_#_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 (5Ir) =
100 pence
_#_Exchange rates: Irish pounds (5Ir) 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.)
_%_
_@_Israel
(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 Reagan's 1 September 1982 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.
_*_Geography
_#_Total area: 20,770 km2; land area: 20,330 km2
_#_Comparative area: slightly larger than New Jersey
_#_Land boundaries: 1,006 km total; Egypt 255 km, Jordan 238 km,
Lebanon 79 km, Syria 76 km, West Bank 307, Gaza Strip 51 km
_#_Coastline: 273 km
_#_Maritime claims:
Continental shelf: to depth of exploitation;