##ciekawa_strona##
Compare Ireland (2001) - European Union (2004)
Compare Ireland (2001) z European Union (2004)
| Ireland (2001) | European Union (2004) | |
 |  | |
| 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 | - |
| Age structure | 0-14 years:
21.57% (male 425,328; female 403,204) 15-64 years: 67.08% (male 1,290,002; female 1,286,312) 65 years and over: 11.35% (male 188,868; female 247,124) (2001 est.) |
0-14 years: 16.3%
15-64 years: 67.2% 65 years and over: 16.6% (July 2004 est.) |
| Agriculture - products | turnips, barley, potatoes, sugar beets, wheat; beef, dairy products | wheat, barley, oilseeds, sugar beets, wine, grapes, dairy products, cattle, sheep, pigs, poultry, fish |
| Airports | 44 (2000 est.) | total: 3,130
with paved runways: 1,834 with unpaved runways: 1,296 (2003) |
| Airports - with paved runways | total:
17 over 3,047 m: 1 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 3 914 to 1,523 m: 5 under 914 m: 7 (2000 est.) |
- |
| Airports - with unpaved runways | total:
27 914 to 1,523 m: 2 under 914 m: 25 (2000 est.) |
- |
| Area | total:
70,280 sq km land: 68,890 sq km water: 1,390 sq km |
total: 3,976,372 sq km |
| Area - comparative | slightly larger than West Virginia | less than one-half the size of the US |
| Background | A failed 1916 Easter Monday Rebellion touched off several years of guerrilla warfare that in 1921 resulted in independence from the UK for the 26 southern counties; the six northern counties (Ulster) remained part of Great Britain. In 1948 Ireland withdrew from the British Commonwealth; it joined the European Community in 1973. Irish governments have sought the peaceful unification of Ireland and have cooperated with Britain against terrorist groups. A peace settlement for Northern Ireland, approved in 1998, was implemented the following year. | Following the two devastating World Wars of the first half of the 20th century, a number of European leaders in the late 1940s became convinced that the only way to establish a lasting peace was to unite the two chief belligerent nations - France and Germany - both economically and politically. In 1950, the French Foreign Minister Robert SCHUMAN proposed an eventual union of all of Europe, the first step of which would be the integration of the coal and steel industries of Western Europe. The following year the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) was set up when six members, Belgium, France, West Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands, signed the Treaty of Paris.
The ECSC was so successful that within a few years the decision was made to integrate other parts of the countries' economies. In 1957, the Treaties of Rome created the European Economic Community (EEC) and the European Atomic Energy Community (EURATOM), and the six member states undertook to eliminate trade barriers among themselves by forming a common market. In 1967, the institutions of all three communities were formally merged into the European Community (EC), creating a single Commission, a single Council of Ministers, and the European Parliament. Members of the European Parliament were initially selected by national parliaments, but in 1979 the first direct elections were undertaken and they have been held every five years since. In 1973, the first enlargement of the EC took place with the addition of Denmark, Ireland, and the United Kingdom. The 1980s saw further membership expansion with Greece joining in 1981 and Spain and Portugal in 1986. The 1992 Treaty of Maastricht laid the basis for further forms of cooperation in foreign and defense policy, in judicial and internal affairs, and in the creation of an economic and monetary union - including a common currency. This further integration created the European Union (EU). In 1995, Austria, Finland, and Sweden joined to the EU, raising the membership total to 15. A new currency, the euro, was launched in world money markets on 1 January 1999; it became the unit of exchange for all of the EU states except Great Britain, Sweden, and Denmark. In 2002, citizens of the 12 euro-area countries began using euro banknotes and coins. Ten new countries joined the EU in 2004 - Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovakia, and Slovenia - bringing the current membership to 25. In order to ensure that the EU can continue to function efficiently with an expanded membership, the 2003 Treaty of Nice set forth rules streamlining the size and procedures of EU institutions. An EU Constitutional Treaty, signed in Rome on 29 October 2004, gives member states two years to ratify the document before it is scheduled to take effect on 1 November 2006. Despite the expansion of membership and functions, "Eurosceptics" in various countries have raised questions about the erosion of national cultures and the imposition of a flood of regulations from the EU capital in Brussels. Failure by member states to ratify the constitution or the inability of newcomer countries to meet euro currency standards might force a loosening of some EU agreements and perhaps lead to several levels of EU participation. These "tiers" might eventually range from an "inner" core of politically integrated countries to a looser "outer" economic association of members. |
