IRELAND GEOGRAPHY Total area: 70,280 km2; land area: 68,890 km2 Comparative area: slightly larger than West Virginia Land boundary: 360 km with UK Coastline: 1,448 km Maritime claims: Continental shelf: no precise definition; Exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm; Territorial sea: 12 nm 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, crude oil, barite, copper, gypsum, limestone, dolomite, peat, silver Land use: arable land 14%; permanent crops NEGL%; meadows and pastures 71%; forest and woodland 5%; other 10% Environment: deforestation PEOPLE Population: 3,489,165 (July 1991), growth rate - 0.3% (1991) Birth rate: 15 births/1,000 population (1991) Death rate: 9 deaths/1,000 population (1991) Net migration rate: - 9 migrants/1,000 population (1991) Infant mortality rate: 6 deaths/1,000 live births (1991) Life expectancy at birth: 73 years male, 79 years female (1991) Total fertility rate: 2.1 children born/woman (1991) Nationality: noun--Irishman(men), Irish (collective pl.); adjective--Irish Ethnic divisions: Celtic, with English minority Religion: Roman Catholic 93%, Anglican 3%, none 1%, unknown 2%, other 1% (1981) Language: Irish (Gaelic) and English; English is the language generally used, with Gaelic spoken in a few areas, mostly along the western seaboard Literacy: 98% (male NA%, female NA%) age 15 and over can read and write (1981 est.) Labor force: 1,293,000; services 57.0%, manufacturing and construction 26.1%, agriculture, forestry, and fishing 15.0%, energy and mining 1.9% (1988) Organized labor: 36% of labor force GOVERNMENT Long-form name: none 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 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: Saint 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 Leaders: Chief of State--President Mary Bourke ROBINSON (since 9 November 1990); 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, John BRUTON; 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 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 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: BIS, CCC, CE, 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, NEA, OECD, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNFICYP, UNIDO, UNIFIL, UNIIMOG, UNTSO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO 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 Overview: The economy is small, open, and trade dependent. Agriculture, once the most important sector, is now dwarfed by industry, which accounts for 37% of GDP and about 80% of exports and employs 26% of the labor force. The government has successfully reduced the rate of inflation from double-digit figures in the late 1970s to 3.3% in 1990. In 1987, after years of deficits, the balance of payments was brought into the black. Unemployment, however, is a serious problem. A 1990 unemployment rate of 16.6% placed Ireland along with Spain as the countries with the worst jobless records in Western Europe. GDP: $33.9 billion, per capita $9,690; real growth rate 4.1% (1990) Inflation rate (consumer prices): 3.3% (1990) Unemployment rate: 16.6% (1990) Budget: revenues $11.3 billion; expenditures $11.7 billion, including capital expenditures of $1.6 billion (1990) Exports: $24.6 billion (f.o.b., 1990); commodities--chemicals, data processing equipment, industrial machinery, live animals, animal products; partners--EC 74% (UK 34%, FRG 11%, France 10%), US 8% Imports: $20.7 billion (c.i.f., 1990); commodities--food, animal feed, chemicals, petroleum and petroleum products, machinery, textiles, clothing; partners--EC 66% (UK 41%, FRG 9%, France 4%), US 16% External debt: $16.0 billion (1990) Industrial production: growth rate 4.7% (1990); accounts for 37% of GDP 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 10% of GNP and 15% 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: Irish pound (plural--pounds); 1 Irish pound (LIr) = 100 pence Exchange rates: Irish pounds (LIr) per US$1--0.5656 (January 1991), 0.6030 (1990), 0.7472 (1989), 0.6553 (1988), 0.6720 (1987), 0.7454 (1986), 0.9384 (1985) Fiscal year: calendar year COMMUNICATIONS Railroads: Irish National Railways (CIE) operates 1,947 km 1.602-meter gauge, government owned; 485 km double track; 38 km electrified Highways: 92,294 km total; 87,422 km surfaced, 4,872 km gravel or crushed stone Inland waterways: limited for commercial traffic Pipelines: natural gas, 225 km Ports: Cork, Dublin, Shannon Estuary, Waterford Merchant marine: 53 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 138,967 GRT/164,628 DWT; includes 4 short-sea passenger, 31 cargo, 2 refrigerated cargo, 3 container, 2 petroleum, oils, and lubricants (POL) tanker, 3 specialized tanker, 2 chemical tanker, 6 bulk Civil air: 23 major transport aircraft Airports: 40 total, 37 usable; 18 with permanent-surface runways; none with runways over 3,659 m; 2 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 6 with runways 1,220-2,439 m Telecommunications: small, modern system using cable and radio relay circuits; 900,000 telephones; stations--45 AM, 16 (29 relays) FM, 18 (68 relays) TV; 5 coaxial submarine cables; 2 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT earth stations DEFENSE FORCES Branches: Army (including Naval Service and Air Corps), National Police (GARDA) Manpower availability: males 15-49, 871,578; 705,642 fit for military service; 33,175 reach military age (17) annually Defense expenditures: $458 million, 1.6% of GDP (1990 est.)