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Area: total area: 70,280 km2 land area: 68,890 km2
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
Population: 3,529,566 (July 1993 est.)
Nationality: noun: Irishman(men), Irishwoman(men), Irish (collective plural) adjective: Irish
Ethnic divisions: Celtic, English
Religions: Roman Catholic 93%, Anglican 3%, none 1%, unknown 2%, other 1% (1981)
Languages: Irish (Gaelic), spoken mainly in areas located along the western seaboard, English is the language generally used. There are also a lot of Irish speakers in the large cities (particularly Dublin), but they are less concentrated in the cities than in the Gaeltachts.
Labour force: 1.37 million by occupation: services 57.0%, manufacturing and construction 28%, agriculture, forestry, and fishing 13.5%, energy and mining 1.5% (1992)
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
Political parties and leaders: Democratic Left, Proinsias DE ROSSA; Fianna Fa/il, Albert REYNOLDS; Labour Party, Richard SPRING; Fine Gael, John BRUTON; Communist Party of Ireland, Michael O'RIORDAN; Sinn Fe/in, Gerry ADAMS; Progressive Democrats, Mary HARNEY
note: Prime Minister REYNOLDS heads a coalition consisting of the Fianna Fa/il and the Labour 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 Fa/il 26, Fine Gael 16, Labour 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 Fa/il 39.1%, Fine Gael 24.5%, Labour Party 19.3%,Progressive Democrats 4.7%, Democratic Left 2.8%, Sinn Fe/in 1.6%, Workers' Party 0.7%, independents 5.9%; seats - (166 total) Fianna Fa/il 68, Fine Gael 45, Labour 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)
Leaders:
Chief of State: President Mary Bourke ROBINSON (since 9 November 1990)
Head of Government: Prime Minister Albert REYNOLDS (since 11 February 1992)
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
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 srter and has colors of green (hoist side), white, and red
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 3.5% (1992)
Unemployment rate: 22.7% (1992)
Industries: food products, brewing, textiles, clothing, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, machinery, transportation equipment, glass and crystal
Currency: 1 Irish pound (#Ir) = 100 pence
Ports: Cork, Dublin, Waterford, Rosslare, Drogheda
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
Telecom Eireann now have about 1.17 million lines, and some 61,000 mobile
phone customers (according to The Irish Times, July 29th 1994). They are
in the process of laying a submarine fibre link from (I think) Wexford to
Land's End, which can carry about 180,000 voice conversations (I think it
consists of 6 pairs of fibre strands). Apparently it's the longest such
link of it's kind (something to do with having no repeaters) in the world
-- some 270km.