| Birth rate | 14.57 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 10.2 births/1,000 population (July 2004 est.) |
| Budget | revenues:
$25.7 billion expenditures: $19.2 billion, including capital expenditures of $2 billion (2000) |
- |
| Capital | Dublin | Brussels, Belgium |
| Climate | temperate maritime; modified by North Atlantic Current; mild winters, cool summers; consistently humid; overcast about half the time | cold temperate; potentially subarctic in the north to temperate; mild wet winters; hot dry summers in the south |
| Coastline | 1,448 km | 65,413.9 km |
| Constitution | 29 December 1937; adopted 1 July 1937 by plebiscite | based on a series of treaties: the Treaty of Paris, which set up the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) in 1951; the Treaties of Rome, which set up the European Economic Community (EEC) and the European Atomic Energy Community (Euratom) in 1957; the Single European Act in 1986; the Treaty on European Union (Maastrict) in 1992; the Treaty of Amsterdam in 1997; and the Treaty of Nice in 2001; note - a new draft Constitutional Treaty, signed on 29 October 2004 in Rome, gives member states two years for ratification either by parliamentary vote or national referendum before it is scheduled to take effect on 1 November 2006 |
| Country name | conventional long form:
none conventional short form: Ireland |
- |
| Currency | Irish pound (IEP); euro (EUR)
note: on 1 January 1999, the EU introduced the euro as a common currency that is now being used by financial institutions in Ireland at a fixed rate of 0.787564 Irish pounds per euro and will replace the local currency for all transactions in 2002 |
euro; pound (Cyprus), koruna (Czech Republic), krone (Denmark), kroon (Estonia), forint (Hungary), lat (Latvia), litas (Lithuania), lira (Malta), zloty (Poland), koruna (Slovakia), tolar (Slovenia), krona (Sweden), pound (UK) |
| Death rate | 8.07 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 10 deaths/1,000 population (July 2004 est.) |
| Debt - external | $11 billion (1998) | $NA |
| Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission:
Ambassador Michael J. SULLIVAN embassy: 42 Elgin Road, Ballsbridge, Dublin 4 mailing address: use embassy street address telephone: [353] (1) 668-7122/668-8777 FAX: [353] (1) 668-9946 |
chief of mission: Ambassador Rockwell SCHNABEL
embassy: 13 Zinnerstraat (Rue Zinner), B-1000 Brussels mailing address: same as above telephone: [32] (2) 508-2222 FAX: [32] (2) 512-5720 |
| Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission:
Ambassador Sean O'HUIGINN chancery: 2234 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 462-3939 FAX: [1] (202) 232-5993 consulate(s) general: Boston, Chicago, New York, and San Francisco |
chief of mission: Ambassador John BRUTON
chancery: 2300 M Street, NW, Washington, D.C. 20037 telephone: [1] (202) 862-9500 FAX: [1] (202) 429-1766 |
| Disputes - international | Northern Ireland issue with the UK (historic peace agreement signed 10 April 1998); disputes with Iceland, Denmark, and the UK over the Faroe Islands continental shelf boundary outside 200 NM | - |
| Economic aid - donor | ODA, $245 million (2000) | $NA |
| Economy - overview | Ireland is a small, modern, trade-dependent economy with growth averaging a robust 9% in 1995-2000. Agriculture, once the most important sector, is now dwarfed by industry, which accounts for 38% of GDP and about 80% of exports and employs 28% of the labor force. Although exports remain the primary engine for Ireland's robust growth, the economy is also benefiting from a rise in consumer spending and recovery in both construction and business investment. Over the past decade, the Irish government has implemented a series of national economic programs designed to curb inflation, reduce government spending, increase labor force skills, and promote foreign investment. Ireland joined in launching the euro currency system in January 1999 along with 10 other EU nations. The Irish economy is in danger of overheating, with the tight labor market driving up wage demands and inflation. | Domestically, the European Union attempts to lower trade barriers, adopt a common currency, and move toward convergence of living standards. Internationally, the EU aims to bolster Europe's trade position and its political and economic power. Because of the great differences in per capita income (from $10,000 to $28,000) and historic national animosities, the European Community faces difficulties in devising and enforcing common policies. For example, both Germany and France since 2003 have flouted the member states' treaty obligation to prevent their national budgets from running more than a 3% deficit. In 2004, the EU admitted 10 central and eastern European countries that are, in general, less advanced technologically and economically than the existing 15. The Economic and Monetary Union (EMU), an associated organization, introduced the euro as the common currency on 1 January 1999. The UK, Sweden, and Denmark do not now participate; the 10 new countries may choose to join the EMU when they meet its fiscal and monetary criteria and the member states so agree. |
