Ireland
republic, parliamentary democracyIndependence 6 December 1921 (from the UK by treaty)
Ireland as the 2014 edition of the CIA World Factbook published it: 165 fields, one of 36 editions from 1990 to 2025.
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Introduction
1 fieldBackground
Celtic tribes arrived on the island between 600 and 150 B.C. Invasions by Norsemen that began in the late 8th century were finally ended when King Brian BORU defeated the Danes in 1014. Norman invasions began in the 12th century and set off more than seven centuries of Anglo-Irish struggle marked by fierce rebellions and harsh repressions. The Irish famine of the mid-19th century saw the population of the island drop by one third through starvation and emigration.
For more than a century after that the population of the island continued to fall only to begin growing again in the 1960s. Over the last 50 years, Ireland's high birthrate has made it demographically one of the youngest populations in the EU. The modern Irish state traces its origins to the failed 1916 Easter Monday Uprising which touched off several years of guerrilla warfare resulting in independence from the UK in 1921 for 26 southern counties; six northern counties remained part of the UK. Unresolved issues in Northern Ireland erupted into years of violence known as the "Troubles" that began in the 1960s.
The Government of Ireland was part of a process along with the UK and US Governments that helped broker what is known as The Good Friday Agreement in Northern Ireland in 1998. This initiated a new phase of cooperation between Irish and British governments. Ireland was neutral in World War II and continues its policy of military neutrality. Ireland joined the European Community in 1973 and the Eurozone currency union in 1999.
The economic boom years of the Celtic Tiger (1995-2007) saw rapid economic growth, which came to an abrupt end in 2008 with the meltdown of the Irish banking system. Today the economy is recovering, fueled by large and growing foreign direct investment, especially from US multi-nationals.
Geography
Western Europe, occupying five-sixths of the island of Ireland in the North Atlantic Ocean, west of Great Britain
20 fieldsLand useshare of 70,273 sq km
Location
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
Freshwater withdrawal (domestic/industrial/agricultural)
- total:
- 0.79 cu km/yr (94%/6%/0%)
- per capita:
- 226.9 cu m/yr (2007)
Environment - international agreements
- party to:
- Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Sulfur 94, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling
- signed, but not ratified:
- Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, 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 100 km of Dublin
People and Society
34 fieldsAge structuremale left, female right · (2014 est.)
Per 1,000 population(2014 est.)
Male · female
Ethnic groups(2011 est.)
Religions(2011 est.)
Languages
English (official, the language generally used), Irish (Gaelic or Gaeilge) (official, spoken mainly in areas along the western coast)
Sex ratio
- at birth:
- 1.06 male(s)/female
- 0-14 years:
- 1.04 male(s)/female
- 15-24 years:
- 1.04 male(s)/female
- 25-54 years:
- 1.01 male(s)/female
- 55-64 years:
- 1 male(s)/female
- 65 years and over:
- 0.84 male(s)/female
- total population:
- 1 male(s)/female (2014 est.)
Government
Republic, parliamentary democracy; President Michael D. HIGGINS (since 29 October 2011); Taoiseach (Prime Minister) Enda KENNY (since 9 March 2011)
21 fieldsPresidential electionpercent of vote
Senate, 166 seats, elected in 27 April 2011one dot, one seat
Country name
- conventional long form:
- none
- conventional short form:
- Ireland
- local long form:
- none
- local short form:
- Eire
Capital
- name:
- Dublin
- geographic coordinates:
- 53 19 N, 6 14 W
- time difference:
- UTC 0 (5 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time)
- daylight saving time:
- +1hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last Sunday in October
Administrative divisions
28 counties and 3 cities*; Carlow, Cavan, Clare, Cork, Cork*, Donegal, Dublin*, Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown, Fingal, Galway, Galway*, Kerry, Kildare, Kilkenny, Laois, Leitrim, Limerick, Longford, Louth, Mayo, Meath, Monaghan, Offaly, Roscommon, Sligo, South Dublin, Tipperary, Waterford, Westmeath, Wexford, Wicklow
Constitution
- previous 1922;
- latest drafted 14 June 1937, adopted by plebiscite 1 July 1937, effective 29 December 1937;
- amended many times, last in 2013 (2013)
Legal system
common law system based on the English model but substantially modified by customary law; judicial review of legislative acts in Supreme Court
International law organization participation
has not submitted an ICJ jurisdiction declaration; accepts ICCt jurisdiction
Executive branch
- chief of state:
- President Michael D. HIGGINS (since 29 October 2011)
- head of government:
