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Defense Forces

Note: defense is the joint responsibility of Iraq and Saudi Arabia  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: maritime boundary with the UK; 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: 14% arable land; NEGL% permanent crops; 71% meadows and pastures; 5% forest and woodland; 10% other

Environment: deforestation

People

Population: 3,500,212 (July 1990), growth rate -0.4% (1990)

Birth rate: 15 births/1,000 population (1990)

Death rate: 9 deaths/1,000 population (1990)

Net migration rate: -10 migrants/1,000 population (1990)

Infant mortality rate: 6 deaths/1,000 live births (1990)

Life expectancy at birth: 72 years male, 78 years female (1990)

Total fertility rate: 2.1 children born/woman (1990)

Nationality: noun—Irishman(men), Irish (collective pl.); adjective—Irish

Ethnic divisions: Celtic, with English minority

Religion: 94% Roman Catholic, 4% Anglican, 2% other

Language: Irish (Gaelic) and English; English is the language generally used, with Gaelic spoken in a few areas, mostly along the western seaboard

Literacy: 99%

Labor force: 1,310,000; 57.3% services, 19.1% manufacturing and construction, 14.8% agriculture, forestry, and fishing (1988)

Organized labor: 36% of labor force

Government

Long-form name: Republic of Ireland

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: St. 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 (Dáil Eireann)

Judicial branch: Supreme Court

Leaders: Chief of State—President Dr. Patrick J. HILLERY (since 3 December 1976);

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, Alan Dukes; Communist Party of Ireland, Michael O'Riordan; Workers' Party, Proinsias DeRossa; Sinn Fein, Gerry Adams; Progressive Democrats, Desmond O'Malley; note—Prime 151