| Electricity - consumption | 18.414 billion kWh (1999) | 2.635 trillion kWh (2001) |
| Electricity - exports | 50 million kWh (1999) | 234.8 billion kWh (2001) |
| Electricity - imports | 290 million kWh (1999) | 245.7 billion kWh (2001) |
| Electricity - production | 19.542 billion kWh (1999) | 2.822 trillion kWh (2001) |
| Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
94.42% hydro: 4.23% nuclear: 0% other: 1.35% (1999) |
- |
| Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Atlantic Ocean 0 m highest point: Carrauntoohil 1,041 m |
lowest point: Lammefjord, Denmark -7 m; Zuidplaspolder, Netherlands -7 m
highest point: Mount Blanc, France/Italy 4,807 m |
| Environment - current issues | water pollution, especially of lakes, from agricultural runoff | NA |
| Environment - international agreements | party to:
Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Sulphur 94, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling signed, but not ratified: Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Endangered Species, Marine Life Conservation |
Hazardous Wastes, Biodiversity, Air Pollution, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Tropical Timber 82, Tropical Timber 94, Ozone Layer Protection, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Sulphur 94, Law of the Sea, Desertification, Climate Change; has signed, but not yet ratified: Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants |
| Ethnic groups | Celtic, English | - |
| Exchange rates | Irish pounds per US dollar - 1.0658 (January 2001), 1.0823 (2000), 0.9374 (1999), 0.7014 (1998), 0.6588 (1997), 0.6248 (1996) | euros per US dollar - 0.886 (2003), 1.0626 (2002), 1.1175 (2001) |
| Executive branch | chief of state:
President Mary MCALEESE (since 11 November 1997) head of government: Prime Minister Bertie AHERN (since 26 June 1997) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president with previous nomination by the prime minister and approval of the House of Representatives elections: president elected by popular vote for a seven-year term; election last held 31 October 1997 (next to be held NA November 2004); prime minister nominated by the House of Representatives and appointed by the president election results: Mary MCALEESE elected president; percent of vote - Mary MCALEESE 44.8%, Mary BANOTTI 29.6% note: government coalition - Fianna Fail and the Progressive Democrats |
chief of union: President of the European Commission Jose DURAO BARROSO (since 22 November 2004)
cabinet: European Commission (composed of 25 members, one from each member country; each commissioner responsible for one or more policy areas) elections: the president of the European Commission is designated by member governments; the president-designate then chooses the other Commission members; the European Parliament confirms the entire Commission for a five-year term; election last held 18 November 2004 (next to be held 2009) election results: European Parliament approved the European Commission by an approval vote of 449-149 with 82 abstentions note: the European Council brings together heads of state and government and the president of the European Commission and meets at least twice a year; its aim is to provide the impetus for the major political issues relating to European integration and to issue general policy guidelines |
| Exports | $73.5 billion (f.o.b., 2000) | 6.429 million bbl/day (2001) |
| Exports - commodities | machinery and equipment, computers, chemicals, pharmaceuticals; live animals, animal products | machinery, motor vehicles, aircraft, plastics, pharmaceuticals and other chemicals, fuels, iron and steel, nonferrous metals, wood pulp and paper products, textiles, meat, dairy products, fish, alcoholic beverages. |
| Exports - partners | EU 59% (UK 19%, Germany 9%, France 7%), US 20% (2000) | NA |
| Fiscal year | calendar year | NA |
| Flag description | three equal vertical bands of green (hoist side), white, and orange; 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 | on a blue field, 12 five-pointed gold stars arranged in a circle, representing the union of the peoples of Europe; the number of stars is fixed |
| GDP | purchasing power parity - $81.9 billion (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $11.05 trillion (2004 est.) |
| GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
