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Compare Ireland (2003) - World (2003)

Compare Ireland (2003) z World (2003)

 Ireland (2003)World (2003)
 IrelandWorld
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


note: Cavan, Donegal, and Monaghan are part of Ulster Province
268 nations, dependent areas, other, and miscellaneous entries
Age structure 0-14 years: 21.2% (male 427,017; female 404,191)


15-64 years: 67.4% (male 1,322,982; female 1,322,429)


65 years and over: 11.4% (male 194,724; female 252,797) (2003 est.)
0-14 years: 29.2% (male 932,581,592; female 885,688,851)


15-64 years: 63.7% (male 2,009,997,089; female 1,964,938,201)


65 years and over: 7.1% (male 193,549,180; female 247,067,032) (2003 est.)


note: some countries do not maintain age structure information, thus a slight discrepancy exists between the total world population and the total for world age structure
Agriculture - products turnips, barley, potatoes, sugar beets, wheat; beef, dairy products -
Airports 36 (2002) -
Airports - with paved runways total: 16


over 3,047 m: 1


2,438 to 3,047 m: 1


1,524 to 2,437 m: 4


914 to 1,523 m: 4


under 914 m: 6 (2002)
-
Airports - with unpaved runways total: 20


914 to 1,523 m: 3


under 914 m: 17 (2002)
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Area total: 70,280 sq km


land: 68,890 sq km


water: 1,390 sq km
total: 510.072 million sq km


land: 148.94 million sq km


water: 361.132 million sq km


note: 70.8% of the world's surface is water, 29.2% is land
Area - comparative slightly larger than West Virginia land area about 16 times the size of the US
Background Celtic tribes settled on the island in the 4th century B.C. Invasions by Norsemen that began in the late 8th century were finally ended when King Brian BORU defeated the Danes in 1014. English invasions began in the 12th century and set off more than seven centuries of Anglo-Irish struggle marked by fierce rebellions and harsh repressions. A failed 1916 Easter Monday Rebellion touched off several years of guerrilla warfare that in 1921 resulted in independence from the UK for 26 southern counties; six northern (Ulster) counties remained part of the United Kingdom. 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, known as the Good Friday Agreement and approved in 1998, is currently being implemented. Globally, the 20th century was marked by: (a) two devastating world wars; (b) the Great Depression of the 1930s; (c) the end of vast colonial empires; (d) rapid advances in science and technology, from the first airplane flight at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina (US) to the landing on the moon; (e) the Cold War between the Western alliance and the Warsaw Pact nations; (f) a sharp rise in living standards in North America, Europe, and Japan; (g) increased concerns about the environment, including loss of forests, shortages of energy and water, the decline in biological diversity, and air pollution; (h) the onset of the AIDS epidemic; and (i) the ultimate emergence of the US as the only world superpower. The planet's population continues to explode: from 1 billion in 1820, to 2 billion in 1930, 3 billion in 1960, 4 billion in 1974, 5 billion in 1988, and 6 billion in 2000. For the 21st century, the continued exponential growth in science and technology raises both hopes (e.g., advances in medicine) and fears (e.g., development of even more lethal weapons of war).
Birth rate 14.63 births/1,000 population (2003 est.) 20.43 births/1,000 population (2003 est.)
Budget revenues: $30.7 billion


expenditures: $30.5 billion, including capital expenditures of $5.5 billion (2002)
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Capital Dublin -
Climate temperate maritime; modified by North Atlantic Current; mild winters, cool summers; consistently humid; overcast about half the time two large areas of polar climates separated by two rather narrow temperate zones form a wide equatorial band of tropical to subtropical climates
Coastline 1,448 km 356,000 km
Constitution 29 December 1937; adopted 1 July 1937 by plebiscite -
Country name conventional long form: none


conventional short form: Ireland
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Currency euro (EUR)


