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Compare Ireland (2004) - Southern Ocean (2007)

Compare Ireland (2004) z Southern Ocean (2007)

 Ireland (2004)Southern Ocean (2007)
 IrelandSouthern Ocean
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
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Age structure 0-14 years: 21% (male 430,905; female 404,218)


15-64 years: 67.5% (male 1,342,233; female 1,337,580)


65 years and over: 11.5% (male 199,379; female 255,243) (2004 est.)
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Agriculture - products turnips, barley, potatoes, sugar beets, wheat; beef, dairy products -
Airports 36 (2003 est.) -
Airports - with paved runways total: 15


over 3,047 m: 1


2,438 to 3,047 m: 1


1,524 to 2,437 m: 4


914 to 1,523 m: 3


under 914 m: 6 (2004 est.)
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Airports - with unpaved runways total: 21


914 to 1,523 m: 4


under 914 m: 17 (2004 est.)
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Area total: 70,280 sq km


land: 68,890 sq km


water: 1,390 sq km
total: 20.327 million sq km


note: includes Amundsen Sea, Bellingshausen Sea, part of the Drake Passage, Ross Sea, a small part of the Scotia Sea, Weddell Sea, and other tributary water bodies
Area - comparative slightly larger than West Virginia slightly more than twice the size of the US
Background Celtic tribes settled on the island from 600-150 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 being implemented with some difficulties. A large body of recent oceanographic research has shown that the Antarctic Circumpolar Current (ACC), an ocean current that flows from west to east around Antarctica, plays a crucial role in global ocean circulation. The region where the cold waters of the ACC meet and mingle with the warmer waters of the north defines a distinct border - the Antarctic Convergence - which fluctuates with the seasons, but which encompasses a discrete body of water and a unique ecologic region. The Convergence concentrates nutrients, which promotes marine plant life, and which in turn allows for a greater abundance of animal life. In the spring of 2000, the International Hydrographic Organization decided to delimit the waters within the Convergence as a fifth world ocean - the Southern Ocean - by combining the southern portions of the Atlantic Ocean, Indian Ocean, and Pacific Ocean. The Southern Ocean extends from the coast of Antarctica north to 60 degrees south latitude, which coincides with the Antarctic Treaty Limit and which approximates the extent of the Antarctic Convergence. As such, the Southern Ocean is now the fourth largest of the world's five oceans (after the Pacific Ocean, Atlantic Ocean, and Indian Ocean, but larger than the Arctic Ocean). It should be noted that inclusion of the Southern Ocean does not imply recognition of this feature as one of the world's primary oceans by the US Government.
Birth rate 14.47 births/1,000 population (2004 est.) -
Budget revenues: $53.22 billion


expenditures: $53.5 billion, including capital expenditures of $5.5 billion (2003)
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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 sea temperatures vary from about 10 degrees Celsius to -2 degrees Celsius; cyclonic storms travel eastward around the continent and frequently are intense because of the temperature contrast between ice and open ocean; the ocean area from about latitude 40 south to the Antarctic Circle has the strongest average winds found anywhere on Earth; in winter the ocean freezes outward to 65 degrees south latitude in the Pacific sector and 55 degrees south latitude in the Atlantic sector, lowering surface temperatures well below 0 degrees Celsius; at some coastal points intense persistent drainage winds from the interior keep the shoreline ice-free throughout the winter
Coastline 1,448 km 17,968 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 7.91 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.) -
Debt - external $11 billion (1998) -
Diplomatic representation from the US chief of mission: Ambassador James C. KENNY


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


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 Antarctic Treaty defers claims (see Antarctica entry), but Argentina, Australia, Chile, France, NZ, Norway, and UK assert claims (some overlapping), including the continental shelf in the Southern Ocean; several states have expressed an interest in extending those continental shelf claims under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) to include undersea ridges; the US and most other states do not recognize the land or maritime claims of other states and have made no claims themselves (the US and Russia have reserved the right to do so); no formal claims exist in the waters in the sector between 90 degrees west and 150 degrees west
Economic aid - donor ODA, $283 million (2001) -
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 2.1% 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 and the second highest in the sEU, behind Luxembourg. Over the past decade, the Irish Government has implemented a series of national economic programs designed to curb price and wage 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. Fisheries in 2003-04 landed 136,262 metric tons, of which 87% (118,166 tons) was krill and 8% (11,182 tons) Patagonian toothfish, compared to 142,555 tons in 2002-03 of which 83% (117,728 tons) was krill and 12% (16,479 tons) Patagonian toothfish (estimated fishing from the area covered by the Convention of the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR), which extends slightly beyond the Southern Ocean area). International agreements were adopted in late 1999 to reduce illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing, which in the 2000-01 season landed, by one estimate, 8,376 metric tons of Patagonian and Antarctic toothfish. In the 2004-05 Antarctic summer, 28,202 tourists, most of them seaborne (approximately 97%), visited the Southern Ocean and Antarctica, compared to 14,762 in 1999-2000.
Electricity - consumption 21.63 billion kWh (2001) -
Electricity - exports 285 million kWh (2001) -
Electricity - imports 38 million kWh (2001) -
Electricity - production 23.53 billion kWh (2001) -
Elevation extremes lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m