4% industry: 38% services: 58% (1999) |
agriculture: 2.3%
industry: 28.3% services: 69.4% (2004 est.) |
| GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $21,600 (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $25,700 (2004 est.) |
| GDP - real growth rate | 9.9% (2000 est.) | 1% (2004 est.) |
| Geographic coordinates | 53 00 N, 8 00 W | - |
| Geography - note | strategic location on major air and sea routes between North America and northern Europe; over 40% of the population resides within 97 km of Dublin | - |
| Heliports | - | 94 (2003) |
| Highways | total:
92,500 km paved: 87,043 km (including 115 km of expressways) unpaved: 5,457 km (1999 est.) |
total: 4,634,810 km (including 56,704 km of expressways)
paved: 4,161,318 km unpaved: 473,492 km (1999-2000) |
| Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%:
2% highest 10%: 27.3% (1997) |
lowest 10%: 2.9%
highest 10%: 25.2% (1995 est.) |
| Illicit drugs | transshipment point for and consumer of hashish from North Africa to the UK and Netherlands and of European-produced synthetic drugs; minor transshipment point for heroin and cocaine destined for Western Europe | - |
| Imports | $45.7 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) | 16.97 million bbl/day (2001) |
| Imports - commodities | data processing equipment, other machinery and equipment, chemicals; petroleum and petroleum products, textiles, clothing | machinery, vehicles, aircraft, plastics, crude oil, chemicals, textiles, metals, foodstuffs, clothing |
| Imports - partners | EU 54% (UK 29%, Germany 6%, France 5%), US 18%, Japan 5%, Singapore 4% (2000) | NA |
| Independence | 6 December 1921 (from UK by treaty) | 7 February 1992 (Maastricht Treaty signed establishing the EU); 1 November 1993 (Maastricht Treaty entered into force) |
| Industrial production growth rate | 14% (2000 est.) | 0.8% (2004 est.) |
| Industries | food products, brewing, textiles, clothing; chemicals, pharmaceuticals, machinery, transportation equipment, glass and crystal; software | among the world's largest and most technologically advanced industries, including iron and steel, aluminum, petroleum, coal, cement, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, automobiles, aircraft, railroad equipment, shipbuilding, electrical power equipment, machine tools, electronics, telecommunications equipment, fishing, food processing, furniture, paper, textiles and clothing, tourism |
| Infant mortality rate | 5.53 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | total: 5.3 deaths/1,000 live births (July 2004 est.) |
| Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 5.6% (2000) | 2% (2004 est.) |
| International organization participation | Australia Group, BIS, CCC, CE, EBRD, ECE, EIB, EMU, ESA, EU, FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU, MINURSO, NAM (guest), NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OPCW, OSCE, PFP, UN, UN Security Council (temporary), UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNFICYP, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIFIL, UNIKOM, UNITAR, UNMIBH, UNMIK, UNMOP, UNTAET, UNTSO, UPU, WEU (observer), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTrO, ZC | European Union: ASEAN (dialogue member), ARF (dialogue member), EBRD, IDA, OAS (observer), OECD, WTO
European Commission: Australian Group, CBSS, CERN, FAO, G-10, NSG (observer), UN (observer) European Central Bank: BIS European Investment Bank: WADB (nonregional member) |
| Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 22 (2000) | - |
| Irrigated land | NA sq km | 115,807 sq km |
| Judicial branch | Supreme Court (judges appointed by the president on the advice of the prime minister and cabinet) | European Court of Justice (ensures that the treaties are interpreted and applied correctly) - 25 Justices (one from each member state) appointed for a six-year term; note - for the sake of efficiency, the court can sit with 11 justices known as the "Grand Chamber"; Court of First Instance - 25 justices appointed for a six-year term |
| Labor force | 1.82 million (2000 est.) | 211.1 million |
| Labor force - by occupation | services 64%, industry 28%, agriculture 8% (2000 est.) | agriculture 4.3%, industry 29%, services 66.8% (2000) |
| Land boundaries | total:
360 km border countries: UK 360 km |
total: 11,214.8 km
border countries: Albania 282 km, Andorra 120.3 km, Belarus 1,050 km, Bulgaria 494 km, Croatia 999 km, Holy See 3.2 km, Liechtenstein 34.9 km, Macedonia 246 km, Monaco 4.4 km, Norway 2,348 km, Romania 443 km, Russia 2,257 km, San Marino 39 km, Serbia and Montenegro 151 km, Switzerland 1,811 km, Turkey 206 km, Ukraine 726 km note: data for European Continent only |
| Land use | arable land:
13% permanent crops: 0% permanent pastures: 68% forests and woodland: 5% other: 14% (1993 est.) |
arable land: NA
permanent crops: NA |