note: on 1 January 1999, the European Monetary Union introduced the euro as a common currency to be used by financial institutions of member countries; on 1 January 2002, the euro became the sole currency for everyday transactions within the member countries
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Death rate 7.94 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.) 8.83 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.)
Debt - external $11 billion (1998) $2 trillion for less developed countries (2002 est.)
Diplomatic representation from the US chief of mission: Ambassador Richard J. EGAN


embassy: 42 Elgin Road, Ballsbridge, Dublin 4


mailing address: use embassy street address


telephone: [353] (1) 668-8777


FAX: [353] (1) 668-9946
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Diplomatic representation in the US chief of mission: Ambassador Noel FAHEY; note - FAHEY has announced that he will leave


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
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Disputes - international disputes with Iceland, Denmark, and the UK over the Faroe Islands continental shelf boundary outside 200 NM Globally, there are over 250,000 km of international land boundaries that separate the world's 192 independent states, along with 70 dependencies, areas of special sovereignty, and other miscellaneous entities. Maritime states have claimed limits and have so far established over 130 maritime boundaries and joint development zones to allocate ocean resources and to provide for their national security at sea. On land, ethnicity, culture, race, religion, and language have divided states into separate political entities as much as history, physical terrain, political fiat, or conquest, resulting in sometimes arbitrary and imposed boundaries. All of these factors have contributed to a wide array of boundary, borderland, and territorial disagreements that vary in intensity from unresolved or dormant to outright war. Territorial disputes may evolve from historical and/or cultural animosities, or they may be brought on by resource competition. Ethnic clashes continue to be responsible for territorial fragmentation around the world. Undemarcated, indefinite, porous, and unmanaged boundaries encourage illegal cross-border activities, uncontrolled migration, and political confrontation over boundary allocations. Other sources of contention include the use of water and mineral (especially petroleum) resources, fisheries, dams, and nuclear power plants. Many islands or island groups are also disputed, including those at sea and in streams. Nonetheless, many nations are actively cooperating to clarify, delineate, and demarcate their international borders. The tragic aspect of international discord is the impact on the sustenance and welfare of populations caught in the conflict. It is frequently left to members of the world community to cope with enormous refugee situations, and the resultant hunger, disease, and impoverishment that they create.
Economic aid - donor ODA, $283 million (2001) -
Economic aid - recipient - official development assistance (ODA) $50 billion
Economy - overview Ireland is a small, modern, trade-dependent economy with growth averaging a robust 8% in 1995-2002. The global slowdown, especially in the information technology sector, pressed growth down to 2.7% in 2003. Agriculture, once the most important sector, is now dwarfed by industry and services. Industry accounts for 46% of GDP and about 80% of exports and employs 28% of the labor force. Although exports remain the primary engine for Ireland's growth, the economy has also benefited from a rise in consumer spending, construction, and business investment. Per capita GDP is 10% above that of the four big European economies. 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. Growth in global output (gross world product, GWP) fell from 4.8% in 2000 to 2.2% in 2001 and 2.7% in 2002. The causes: sluggishness in the US economy (21% of GWP) and in the 15 EU economies (19% of GWP); continued stagnation in the Japanese economy (7.2% of GWP); and spillover effects in the less developed regions of the world. China, the second-largest economy in the world (12% of GWP), proved an exception, continuing its rapid annual growth, officially announced as 8% but estimated by many observers as perhaps two percentage points lower. Russia (2.6% of GWP), with 4% growth, continued to make uneven progress, its GDP per capita still only one-third that of the leading industrial nations. The other 14 successor nations of the USSR and the other old Warsaw Pact nations again experienced widely divergent growth rates; the three Baltic nations continued as strong performers, in the 5% range of growth. The developing nations also varied in their growth results, with many countries facing population increases that erode gains in output. Externally, the nation-state, as a bedrock economic-political institution, is steadily losing control over international flows of people, goods, funds, and technology. Internally, the central government often finds its control over resources slipping as separatist regional movements - typically based on ethnicity - gain momentum, e.g., in many of the successor states of the former Soviet Union, in the former Yugoslavia, in India, in Indonesia, and in Canada. Externally, the central government is losing decision-making powers to international bodies. In Western Europe, governments face the difficult political problem of channeling resources away from welfare programs in order to increase investment and strengthen incentives to seek employment. The addition of 80 million people each year to an already overcrowded globe is exacerbating the problems of pollution, desertification, underemployment, epidemics, and famine. Because of their own internal problems and priorities, the industrialized countries devote insufficient resources to deal effectively with the poorer areas of the world, which, at least from the economic point of view, are becoming further marginalized. The introduction of the euro as the common currency of much of Western Europe in January 1999, while paving the way for an integrated economic powerhouse, poses economic risks because of varying levels of income and cultural and political differences among the participating nations. The terrorist attacks on the US on 11 September 2001 accentuate a further growing risk to global prosperity, illustrated, for example, by the reallocation of resources away from investment to anti-terrorist programs. The opening of war in March 2003 between a US-led coalition and Iraq added new uncertainties to global economic prospects. (For specific economic developments in each country of the world in 2002, see the individual country entries.)
Electricity - consumption 21.63 billion kWh (2001) 13.93 trillion kWh (2001 est.)
Electricity - exports 285 million kWh (2001) -
Electricity - imports 38 million kWh (2001) -
Electricity - production 23.53 billion kWh (2001) 14.85 trillion kWh (2001 est.)
Electricity - production by source fossil fuel: 95.9%


