Ireland
none conventional short form: Ireland
republicIndependence 6 December 1921 (from UK by treaty)
Ireland as the 2001 edition of the CIA World Factbook published it: 117 fields, one of 36 editions from 1990 to 2025.
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Introduction
1 fieldBackground
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, approved in 1998, was implemented the following year.
Geography
Western Europe, occupying five-sixths of the island of Ireland in the North Atlantic Ocean, west of Great Britain
18 fieldsLocation
Western Europe, occupying five-sixths of the island of Ireland in the North Atlantic Ocean, west of Great Britain
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
Land use
arable land: 13% permanent crops: 0% permanent pastures: 68% forests and woodland: 5% other: 14% (1993 est.)
Environment - international agreements
party to: Air Pollution, Air 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
18 fieldsPer 1,000 population(2001 est.)
Religions(1998)
Age structure
0-14 years: 21.57% (male 425,328; female 403,204) 15-64 years: 67.08% (male 1,290,002; female 1,286,312) 65 years and over: 11.35% (male 188,868; female 247,124) (2001 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: 0.76 male(s)/female total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2001 est.)
Life expectancy at birth
total population: 76.99 years male: 74.23 years female: 79.93 years (2001 est.)
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
Republic
20 fieldsLegislature, 166 seatsone dot, one seat
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
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
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 election results: Mary MCALEESE elected president;
- percent of vote - Mary MCALEESE 44.8%, Mary BANOTTI 29.6% note: government coalition - Fianna Fail and the Progressive Democrats
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) elections: Senate - last held NA August 1997 (next to be held NA 2002);
- House of Representatives - last held 6 June 1997 (next to be held NA 2002) 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 76, Fine Gael 53, Labor Party 19, Progressive Democrats 4, Democratic Left 4, Green Alliance 2, Sinn Fein 1, independents 7;
- note - seats by party in the House of Representatives as of 1 January 2001 were as follows: Fianna Fail 76, Fine Gael 54, Labor Party 21, Progressive Democrats 4, Green Alliance 2, Socialist Party 1, Sinn Fein 1, independents 7
Judicial branch
Supreme Court (judges appointed by the president on the advice of the prime minister and cabinet)
Political parties and leaders
- Democratic Left [Proinsias DE ROSSA];
- Fianna Fail [Bertie AHERN];
- Fine Gael [Michael NOONAN];
- Green Party [Mary BOWERS];
- Labor Party [Ruairi QUINN];
- Progressive Democrats [Mary HARNEY];
- Sinn Fein [Gerry ADAMS];
- Socialist Party [Joe HIGGINS];
- The Workers' Party [Tom FRENCH]
International organization participation
Australia Group, BIS, CCC, CE, EBRD, ECE, EIB, EMU, ESA, EU, FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU, MINURSO, NAM (guest), NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OPCW, OSCE, PFP, UN, UN Security Council (temporary), UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNFICYP, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIFIL, UNIKOM, UNITAR, 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 telephone: [1] (202) 462-3939
Diplomatic representation from the US
chief of mission: Ambassador Michael J. SULLIVAN embassy: 42 Elgin Road, Ballsbridge, Dublin 4 mailing address: use embassy street address telephone: [353] (1) 668-7122/668-8777
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 is a small, modern, trade-dependent economy with growth averaging a robust 9% in 1995-2000.
32 fieldsElectricity
Economy - overview
Ireland is a small, modern, trade-dependent economy with growth averaging a robust 9% in 1995-2000. Agriculture, once the most important sector, is now dwarfed by industry, which accounts for 38% of GDP and 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 Irish economy is in danger of overheating, with the tight labor market driving up wage demands and inflation.
Budget
revenues: $25.7 billion expenditures: $19.2 billion, including capital expenditures of $2 billion (2000)
Industries
- food products, brewing, textiles, clothing;
- chemicals, pharmaceuticals, machinery, transportation equipment, glass and crystal;
- software
Exports - commodities
machinery and equipment, computers, chemicals, pharmaceuticals; live animals, animal products
Imports - commodities
data processing equipment, other machinery and equipment, chemicals; petroleum and petroleum products, textiles, clothing
Currency
Irish pound (IEP); euro (EUR) note: on 1 January 1999, the EU introduced the euro as a common currency that is now being used by financial institutions in Ireland at a fixed rate of 0.787564 Irish pounds per euro and will replace the local currency for all transactions in 2002
Exchange rates
Irish pounds per US dollar - 1.0658 (January 2001), 1.0823 (2000), 0.9374 (1999), 0.7014 (1998), 0.6588 (1997), 0.6248 (1996)
Communications
10 fieldsTelephone system
general assessment: modern digital system using cable and microwave radio relay domestic: microwave radio relay international: satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean)
Transportation
9 fieldsRailways
total: 1,947 km broad gauge: 1,947 km 1.600-m gauge (38 km electrified; 485 km double track) (1998)
Highways
total: 92,500 km paved: 87,043 km (including 115 km of expressways) unpaved: 5,457 km (1999 est.)
Merchant marine
total: 29 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 115,554 GRT/135,391 DWT ships by type: bulk 4, cargo 22, container 2, short-sea passenger 1 (2000 est.)
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 (2000 est.)
Military
Army (includes Naval Service and Air Corps), National Police (Garda Siochana)
7 fieldsTransnational Issues
2 fieldsDisputes - international
- Northern Ireland issue with the UK (historic peace agreement signed 10 April 1998);
- 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
Cite this entry
Central Intelligence Agency. “Ireland.” The World Factbook 2001. Archived by The Factbook, thefactbook.org/ireland/2001.