| Languages | English is the language generally used, Irish (Gaelic) spoken mainly in areas located along the western seaboard | Czech, Danish, Dutch, English, Estonian, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Hungarian, Italian, Latvian, Lithuanian, Maltese, Polish, Portuguese, Slovak, Slovene, Spanish, Swedish; note - only official languages are listed |
| 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 | - |
| Legislative branch | bicameral Parliament or Oireachtas consists of the Senate or Seanad Eireann (60 seats - 49 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 are elected by popular vote on the basis of proportional representation to serve five-year terms)
elections: Senate - last held NA August 1997 (next to be held NA 2002); House of Representatives - last held 6 June 1997 (next to be held NA 2002) election results: Senate - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - Fianna Fail 29, Fine Gael 16, Labor Party 4, Progressive Democrats 4, others 7; House of Representatives - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - Fianna Fail 76, Fine Gael 53, Labor Party 19, Progressive Democrats 4, Democratic Left 4, Green Alliance 2, Sinn Fein 1, independents 7; note - seats by party in the House of Representatives as of 1 January 2001 were as follows: Fianna Fail 76, Fine Gael 54, Labor Party 21, Progressive Democrats 4, Green Alliance 2, Socialist Party 1, Sinn Fein 1, independents 7 |
Council of the European Union (25 member-state ministers having 321 votes; the number of votes is roughly proportional to member-states' population); note - the Council is the main decision-making body of the EU; European Parliament (732 seats; seats allocated among member states by proportion to population); members elected by direct universal suffrage for a five-year term
elections: last held 10-13 June 2004 (next to be held June 2009) election results: percent of vote - NA%; seats by party - EPP-ED 268, PES 202, ALDE 88, Greens/EFA 42, EUL/NGL 41, IND/DEM 36, UEN 27, independents 28 |
| Life expectancy at birth | total population:
76.99 years male: 74.23 years female: 79.93 years (2001 est.) |
total population: 78.1 years
male: 74.9 years female: 81.4 years (July 2004 est.) |
| Literacy | definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 98% (1981 est.) male: NA% female: NA% |
- |
| Location | Western Europe, occupying five-sixths of the island of Ireland in the North Atlantic Ocean, west of Great Britain | Europe between Eastern Europe and the North Atlantic Ocean |
| Map references | Europe | Europe |
| Maritime claims | continental shelf:
not specified exclusive fishing zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
NA |
| Merchant marine | total:
29 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 115,554 GRT/135,391 DWT ships by type: bulk 4, cargo 22, container 2, short-sea passenger 1 (2000 est.) |
- |
| Military - note | - | In October 2004, the European Union heads of government signed a "constitutional treaty" that offers possibilities - with some limits - for increased defense and security cooperation. If ratified, in a process that may take some two years, this treaty will in effect make operational the European Security and Defense Policy (ESDP) approved in the 2000 Nice Treaty. Despite limits of cooperation for some EU members, development of a European military planning unit is likely to continue. So is creation of a rapid-reaction military force and a humanitarian aid system, which the planning unit will support. France, Germany, Belgium, Netherlands, Luxembourg, and Italy continue to press for wider coordination. The five-nation Eurocorps - created in 1992 by France, Germany, Belgium, Spain, and Luxembourg - has already deployed troops and police on peacekeeping missions to Bosnia-Herzegovina, Macedonia, and the Democratic Republic of Congo and assumed command of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan in August 2004. Eurocorps directly commands the 5,000-man Franco-German Brigade and the Multinational Command Support Brigade and will command EUFOR, which will take over from SFOR in Bosnia in December 2004. Other troop contributions are under national command - committments to provide 67,100 troops were made at the Helsinki EU session in 2000. Some 56,000 EU troops were actually deployed in 2003. In August 2004, the new European Defense Agency, tasked with promoting cooperative European defense capabilities, began operations. As of November 2004, Germany, the United Kingdom, and France had proposed creation of three 1,500-man rapid-reaction "battle groups." |
| Military branches | Army (includes Naval Service and Air Corps), National Police (Garda Siochana) | - |
| Military expenditures - dollar figure | $738 million (2001 est.) | - |
| Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 0.75% (2001 est.) | - |
| Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49:
1,004,469 (2001 est.) |
- |
| Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49:
