Ireland

republicIndependence 6 December 1921 (from UK)

Ireland as the 1993 edition of the CIA World Factbook published it: 79 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
Locationin the North Atlantic Ocean, across the Irish Sea from Great Britain
1993

Every edition of Ireland

Populationas each edition published it
3.53 million July 1993 est. · 3.5m in 1990
Population growth% a year
0.26% 1993 est. · 0.8% in 2025
Median ageyears
Not in this edition 33.1 yrs in 2003
Life expectancyyears at birth
75.38 years 1993 est. · 82 yrs in 2025
Fertility ratechildren per woman
2.02 children per woman 1993 est. · 2.1 in 1990
Infant mortalitydeaths per 1,000 live births
7.6 deaths per 1,000 live births 1993 est. · 6 in 1990
GDP per capitaeach edition's own dollars
$12,000 1992 · $115,300 in 2025
GDP real growth% a year
2% 1992 · 1.2% in 2025

Geography

In the North Atlantic Ocean, across the Irish Sea from Great Britain

14 fields

Land useshare of 70,280 km2

arable land 14%permanent crops 0%meadows and pastures 71%forest and woodland 5%other 10%
Area
70,280km2
land area: 68,890 km2comparative area: slightly larger than West Virginia
Coastline
1,448km
continental shelf: not specifiedexclusive fishing zone: 200 nmterritorial sea: 12 nm
Land boundaries
360km
total · UK 360 km

Location

in the North Atlantic Ocean, across the Irish Sea from Great Britain

Map references

Europe, Standard Time Zones of the World

International disputes

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, petroleum, barite, copper, gypsum, limestone, dolomite, peat, silver

Environment

deforestation

Note

strategic location on major air and sea routes between North American and northern Europe

People

14 fields
Population
3,529,566
(July 1993 est.)growth rate: 0.26% (1993 est.)

Per 1,000 population(1993 est.)

Birth
14.39Death
8.71Net migration
-3.13

Religions(1981)

Roman Catholic 93%Anglican 3%none 1%unknown 2%other 1% (1981)
Labor force
1.37million
by occupation: services 57.0%, manufacturing and construction 28%, agriculture, forestry, and fishing 13.5%, energy and mining 1.5% (1992)
Literacy
15and over can read and write
age · (1981)total population: 98%male: NA%female: NA%

Infant mortality rate

7.6 deaths/1,000 live births (1993 est.)

Life expectancy at birth

total population:
75.38 years
male:
72.56 years
female:
78.36 years (1993 est.)

Total fertility rate

2.02 children born/woman (1993 est.)

Nationality

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

Ethnic divisions

Celtic, English

Languages

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

Government

Republic

20 fields

Presidential electionpercent of vote

52.8%
Mary Bourke ROBINSON 52.8%Brian LENIHAN 47.2%

Names

conventional long form:
none
conventional short form:
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; adopted 1937

National holiday

Saint Patrick's Day, 17 March

Political parties and leaders

  • Democratic Left, Proinsias DE ROSSA;
  • Fianna Fail, Albert REYNOLDS;
  • Labor Party, Richard SPRING;
  • Fine Gael, John BRUTON;
  • Communist Party of Ireland, Michael O'RIORDAN;
  • Sinn Fein, Gerry ADAMS;
  • Progressive Democrats, Desmond O'MALLEY

note: Prime Minister REYNOLDS heads a coalition consisting of the Fianna Fail and the Labor Party

Suffrage

18 years of age; universal

Elections

President:
last held 9 November 1990 (next to be held November 1997); results - Mary Bourke ROBINSON 52.8%, Brian LENIHAN 47.2%
Senate:
  • last held on NA February 1992 (next to be held February 1997);
  • results - percent of vote by party NA;
  • seats - (60 total, 49 elected) Fianna Fail 26, Fine Gael 16, Labor 9, Progressive Democrats 2, Democratic Left 1, independents 6
House of Representatives:
  • last held on 25 November 1992 (next to be held by June 1995);
  • results - Fianna Fail 39.1%, Fine Gael 24.5%, Labor Party 19.3%, Progressive Democrats 4.7%, Democratic Left 2.8%, Sinn Fein 1.6%, Workers' Party 0.7%, independents 5.9%;
  • seats - (166 total) Fianna Fail 68, Fine Gael 45, Labor Party 33, Progressive Democrats 10, Democratic Left 4, Greens 1, independents 5

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

Leaders

Chief of State:
President Mary Bourke ROBINSON (since 9 November 1990)
Head of Government:
Prime Minister Albert REYNOLDS (since 11 February 1992)

Member of

Australian Group, BIS, CCC, CE, COCOM (cooperating country), CSCE, EBRD, EC, ECE, EIB, ESA, FAO, GATT, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, ISO, ITU, LORCS, MINURSO, MTCR, NEA, NSG, OECD, ONUSAL, UN, UNAVEM II, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNFICYP, UNIDO, UNIFIL, UNIKOM, UNPROFRO, UNTAC, UNTSO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, ZC

Diplomatic representation in US

chief of mission:
Ambassador Dermot A. GALLAGHER chancery:
2234 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington DC 20008
telephone:
(202) 462-3939
consulates general:
Boston, Chicago, New York, and San Francisco

US diplomatic representation

chief of mission:
Ambassador William Henry G. FITZGERALD; Ambassador Designate Jean Kennedy SMITH (17 March 1993)
embassy:
42 Elgin Road, Ballsbridge, Dublin
mailing address:
use embassy street address
telephone:
[353] (1) 687122
FAX:
[353] (1) 689946

Flag

  • three equal vertical bands of green (hoist side), white, and orange;
  • similar to the flag of the 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

The economy is small and trade dependent.