hydro: 2.3%


nuclear: 0%


other: 1.7% (2001)
fossil fuel: NA%


hydro: NA%


nuclear: NA%


other: NA%
Elevation extremes lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m


highest point: Carrauntoohil 1,041 m
lowest point: Bentley Subglacial Trench -2,540 m


note: in the oceanic realm, Challenger Deep in the Mariana Trench is the lowest point, lying -10,924 m below the surface of the Pacific Ocean


highest point: Mount Everest 8,850 m (1999 est.)
Environment - current issues water pollution, especially of lakes, from agricultural runoff large areas subject to overpopulation, industrial disasters, pollution (air, water, acid rain, toxic substances), loss of vegetation (overgrazing, deforestation, desertification), loss of wildlife, soil degradation, soil depletion, erosion
Environment - international agreements party to: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Sulphur 94, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, 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, Endangered Species, Marine Life Conservation
-
Ethnic groups Celtic, English -
Exchange rates euros per US dollar - 1.06 (2002), 1.12 (2001), 1.09 (2000), 0.94 (1999), 0.7 (1998) -
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
-
Exports 27,450 bbl/day (2001) 703.9 billion cu m (2001 est.)
Exports - commodities machinery and equipment, computers, chemicals, pharmaceuticals; live animals, animal products (1999) the whole range of industrial and agricultural goods and services
Exports - partners UK 23.3%, US 16.7%, Belgium 14.6%, Germany 7.3%, France 5% (2002) US 17.4%, Germany 7.6%, UK 5.4%, France 5.1%, Japan 4.8%, China 4% (2002)
Fiscal year calendar year -
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 -
GDP purchasing power parity - $113.7 billion (2002 est.) GWP (gross world product) - purchasing power parity - $49 trillion (2002 est.)
GDP - composition by sector agriculture: 5%


industry: 46%


services: 49% (2002 est.)
agriculture: 4%


industry: 32%


services: 64% (2002 est.)
GDP - per capita purchasing power parity - $29,300 (2002 est.) purchasing power parity - $7,900 (2002 est.)
GDP - real growth rate 6.9% (2002 est.) 2.7% (2001 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 the world is now thought to be about 4.55 billion years old, just about one-third of the 13-billion-year age estimated for the universe
Highways total: 92,500 km


paved: 87,043 km (including 115 km of expressways)