highest point: Carrauntoohil 1,041 m
lowest point: -7,235 m at the southern end of the South Sandwich Trench


highest point: sea level 0 m
Environment - current issues water pollution, especially of lakes, from agricultural runoff increased solar ultraviolet radiation resulting from the Antarctic ozone hole in recent years, reducing marine primary productivity (phytoplankton) by as much as 15% and damaging the DNA of some fish; illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing in recent years, especially the landing of an estimated five to six times more Patagonian toothfish than the regulated fishery, which is likely to affect the sustainability of the stock; large amount of incidental mortality of seabirds resulting from long-line fishing for toothfish


note: the now-protected fur seal population is making a strong comeback after severe overexploitation in the 18th and 19th centuries
Environment - international agreements party to: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Sulfur 94, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling


signed, but not ratified: Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Marine Life Conservation
the Southern Ocean is subject to all international agreements regarding the world's oceans; in addition, it is subject to these agreements specific to the Antarctic region: International Whaling Commission (prohibits commercial whaling south of 40 degrees south [south of 60 degrees south between 50 degrees and 130 degrees west]); Convention on the Conservation of Antarctic Seals (limits sealing); Convention on the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (regulates fishing)


note: many nations (including the US) prohibit mineral resource exploration and exploitation south of the fluctuating Polar Front (Antarctic Convergence), which is in the middle of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current and serves as the dividing line between the cold polar surface waters to the south and the warmer waters to the north
Ethnic groups Celtic, English -
Exchange rates euros per US dollar - 0.886 (2003), 1.0626 (2002), 1.1175 (2001), 1.0854 (2000), 0.9386 (1999) -
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 scheduled for 22 October 2004); note - Mary MCALEESE appointed to a second term when no other candidate qualified for the 2004 presidential election; 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
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Exports 27,450 bbl/day (2001) -
Exports - commodities machinery and equipment, computers, chemicals, pharmaceuticals; live animals, animal products (1999) -
Exports - partners US 20.5%, UK 18.1%, Belgium 12.6%, Germany 8.3%, France 6.1%, Netherlands 5.1%, Italy 4.6% (2003) -
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 - $116.2 billion (2003 est.) -
GDP - composition by sector agriculture: 5%


industry: 46%


services: 49% (2002 est.)
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GDP - per capita purchasing power parity - $29,600 (2003 est.) -
GDP - real growth rate 1.4% (2003 est.) -
Geographic coordinates 53 00 N, 8 00 W 60 00 S, 90 00 E (nominally), but the Southern Ocean has the unique distinction of being a large circumpolar body of water totally encircling the continent of Antarctica; this ring of water lies between 60 degrees south latitude and the coast of Antarctica and encompasses 360 degrees of longitude
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 major chokepoint is the Drake Passage between South America and Antarctica; the Polar Front (Antarctic Convergence) is the best natural definition of the northern extent of the Southern Ocean; it is a distinct region at the middle of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current that separates the cold polar surface waters to the south from the warmer waters to the north; the Front and the Current extend entirely around Antarctica, reaching south of 60 degrees south near New Zealand and near 48 degrees south in the far South Atlantic coinciding with the path of the maximum westerly winds
Highways total: 92,500 km


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


unpaved: 5,457 km (2000 est.)
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Household income or consumption by percentage share lowest 10%: 2%


highest 10%: 27.3% (1997)
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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; despite recent legislation, narcotics-related money laundering using bureaux de change, trusts, shell companies involving the offshore financial community remains a concern -
Imports 178,600 bbl/day (2001) -
Imports - commodities data processing equipment, other machinery and equipment, chemicals; petroleum and petroleum products, textiles, clothing -
Imports - partners UK 34.9%, US 15.8%, Germany 7.9%, Netherlands 4.1% (2003) -
Independence 6 December 1921 (from UK by treaty) -
Industrial production growth rate 6.7% (2003 est.) -
Industries food products, brewing, textiles, clothing; chemicals, pharmaceuticals, machinery, transportation equipment, glass and crystal; software -
Infant mortality rate total: 5.5 deaths/1,000 live births