- Taoiseach (Prime Minister) Enda KENNY (since 9 March 2011)
- cabinet:
- Cabinet appointed by the president with previous nomination by the prime minister and approval of the lower house of Parliament; (For more information visit theWorld Leaders website)
- elections:
- president elected by popular vote for a seven-year term (eligible for a second term);
- election last held on 29 October 2011 (next to be held in October 2018);
- taoiseach (prime minister) nominated by the House of Representatives (Dail Eireann) and appointed by the president
- election results:
- Michael D. HIGGINS elected president; percent of vote - Michael D. HIGGINS 39.6%, Sean GALLAGHER 28.5%, Martin MCGUINNESS 13.7%, Gay MITCHELL 6.4%, David NORRIS 6.2%, other 5.6%
Legislative branch
bicameral Parliament or Oireachtas consists of the Senate or Seanad Eireann (60 seats; 49 members 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 elected by popular vote on the basis of proportional representation to serve five-year terms)
- elections:
- Senate - last held in 27 April 2011 (next to be held 2016); House of Representatives - last held on 25 February 2011 (next to be held probably in 2016)
- election results:
- Senate - percent of vote by party - NA;
- seats by party - Fine Gael 19, Fianna Fail 14, Labor Party 12, Sinn Fein 3, independents 12;
- House of Representatives - percent of vote by party - Fine Gael 36.1%, Labor Party 19.5%, Fianna Fail 17.5%, Sinn Fein 9.9%, United Left Alliance 2.6%, independents and others 14.4%;
- seats by party - Fine Gael 76, Labor Party 37, Fianna Fail 20, Sinn Fein 14, United Left Alliance 5, independents 14
Judicial branch
- highest court(s):
- Supreme Court or Court of Final Appeal (consists of the chief justice and 7 judges)
- judge selection and term of office:
- judges nominated by the prime minister and Cabinet and appointed by the president; judges serve till age 70
- subordinate courts:
- High Court, Court of Criminal Appeal; circuit and district courts
Political parties and leaders
- Fianna Fail [Micheal MARTIN]
- Fine Gael [Enda KENNY]
- Green Party [Eamon RYAN]
- Labor Party [Eamon GILMORE]
- New Vision
- Sinn Fein [Gerry ADAMS]
- Socialist Party [Collective Leadership]
- The Workers' Party [Michael FINNEGAN]
- United Left Alliance
Political pressure groups and leaders
Families Acting for Innocent Relatives or FAIR [Brian MCCONNELL] (seek compensation for victims of violence);
Iona Institute [David QUINN] (a conservative Catholic think tank);
Irish Anti-War Movement [Richard BOYD BARRETT] (campaigns against wars around the world);
Oglaigh na hEireann (terrorist group);
Continuity IRA (terrorist group);
New Irish Republican Army (terrorist group combining elements of the former Real IRA and Republican Action Against Drugs);
Keep Ireland Open (environmental group);
Midland Railway Action Group or MRAG [Willie ALLEN] (transportation promoters);
Peace and Neutrality Alliance [Roger COLE] (campaigns to protect Irish neutrality);
Rail Users Ireland (formerly the Platform 11 - transportation promoters);
32 Country Sovereignty Movement or 32CSM (supports unifying Northern Ireland with the rest of the island under Irish government sovereignty);
International organization participation
ADB (nonregional member), Australia Group, BIS, CD, CE, EAPC, EBRD, ECB, EIB, EMU, ESA, EU, FAO, FATF, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC (national committees), ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IGAD (partners), IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC (NGOs), MIGA, MINURSO, MONUSCO, NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OPCW, OSCE, Paris Club, PCA, PFP, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIFIL, UNITAR, UNOCI, UNRWA, UNTSO, UPU, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO, ZC
Diplomatic representation in the US
- chief of mission:
- Ambassador Anne Colette ANDERSON (since 28 August 2013)
- chancery:
- 2234 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008
- telephone:
- [1] (202) 462-3939
- FAX:
- [1] (202) 232-5993
- consulate(s) general:
- Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, New York, San Francisco; note - Ireland will open a consulate general in Austin by the end of 2014
Diplomatic representation from the US
- chief of mission:
- Ambassador (vacant); Charge d'Affaires Stuart DWYER (since 5 September 2013)
- embassy:
- 42 Elgin Road, Ballsbridge, Dublin 4
- mailing address:
- use embassy street address
- telephone:
- [353] (1) 668-8777
- FAX:
- [353] (1) 668-9946
Flag description
- three equal vertical bands of green (hoist side), white, and orange;
- officially the flag colors have no meaning, but a common interpretation is that the green represents the Irish nationalist (Gaelic) tradition of Ireland;
- orange represents the Orange tradition (minority supporters of William of Orange);
- white symbolizes peace (or a lasting truce) between the green and the orange
note: 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.
