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(1990)
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Inflation rate (consumer prices): 3.3% (1990)
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Unemployment rate: 16.6% (1990)
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Budget: revenues $11.3 billion; expenditures $11.7 billion,
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including capital expenditures of $1.6 billion (1990)
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Exports: $24.6 billion (f.o.b., 1990);
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commodities--chemicals, data processing equipment, industrial
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machinery, live animals, animal products;
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partners--EC 74% (UK 34%, FRG 11%, France 10%), US 8%
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Imports: $20.7 billion (c.i.f., 1990);
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commodities--food, animal feed, chemicals, petroleum and petroleum
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products, machinery, textiles, clothing;
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partners--EC 66% (UK 41%, FRG 9%, France 4%), US 16%
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External debt: $16.0 billion (1990)
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Industrial production: growth rate 4.7% (1990); accounts for
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37% of GDP
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Electricity: 4,957,000 kW capacity; 14,480 million kWh produced,
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4,080 kWh per capita (1989)
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Industries: food products, brewing, textiles, clothing, chemicals,
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pharmaceuticals, machinery, transportation equipment, glass and crystal
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Agriculture: accounts for 10% of GNP and 15% of the labor force;
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principal crops--turnips, barley, potatoes, sugar beets, wheat;
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livestock--meat and dairy products; 85% self-sufficient in food; food
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shortages include bread grain, fruits, vegetables
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Economic aid: donor--ODA commitments (1980-89), $90 million
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Currency: Irish pound (plural--pounds); 1 Irish pound (LIr) =
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100 pence
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Exchange rates: Irish pounds (LIr) per US$1--0.5656 (January
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1991), 0.6030 (1990), 0.7472 (1989), 0.6553 (1988), 0.6720 (1987), 0.7454
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(1986), 0.9384 (1985)
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Fiscal year: calendar year
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COMMUNICATIONS
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Railroads: Irish National Railways (CIE) operates 1,947 km
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1.602-meter gauge, government owned; 485 km double track; 38 km
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electrified
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Highways: 92,294 km total; 87,422 km surfaced, 4,872 km gravel or
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crushed stone
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Inland waterways: limited for commercial traffic
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Pipelines: natural gas, 225 km
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Ports: Cork, Dublin, Shannon Estuary, Waterford
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Merchant marine: 53 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 138,967
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GRT/164,628 DWT; includes 4 short-sea passenger, 31 cargo, 2
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refrigerated cargo, 3 container, 2 petroleum, oils, and lubricants (POL)
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tanker, 3 specialized tanker, 2 chemical tanker, 6 bulk
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Civil air: 23 major transport aircraft
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Airports: 40 total, 37 usable; 18 with permanent-surface runways;
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none with runways over 3,659 m; 2 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 6 with
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runways 1,220-2,439 m
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Telecommunications: small, modern system using cable and radio
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relay circuits; 900,000 telephones; stations--45 AM, 16 (29 relays) FM,
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18 (68 relays) TV; 5 coaxial submarine cables; 2 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT
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earth stations
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DEFENSE FORCES
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Branches: Army (including Naval Service and Air Corps), National
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Police (GARDA)
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Manpower availability: males 15-49, 871,578; 705,642 fit for
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military service; 33,175 reach military age (17) annually
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Defense expenditures: $458 million, 1.6% of GDP (1990 est.)
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