809,808 (2001 est.) |
- |
| Military manpower - military age | 17 years of age | - |
| Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males:
32,287 (2001 est.) |
- |
| National holiday | Saint Patrick's Day, 17 March | Europe Day 9 May (1950); note - a Union-wide holiday, the day that Robert Schuman proposed the creation of an organized Europe |
| Nationality | noun:
Irishman(men), Irishwoman(women), Irish (collective plural) adjective: Irish |
- |
| Natural hazards | NA | flooding along coasts; avalanches in mountainous area; earthquakes in the south; volcanic eruptions in Italy; periodic droughts in Spain; ice floes in the Baltic |
| Natural resources | zinc, lead, natural gas, barite, copper, gypsum, limestone, dolomite, peat, silver | iron ore, arable land, natural gas, petroleum, coal, copper, lead, zinc, hydropower, uranium, potash, fish |
| Net migration rate | 4.69 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 1.5 migrant(s)/1,000 population (July 2004 est.) |
| Pipelines | natural gas 7,592 km (transmission 1,158 km; distribution 6,434 km) (2000) | - |
| Political parties and leaders | Democratic Left [Proinsias DE ROSSA]; Fianna Fail [Bertie AHERN]; Fine Gael [Michael NOONAN]; Green Party [Mary BOWERS]; Labor Party [Ruairi QUINN]; Progressive Democrats [Mary HARNEY]; Sinn Fein [Gerry ADAMS]; Socialist Party [Joe HIGGINS]; The Workers' Party [Tom FRENCH] | Group of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe or ALDE [Graham R. WATSON]; Independence/Democracy Group or IND/DEM [Jens-Peter BONDE and Nigel FARAGE]; Group of Greens/European Free Alliance or Greens/EFA [Monica FRASSONI and Daniel Marc COHN-BENDIT]; Socialist Group in the European Parliament or PES [Martin SCHULZ]; Confederal Group of the European United Left-Nordic Green Left or EUL/NGL [Francis WURTZ]; European People's Party-European Democrats or EPP-ED [Hans-Gert POETTERING]; Union for Europe of the Nations Group or UEN [Brian CROWLEY and Cristiana MUSCARDINI] |
| Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | - |
| Population | 3,840,838 (July 2001 est.) | 456,285,839 (July 2004 est.) |
| Population below poverty line | 10% (1997 est.) | NA |
| Population growth rate | 1.12% (2001 est.) | 0.17% (July 2004 est.) |
| Ports and harbors | Arklow, Cork, Drogheda, Dublin, Foynes, Galway, Limerick, New Ross, Waterford | Antwerp (Belgium), Barcelona (Spain), Bremen (Germany), Copenhagen (Denmark), Gdansk (Poland), Hamburg (Germany), Helsinki (Finland), Las Palmas (Canary Islands, Spain), Le Havre (France), Lisbon (Portugal), London (UK), Marseille (France), Naples (Italy), Peiraiefs or Piraeus (Greece), Riga (Latvia), Rotterdam (Netherlands), Stockholm (Sweden), Talinn (Estonia) |
| Radio broadcast stations | AM 9, FM 106, shortwave 0 (1998) | AM 866, FM 13,396, shortwave 73 (1998); note - sum of individual country radio broadcast stations; there is also a European-wide station (Euroradio) |
| Radios | 2.55 million (1997) | - |
| Railways | total:
1,947 km broad gauge: 1,947 km 1.600-m gauge (38 km electrified; 485 km double track) (1998) |
total: 222,293 km
broad gauge: 28,438 km standard gauge: 186,405 km narrow gauge: 7,427 km other: 23 km (2003) |
| Religions | Roman Catholic 91.6%, Church of Ireland 2.5%, other 5.9% (1998) | Roman Catholic, Protestant, Orthodox, Muslim, Jewish |
| Sex ratio | at birth:
1.07 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.76 male(s)/female total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
at birth: NA
under 15 years: 1.06 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 65 years and older: 0.69 male(s)/female total population: 0.96 male(s)/female (July 2004 est.) |
| Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal |
| Telephone system | general assessment:
modern digital system using cable and microwave radio relay domestic: microwave radio relay international: satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) |
note - see individual country entries of member states |
| Telephones - main lines in use | 1.59 million (2001) | 238,763,162 (2002) |
| Telephones - mobile cellular | 2 million (2001) | 314,644,700 (2002) |
| Television broadcast stations | 4 (many low-power repeaters) (2001) | 2,791 (1995); note - does not include repeaters; sum of indiviual country television broadcast stations; there is also a European-wide station (Eurovision) |
| Terrain | mostly level to rolling interior plain surrounded by rugged hills and low mountains; sea cliffs on west coast | fairly flat along the Baltic and Atlantic coast; mountainous in the central and southern areas |
| Total fertility rate | 1.9 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 1.48 children born/woman (July 2004 est.) |
| Unemployment rate | 4.1% (2000) | 9.1% (2004 est.) |
| Waterways | 700 km (limited facilities for commercial traffic) (1998) | 53,512 km |
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