41 fieldsGDP - composition, by sector of origin(2013 est.)
Trading partnersexports left, imports right
By end use% of GDP
Economy - overview
Ireland is a small, modern, trade-dependent economy. Ireland was among the initial group of 12 EU nations that began circulating the euro on 1 January 2002. GDP growth averaged 6% in 1995-2007, but economic activity has dropped sharply since the onset of the world financial crisis.
Ireland entered into a recession in 2008 for the first time in more than a decade, with the subsequent collapse of its domestic property market and construction industry. Property prices rose more rapidly in Ireland in the decade up to 2007 than in any other developed economy. Since their 2007 peak, average house prices have fallen 47%. In the wake of the collapse of the construction sector and the downturn in consumer spending and business investment, the export sector, dominated by foreign multinationals, has become an even more important component of Ireland's economy.
Agriculture, once the most important sector, is now dwarfed by industry and services. In 2008 the former COWEN government moved to guarantee all bank deposits, recapitalize the banking system, and establish partly-public venture capital funds in response to the country's economic downturn.
In 2009, in continued efforts to stabilize the banking sector, the Irish Government established the National Asset Management Agency (NAMA) to acquire problem commercial property and development loans from Irish banks. Faced with sharply reduced revenues and a burgeoning budget deficit, the Irish Government introduced the first in a series of draconian budgets in 2009.
In addition to across-the-board cuts in spending, the 2009 budget included wage reductions for all public servants. These measures were not sufficient to stabilize Ireland’s public finances. In 2010, the budget deficit reached 32.4% of GDP - the world's largest deficit, as a percentage of GDP - because of additional government support for the country’s deeply troubled banking sector.
In late 2010, the former COWEN government agreed to a $92 billion loan package from the EU and IMF to help Dublin recapitalize Ireland’s fragile banking sector and avoid defaulting on its sovereign debt. Since entering office in March 2011, the new KENNY government has intensified austerity measures to try to meet the deficit targets under Ireland's EU-IMF program.
Ireland has grown slowly since 2011, but managed to reduce the budget deficit to 7.2% of GDP in 2013. In late 2013, Ireland formally exited its EU-IMF bailout program, benefiting from its strict adherence to deficit-reduction targets and success in refinancing a large amount of banking-related debt.
Gross national saving
13.4% of GDP (2013 est.) · 15.3% of GDP (2012 est.) · 12.5% of GDP (2011 est.) country comparison to the world: 117
Industries
pharmaceuticals, chemicals, computer hardware and software, food products, beverages and brewing; medical devices
Distribution of family income - Gini index
33.9 (2010) · 35.9 (1987) country comparison to the world: 97
Public debt
124.2% of GDP (2013 est.) · 117.6% of GDP (2012 est.) country comparison to the world: 7 note: data cover general government debt, and includes debt instruments issued (or owned) by government entities other than the treasury; the data include treasury debt held by foreign entities; the data include debt issued by subnational entities, as well as intra-governmental debt; intra-governmental debt consists of treasury borrowings from surpluses in the social funds, such as for retirement, medical care, and unemployment; debt instruments for the social funds are not sold at public auctions
Central bank discount rate
0.75% (31 December 2013) · 1.5% (31 December 2010) country comparison to the world: 124 note: this is the European Central Bank's rate on the marginal lending facility, which offers overnight credit to banks in the euro area
Commercial bank prime lending rate
3.2% (31 December 2013 est.) · 3.55% (31 December 2012 est.) country comparison to the world: 164
Stock of narrow money
$121.3 billion (31 December 2013 est.) · $122.3 billion (31 December 2012 est.) country comparison to the world: 31 note: see entry for the European Union for money supply in the euro area; the European Central Bank (ECB) controls monetary policy for the 17 members of the Economic and Monetary Union (EMU); individual members of the EMU do not control the quantity of money circulating within their own borders
Stock of broad money
$238 billion (31 December 2013 est.) · $238.7 billion (31 December 2012 est.) country comparison to the world: 35
Stock of domestic credit
$425.4 billion (31 December 2013 est.) · $433.1 billion (31 December 2012 est.) country comparison to the world: 29
Current account balance
$7.3 billion (2013 est.) · $9.245 billion (2012 est.) country comparison to the world: 26
Exports - commodities
machinery and equipment, computers, chemicals, medical devices, pharmaceuticals; food products, animal products
Imports - commodities
data processing equipment, other machinery and equipment, chemicals, petroleum and petroleum products, textiles, clothing
Reserves of foreign exchange and gold
$1.707 billion (31 December 2012 est.) · $1.703 billion (31 December 2011 est.) country comparison to the world: 126
Debt - external
$2.164 trillion (31 December 2012 est.) · $2.213 trillion (31 December 2011) country comparison to the world: 11
Stock of direct foreign investment - at home
$777.3 billion (31 December 2013 est.) · $725.8 billion (31 December 2012 est.) country comparison to the world: 11
Stock of direct foreign investment - abroad
$792.6 billion (31 December 2013 est.) · $766 billion (31 December 2012 est.) country comparison to the world: 11
Exchange rates
euros (EUR) per US dollar - 0.7634 (2013 est.) · 0.7752 (2012 est.) · 0.755 (2010 est.) · 0.7198 (2009 est.) · 0.6827 (2008 est.)
