Ireland

republicIndependence 6 December 1921 (from UK)

Ireland as the 1990 edition of the CIA World Factbook published it: 72 fields, one of 36 editions from 1990 to 2025.

field in that editiontext changed from the edition beforenot in that editionthe open editionEach field below ends in its editions, 1990 to 2025. Point at a year above to follow it down.

CapitalDublin

Area70,280 km2

Populationas each edition published it

3.5 million July 1990 · 5.23m in 2025

Population growth% a year

Not in this edition 0.26% in 1993

Median ageyears

Not in this edition 33.1 yrs in 2003

Life expectancyyears at birth

Not in this edition 75.38 yrs in 1993

Fertility ratechildren per woman

2.1 children per woman 1990 · 1.72 in 2025

Infant mortalitydeaths per 1,000 live births

6 deaths per 1,000 live births 1990 · 3.2 in 2025

GDP per capitaeach edition's own dollars

Not in this edition $12,000 in 1993

GDP real growth% a year

Not in this edition 2% in 1993

Geography

13 fields

Land useshare of 70,280 km2

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

Total area

70,280km2

land area: 68,890 km2Comparative area: slightly larger than West Virginia

Coastline

1,448km

Territorial sea: 12 nm

Land boundary

360km with UK

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; sea cliffs on west coast

Natural resources

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

People

14 fields

Population

3,500,212

(July 1990), growth rate -0.4% (1990)

Per 1,000 population(1990)

Birth

15Death

Religion

Roman Catholic 94%Anglican 4%other 2%

Literacy

99%

Nationality

noun--Irishman(men), Irish (collective pl.); adjective--Irish

Language

Irish (Gaelic) and English; English is the language generally used, with Gaelic spoken in a few areas, mostly along the western seaboard

Labor force

1,310,000; 57.3% services, 19.1% manufacturing and construction, 14.8% agriculture, forestry, and fishing (1988)

Government

Republic

17 fields

Senate, 60 seats, elected 17 February 1987one dot, one seat

(60 total, 49 elected) Fianna Fail 30Fine Gael 16Labor 3Independents 11

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; adopted 1937

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

National holiday

St. Patrick's Day, 17 March

Executive branch

president, prime minister, deputy prime minister, Cabinet

Legislative branch

bicameral Parliament (Oireachtas) consists of an upper house or Senate (Seanad Eireann) and a lower house or House of Representatives (Dail Eireann)

Judicial branch

Supreme Court Chief of State--President Dr. Patrick J. HILLERY (since 3 December 1976);
Head of Government--Prime Minister Charles J. HAUGHEY (since 12 July 1989, the fourth time elected as prime minister)

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;
note--Prime Minister Haughey heads a coalition consisting of the Fianna Fail and the Progressive Democrats

Suffrage

universal at age 18 President--last held 21 October 1983 (next to be held October 1990);
results--Dr. Patrick Hillery reelected;
Senate--last held on 17 February 1987 (next to be held February 1992);
results--percent of vote by party NA;
seats--(60 total, 49 elected) Fianna Fail 30, Fine Gael 16, Labor 3, Independents 11;
House of Representatives--last held on 12 July 1989 (next to be held NA June 1994);
results--Fianna Fail 44.0%, Fine Gael 29.4%, Labor Party 9.3%, Progressive Democrats 5.4%, Workers' Party 4.9%, Sinn Fein 1.1%, independents 5.9%;
seats--(166 total) Fianna Fail 77, Fine Gael 55, Labor Party 15, Workers' Party 7, Progressive Democrats 6, independents 6

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 Richard A. MOORE;
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

The economy is small, open, and trade dependent.

16 fields

GDP, purchasing power parity

$31.4billion

per capita $8,900; real growth rate 4.3% (1989 est.)

Inflation, consumer prices

4.2%

(1989)

Unemployment rate

17.7%

(1989)

External debt

$16.1billion

(1988)

Budget

Revenues

$10.9 billionExpenditures

$11.2 billion

expenditures, including capital expenditures of $1.5 billion (1989)

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 4% in 1989.

In 1987, after years of deficits, the balance of payments was brought into the black. Unemployment, however, is a serious problem. A 1989 unemployment rate of 17.7% placed Ireland along with Spain as the countries with the worst jobless records in Western Europe.

Exports

$20.3 billion (f.o.b., 1989);
commodities--live animals, animal products, chemicals, data processing equipment, industrial machinery;
partners--EC 74% (UK 35%, FRG 11%, France 9%), US 8%

Imports

$17.3 billion (c.i.f., 1989);
commodities--food, animal feed, chemicals, petroleum and petroleum products, machinery, textiles, clothing;
partners--EC 66% (UK 42%, FRG 9%, France 4%), US 16%

Industrial production

growth rate 9.5% (1989 est.)

Electricity

4,957,000 kW capacity; 14,480 million kWh produced, 4,080 kWh per capita (1989)

Industries

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

Agriculture

accounts for 11% of GNP and 14.8% 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

Aid

Currency

Irish pound (plural--pounds); 1 Irish pound (LIr) = 100 pence

Exchange rates

Irish pounds (LIr) per US$1--0.6399 (January 1990), 0.7047 (1989), 0.6553 (1988), 0.6720 (1987), 0.7454 (1986), 0.9384 (1985)

Fiscal year

calendar year

Communications

9 fields

Merchant marine, 67 ships by typeone square, one ship

short-sea passenger 3cargo 29refrigerated cargo 2container 2petroleum, oils, and lubricants (POL) tanker 23specialized tanker 1chemical tanker 2bulk 567 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 113,569 GRT/139,681 DWT

Airports, 40 total, 37 usable

permanent-surface runways

18runways over 3,659 m

nonerunways 2,440-3,659 m

2runways 1,220-2,439 m