male: 6.04 deaths/1,000 live births


female: 4.92 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.)
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Inflation rate (consumer prices) 3.5% (2003 est.) -
International organization participation Australia Group, BIS, CE, EAPC, EBRD, 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, MIGA, MINURSO, MONUC, NAM (guest), NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OPCW, OSCE, Paris Club, PCA, PFP, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNFICYP, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIFIL, UNMIK, UNMIL, UNOCI, UNTSO, UPU, WCO, WEU (observer), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO, ZC -
Irrigated land NA sq km -
Judicial branch Supreme Court (judges appointed by the president on the advice of the prime minister and cabinet) -
Labor force 1.871 million (2003) -
Labor force - by occupation agriculture 8%, industry 29%, services 64% (2002 est.) -
Land boundaries total: 360 km


border countries: UK 360 km
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Land use arable land: 15.2%


permanent crops: 0.03%


other: 84.77% (2001)
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Languages English is the language generally used, Irish (Gaelic or Gaeilge) spoken mainly in areas located along the western seaboard -
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 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: 77.36 years


male: 74.74 years


female: 80.15 years (2004 est.)
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Literacy definition: age 15 and over can read and write


total population: 98% (1981 est.)


male: NA


female: NA
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Location Western Europe, occupying five-sixths of the island of Ireland in the North Atlantic Ocean, west of Great Britain body of water between 60 degrees south latitude and Antarctica
Map references Europe Antarctic Region
Maritime claims territorial sea: 12 nm


exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm
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Merchant marine total: 35 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 288,401 GRT/383,628 DWT


by type: bulk 7, cargo 22, chemical tanker 1, container 3, roll on/roll off 1, short-sea/passenger 1


foreign-owned: Germany 3, Italy 7, Norway 2


registered in other countries: 18 (2004 est.)
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Military branches Army (including Naval Service and Air Corps) -
Military expenditures - dollar figure $700 million (FY00/01) -
Military expenditures - percent of GDP 0.9% (FY00/01) -
Military manpower - availability males age 15-49: 1,029,525 (2004 est.) -
Military manpower - fit for military service males age 15-49: 827,811 (2004 est.) -
Military manpower - reaching military age annually males: 30,083 (2004 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 huge icebergs with drafts up to several hundred meters; smaller bergs and iceberg fragments; sea ice (generally 0.5 to 1 m thick) with sometimes dynamic short-term variations and with large annual and interannual variations; deep continental shelf floored by glacial deposits varying widely over short distances; high winds and large waves much of the year; ship icing, especially May-October; most of region is remote from sources of search and rescue
Natural resources natural gas, peat, copper, lead, zinc, silver, barite, gypsum, limestone, dolomite probable large and possible giant oil and gas fields on the continental margin, manganese nodules, possible placer deposits, sand and gravel, fresh water as icebergs; squid, whales, and seals - none exploited; krill, fish
Net migration rate 4.99 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.) -
Pipelines gas 1,795 km (2004) -
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 3,969,558 (July 2004 est.) -
Population below poverty line 10% (1997 est.) -
Population growth rate 1.16% (2004 est.) -
Ports and harbors Arklow, Cork, Drogheda, Dublin, Foynes, Galway, Limerick, New Ross, Waterford -
Radio broadcast stations AM 9, FM 106, shortwave 0 (1998) -
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) (2003)
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Religions Roman Catholic 91.6%, Church of Ireland 2.5%, other 5.9% (1998) -
Sex ratio at birth: 1.07 male(s)/female


under 15 years: 1.07 male(s)/female


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


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


total population: 0.99 male(s)/female (2004 est.)
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Suffrage 18 years of age; universal -
Telephone system general assessment: modern digital system using cable and microwave radio relay


domestic: microwave radio relay


international: country code - 353; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean)
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Telephones - main lines in use 1.955 million (2003) -
Telephones - mobile cellular 3.4 million (2003) -
Television broadcast stations 4 (many low-power repeaters) (2001) -
Terrain mostly level to rolling interior plain surrounded by rugged hills and low mountains; sea cliffs on west coast the Southern Ocean is deep, 4,000 to 5,000 m over most of its extent with only limited areas of shallow water; the Antarctic continental shelf is generally narrow and unusually deep, its edge lying at depths of 400 to 800 m (the global mean is 133 m); the Antarctic icepack grows from an average minimum of 2.6 million sq km in March to about 18.8 million sq km in September, better than a sixfold increase in area; the Antarctic Circumpolar Current (21,000 km in length) moves perpetually eastward; it is the world's largest ocean current, transporting 130 million cubic meters of water per second - 100 times the flow of all the world's rivers
Total fertility rate 1.87 children born/woman (2004 est.) -
Transportation - note - Drake Passage offers alternative to transit through the Panama Canal
Unemployment rate 4.7% (2003 est.) -
Waterways 753 km (pleasure craft only) (2004) -
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