Energy
23 fieldsInstalled generating capacity, 8.316 million kW(2010 est.)
Natural gas - proved reserves
9.911 billion cu m (1 January 2013 est.) country comparison to the world: 83
Communications
7 fieldsTelephone system
- general assessment:
- modern digital system using cable and microwave radio relay
- domestic:
- system privatized but dominated by former state monopoly operator; increasing levels of broadband access particularly in urban areas
- international:
- country code - 353;
- landing point for the Hibernia-Atlantic submarine cable with links to the US, Canada, and UK;
- satellite earth stations - 81 (2014)
Broadcast media
- publicly owned broadcaster Radio Telefis Eireann (RTE) operates 2 TV stations;
- commercial TV stations are available;
- about 75% of households utilize multi-channel satellite and TV services that provide access to a wide range of stations;
- RTE operates 4 national radio stations and has launched digital audio broadcasts on several stations;
- a number of commercial broadcast stations operate at the national, regional, and local levels (2014)
Transportation
9 fieldsMerchant marine, 31 ships by typeone square, one ship
Airports by runway lengthpaved only
Airports by runway lengthunpaved only
Networkskm
Railways
- total:
- 3,237 km
country comparison to the world: 54
- broad gauge:
- 1,872 km 1.600-m gauge (37 km electrified)
- narrow gauge:
- 1,365 km 0.914-m gauge (operated by the Irish Peat Board to transport peat to power stations and briquetting plants) (2008)
Roadways
- total:
- 96,036 km
country comparison to the world: 49
- paved:
- 96,036 km (includes 1,224 km of expressways) (2014)
Ports and terminals
- major seaport(s):
- Dublin, Shannon Foynes,
- river port(s):
- Cork (Lee), Waterford (Suir)
- container port(s) (TEUs):
- Dublin (1,931,001)
Military
Irish Defence Forces (Oglaigh na h-Eireannn), Permanent Defence Forces (PDF): Army, Naval Service, Air Corps; Reserve Defence Forces (RDF): Army, Naval Service Reserves (2014)
6 fieldsMilitary branches
- Irish Defence Forces (Oglaigh na h-Eireannn), Permanent Defence Forces (PDF): ;
- Reserve Defence Forces (RDF): Army, Naval Service Reserves (2014)
Military service age and obligation
- 18-25 years of age for male and female voluntary military service recruits to the Permanent Defence Forces (PDF; 18-27 years of age for the Naval Service);
- 18-28 for cadetship (officer) applicants;
- 18-35 years of age for the Reserve Defence Forces (RDF);
- maximum obligation 12 years (PDF officers), 5 years (PDF enlisted), 3 years RDF (4 years for Naval Service Reserves);
- EU citizenship, refugee status, or 5-year residence in Ireland required (2014)
Manpower available for military service
- males age 16-49:
- 1,179,125
- females age 16-49:
- 1,163,728 (2010 est.)
Transnational Issues
3 fieldsDisputes - international
Ireland, Iceland, and the UK dispute Denmark's claim that the Faroe Islands' continental shelf extends beyond 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;
- increasing consumption of South American cocaine;
- minor transshipment point for heroin and cocaine destined for Western Europe;
- despite recent legislation, narcotics-related money laundering - using bureaux de change, trusts, and shell companies involving the offshore financial community - remains a concern
Cite this entry
Central Intelligence Agency. “Ireland.” The World Factbook 2014. Archived by The Factbook, thefactbook.org/ireland/2014.