unpaved: 5,457 km (2000 est.)
total: NA km


paved: NA km


unpaved: NA km
Household income or consumption by percentage share lowest 10%: 2%


highest 10%: 27.3% (1997)
lowest 10%: NA%


highest 10%: NA%
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 cocaine: worldwide, coca is grown on an estimated 205,450 hectares - almost exclusively in South America with 70% in Colombia; potential cocaine production during 2002 is estimated at 938 metric tons (or 1,200 metric tons of export quality cocaine at an average of 78% purity); coca eradication programs continue in Bolivia, Colombia, and Peru, and 292 metric tons of export quality cocaine are documented to have been seized in 2002; consumption of export quality cocaine is estimated to have been 875 metric tons


opiates: cultivation of opium poppy occurred on an estimated 141,213 hectares in 2002 and potentially produced 2,183 metric tons of opium - which conceivably could be converted to the equivalent of 238 metric tons of pure heroin; opium eradication programs have been undertaken in Afghanistan, Burma, Colombia, Mexico, Pakistan, Thailand, and Vietnam, and the annual average for opiates seized worldwide over the past five years (1998-2002) has been 45 metric tons of pure heroin equivalent; estimates for average annual consumption over this time period are 315 metric tons pure heroin equivalent
Imports 178,600 bbl/day (2001) 697.5 billion cu m (2001 est.)
Imports - commodities data processing equipment, other machinery and equipment, chemicals; petroleum and petroleum products, textiles, clothing the whole range of industrial and agricultural goods and services
Imports - partners UK 41.1%, US 15.3%, Germany 6.8% (2002) US 11.2%, Germany 9.2%, China 7%, Japan 6.8%, France 4.7%, UK 4% (2002)
Independence 6 December 1921 (from UK by treaty) -
Industrial production growth rate 6% (2002 est.) 3% (2002 est.)
Industries food products, brewing, textiles, clothing; chemicals, pharmaceuticals, machinery, transportation equipment, glass and crystal; software dominated by the onrush of technology, especially in computers, robotics, telecommunications, and medicines and medical equipment; most of these advances take place in OECD nations; only a small portion of non-OECD countries have succeeded in rapidly adjusting to these technological forces; the accelerated development of new industrial (and agricultural) technology is complicating already grim environmental problems
Infant mortality rate total: 5.34 deaths/1,000 live births


male: 5.95 deaths/1,000 live births


female: 4.69 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.)
total: 51.38 deaths/1,000 live births


male: 53.81 deaths/1,000 live births


female: 48.83 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices) 4.6% (2002 est.) developed countries 1% to 4% typically; developing countries 5% to 60% typically; national inflation rates vary widely in individual cases, from declining prices in Japan to hyperinflation in several Third World countries
International organization participation Australia Group, BIS, CE, EAPC, EBRD, ECE, EIB, EMU, ESA, EU, FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, MINURSO, MONUC, NAM (guest), NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, PFP, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNFICYP, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIFIL, UNIKOM, UNMEE, UNMIBH, UNMIK, UNMISET, UNMOP, UNTSO, UPU, WCO, WEU (observer), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTrO, ZC -
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) 22 (2000) 10,350 (2000 est.)
Irrigated land NA sq km 2,714,320 sq km (1998 est.)
Judicial branch Supreme Court (judges appointed by the president on the advice of the prime minister and cabinet) -
Labor force 1.8 million (2001) NA
Labor force - by occupation agriculture 8%, industry 29%, services 64% (2002 est.) agriculture NA%, industry NA%, services NA%
Land boundaries total: 360 km


border countries: UK 360 km
the land boundaries in the world total 250,472 km (not counting shared boundaries twice)
Land use arable land: 19.49%


permanent crops: 0.04%


other: 80.47% (1998 est.)
arable land: 10.58%


permanent crops: 1%


other: 88.42% (1998 est.)
Languages English is the language generally used, Irish (Gaelic) spoken mainly in areas located along the western seaboard Chinese, Mandarin 14.37%, Hindi 6.02%, English 5.61%, Spanish 5.59%, Bengali 3.4%, Portuguese 2.63%, Russian 2.75%, Japanese 2.06%, German, Standard 1.64%, Korean 1.28%, French 1.27% (2000 est.)