18 fields
GDP per capita, PPP
$12,000
(1992)
Real growth rate
2%
(1992)industrial production growth: growth rate 8.0% (1992 est.); accounts for 37% of GDP

Budget

Revenues
$16.0 billionExpenditures
$16.6 billion
expenditures, including capital expenditures of $1.6 billion (1992 est.)

Overview

The economy is small and trade dependent. Agriculture, once the most important sector, is now dwarfed by industry, which accounts for 37% of GDP, about 80% of exports, and employs 28% of the labor force. Since 1987, real GDP growth, led by exports, has averaged 4% annually. Over the same period, inflation has fallen sharply and chronic trade deficits have been transformed into annual surpluses.

Unemployment, at 22.7% remains a serious problem, however, and job creation is the main focus of government policy. To ease unemployment, Dublin aggressively courts foreign investors and recently created a new industrial development agency to aid small indigenous firms. Government assistance is constrained by Dublin's continuing deficit reduction measures.

After five years of fiscal restraint, total government debt still exceeds GDP. Growth probably will moderate in 1993 as the heavily indebted and trade-dependent economy is highly sensitive to changes in exchange rates and world interest rates. Exports to the UK, Ireland's major export market, probably will be hurt by the recent appreciation of the Irish currency against sterling - for the first time since 1979 the value of the Irish pound exceeds that of its British counterpart.

National product

GDP - purchasing power equivalent - $42.4 billion (1992)

Exports

$28.3 billion (f.o.b., 1992)

commodities:
chemicals, data processing equipment, industrial machinery, live animals, animal products
partners:
EC 75% (UK 32%, Germany 13%, France 10%), US 9%

Imports

$23.3 billion (c.i.f., 1992)

commodities:
food, animal feed, data processing equipment, petroleum and petroleum products, machinery, textiles, clothing
partners:
EC 66% (UK 41%, Germany 8%, Netherlands 4%), US 15%

External debt

$15 billion (1990)

Electricity

5,000,000 kW capacity; 14,500 million kWh produced, 4,120 kWh per capita (1992)

Industries

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

Agriculture

  • accounts for 11% of GDP and 13% 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

Economic aid

donor - ODA commitments (1980-89), $90 million

Currency

1 Irish pound (#Ir) = 100 pence

Exchange rates

Irish pounds (#Ir) per US$1 - 0.6118 (January 1993), 0.5864 (1992), 0.6190 (1991), 0.6030 (1990), 0.7472 (1989), 0.6553 (1988)

Fiscal year

calendar year

Communications

8 fields

Merchant marine, 57 ships by typeone square, one ship

short-sea passenger 4cargo 33refrigerated cargo 2container 4oil tanker 3specialized tanker 3chemical tanker 3bulk 557 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 154,647 GRT/186,432 DWT

Railroads

  • Irish National Railways (CIE) operates 1,947 km 1.602-meter gauge, government owned;
  • 485 km double track;
  • 37 km electrified

Highways

92,294 km total; 87,422 km paved, 4,872 km gravel or crushed stone

Inland waterways

limited for commercial traffic

Pipelines

natural gas 225 km

Ports

Cork, Dublin, Waterford

Airports

total:
40
usable:
39
with permanent-surface runways:
13
with runways over 3,659 m:
0
with runways 2,440-3,659 m:
2
with runways 1,220-2,439 m:
6

Telecommunications

  • modern system using cable and digital microwave circuits;
  • 900,000 telephones;
  • broadcast stations - 9 AM, 45 FM, 86 TV;
  • 2 coaxial submarine cables;
  • 1 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT earth station

Defense Forces

Army (including Naval Service and Air Corps), National Police (Garda | Siochana)

5 fields

Branches

Army (including Naval Service and Air Corps), National Police (Garda Siochana)

Manpower availability

  • males age 15-49 903,536;
  • fit for military service 731,085;
  • reach military age (17) annually 33,932 (1993 est.)

Defense expenditures

exchange rate conversion - $569 million, 1-2% of GDP (1993 est.)

Affiliation

(also see separate Gaza Strip and West Bank entries)

Note

The Arab territories occupied by Israel since the 1967 war are not included in the data below. As stated in the 1978 Camp David Accords and reaffirmed by President Bush's post-Gulf crisis peace initiative, the final status of the West Bank and Gaza Strip, their relationship with their neighbors, and a peace treaty between Israel and Jordan are to be negotiated among the concerned parties.

The Camp David Accords further specify that these negotiations will resolve the location of the respective boundaries. Pending the completion of this process, it is US policy that the final status of the West Bank and Gaza Strip has yet to be determined (see West Bank and Gaza Strip entries). On 25 April 1982, Israel relinquished control of the Sinai to Egypt. Statistics for the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights are included in the Syria entry.

Central Intelligence Agency. “Ireland.” The World Factbook 1993. Archived by The Factbook, thefactbook.org/ireland/1993.

How to cite ← 1992 edition 1994 edition →