note: percents are for "first language" speakers only
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 all members of the UN plus Switzerland are parties to the statute that established the International Court of Justice (ICJ) or World Court
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 16 and 17 July 2002 (next to be held by July 2007); House of Representatives - last held 17 May 2002 (next to be held by May 2007)


election results: Senate - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - Fianna Fail 30, Fine Gael 15, Labor Party 5, Progressive Democrats 4, independents and others 6; House of Representatives - percent of vote by party - Fianna Fail 41.5%, Fine Gael 22.5%, Labor Party 10.8%, Sinn Fein 6.5%, Progressive Democrats 4.0%, Green Party 3.8%, others 10.9%; seats by party - Fianna Fail 81, Fine Gael 31, Labor Party 21, Progressive Democrats 8, Green Party 6, Sinn Fein 5, others 14
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Life expectancy at birth total population: 77.35 years


male: 74.58 years


female: 80.31 years (2003 est.)
total population: 63.95 years


male: 62 years


female: 70.23 years (2003 est.)
Literacy definition: age 15 and over can read and write


total population: 98% (1981 est.)


male: NA


female: NA
definition: age 15 and over can read and write


total population: 77%


male: 83%


female: 71% (1995 est.)
Location Western Europe, occupying five-sixths of the island of Ireland in the North Atlantic Ocean, west of Great Britain -
Map references Europe Physical Map of the World, Political Map of the World, Standard Time Zones of the World
Maritime claims exclusive fishing zone: 200 NM


territorial sea: 12 NM
a variety of situations exist, but in general, most countries make the following claims: contiguous zone - 24 NM; continental shelf - 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation, or 200 NM or to the edge of the continental margin; exclusive fishing zone - 200 NM; exclusive economic zone - 200 NM; territorial sea - 12 NM; boundary situations with neighboring states prevent many countries from extending their fishing or economic zones to a full 200 NM; 43 nations and other areas that are landlocked include Afghanistan, Andorra, Armenia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bhutan, Bolivia, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Central African Republic, Chad, Czech Republic, Ethiopia, Holy See (Vatican City), Hungary, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Lesotho, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Malawi, Mali, Moldova, Mongolia, Nepal, Niger, Paraguay, Rwanda, San Marino, Slovakia, Swaziland, Switzerland, Tajikistan, The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Turkmenistan, Uganda, Uzbekistan, West Bank, Zambia, Zimbabwe; two of these, Liechtenstein and Uzbekistan, are doubly landlocked
Merchant marine total: 26 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 110,913 GRT/128,017 DWT


ships by type: bulk 4, cargo 20, container 1, short-sea passenger 1


note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: Germany 2 (2002 est.)
-
Military branches Army (including Naval Service and Air Corps), National Police (Garda Siochana) -
Military expenditures - dollar figure $700 million (FY00/01) aggregate real expenditure on arms worldwide in 1999 remained at approximately the 1998 level, about three-quarters of a trillion dollars (1999 est.)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP 0.9% (FY00/01) roughly 2% of gross world product (1999 est.)
Military manpower - availability males age 15-49: 1,020,182 (2003 est.) -
Military manpower - fit for military service males age 15-49: 821,378 (2003 est.) -
Military manpower - military age 17 years of age (2003 est.) -
Military manpower - reaching military age annually males: 31,437 (2003 est.) -
National holiday Saint Patrick's Day, 17 March -
Nationality noun: Irishman(men), Irishwoman(women), Irish (collective plural)


adjective: Irish
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Natural hazards NA large areas subject to severe weather (tropical cyclones), natural disasters (earthquakes, landslides, tsunamis, volcanic eruptions)
Natural resources zinc, lead, natural gas, barite, copper, gypsum, limestone, dolomite, peat, silver the rapid depletion of nonrenewable mineral resources, the depletion of forest areas and wetlands, the extinction of animal and plant species, and the deterioration in air and water quality (especially in Eastern Europe, the former USSR, and China) pose serious long-term problems that governments and peoples are only beginning to address
Net migration rate 3.57 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.) -
Pipelines gas 1,795 km (2003) -
Political parties and leaders Fianna Fail [Bertie AHERN]; Fine Gael [Enda KENNY]; Green Party [Trevor SARGENT]; Labor Party [Pat RABITTE]; Progressive Democrats [Mary HARNEY]; Sinn Fein [Gerry ADAMS]; Socialist Party [Joe HIGGINS]; The Workers' Party [Sean GARLAND] -
Political pressure groups and leaders NA -
Population 3,924,140 (July 2003 est.) 6,302,309,691 (July 2003 est.)
Population below poverty line 10% (1997 est.) -
Population growth rate 1.03% (2003 est.) 1.17% (2003 est.)
Ports and harbors Arklow, Cork, Drogheda, Dublin, Foynes, Galway, Limerick, New Ross, Waterford Chiba, Houston, Kawasaki, Kobe, Marseille, Mina' al Ahmadi (Kuwait), New Orleans, New York, Rotterdam, Yokohama
Radio broadcast stations AM 9, FM 106, shortwave 0 (1998) AM NA, FM NA, shortwave NA
Railways total: 3,312 km


broad gauge: 1,947 km 1.600-m gauge (46 km electrified)


narrow gauge: 1,365 km 0.914-m gauge (operated by the Irish Peat Board to transport peat to power stations and briquetting plants) (2002)
total: 1,122,650 km includes about 190,000 to 195,000 km of electrified routes of which 147,760 km are in Europe, 24,509 km in the Far East, 11,050 km in Africa, 4,223 km in South America, and 4,160 km in North America; note - fastest speed in daily service is 300 km/hr attained by France's Societe Nationale des Chemins-de-Fer Francais (SNCF) Le Train a Grande Vitesse (TGV) - Atlantique line


broad gauge: 251,153 km


standard gauge: 710,754 km


narrow gauge: 239,430 km
Religions Roman Catholic 91.6%, Church of Ireland 2.5%, other 5.9% (1998) Christians 32.79% (of which Roman Catholics 17.33%, Protestants 5.62%, Orthodox 3.51%, Anglicans 1.31%), Muslims 19.6%, Hindus 13.31%, Buddhists 5.88%, Sikhs 0.38%, Jews 0.24%, other religions 12.83%, non-religious 12.53%, atheists 2.44% (2001 est.)
Sex ratio at birth: 1.07 male(s)/female


under 15 years: 1.06 male(s)/female


15-64 years: 1 male(s)/female


65 years and over: 0.77 male(s)/female


total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2003 est.)
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female


under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female


15-64 years: 1.02 male(s)/female


65 years and over: 0.78 male(s)/female


total population: 1.01 male(s)/female (2003 est.)
Suffrage 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)
general assessment: NA


domestic: NA


international: NA
Telephones - main lines in use 1.6 million (2002) NA
Telephones - mobile cellular 3 million (2002) NA
Television broadcast stations 4 (many low-power repeaters) (2001) NA
Terrain mostly level to rolling interior plain surrounded by rugged hills and low mountains; sea cliffs on west coast the greatest ocean depth is the Mariana Trench at 10,924 m in the Pacific Ocean
Total fertility rate 1.89 children born/woman (2003 est.) 2.65 children born/woman (2003 est.)
Unemployment rate 4.3% (2002 est.) 30% combined unemployment and underemployment in many non-industrialized countries; developed countries typically 4%-12% unemployment
Waterways 700 km (limited facilities for commercial traffic) (1998) -
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