Ireland (2006) | Guam (2001) | |
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 |
none (territory of the US) |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 20.9% (male 437,903/female 409,774)
15-64 years: 67.6% (male 1,373,771/female 1,370,452) 65 years and over: 11.6% (male 207,859/female 262,476) (2006 est.) |
0-14 years:
35.07% (male 28,978; female 26,270) 15-64 years: 58.78% (male 48,704; female 43,902) 65 years and over: 6.15% (male 4,871; female 4,832) (2001 est.) |
Agriculture - products | turnips, barley, potatoes, sugar beets, wheat; beef, dairy products | fruits, copra, vegetables; eggs, pork, poultry, beef |
Airports | 36 (2006) | 5 (2000 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 (2006) |
total:
4 over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 21
914 to 1,523 m: 4 under 914 m: 17 (2006) |
total:
1 under 914 m: 1 (2000 est.) |
Area | total: 70,280 sq km
land: 68,890 sq km water: 1,390 sq km |
total:
549 sq km land: 549 sq km water: 0 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly larger than West Virginia | three times the size of Washington, DC |
Background | Celtic tribes arrived on the island between 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 UK. 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. | Guam was ceded to the US by Spain in 1898. Captured by the Japanese in 1941, it was retaken by the US three years later. The military installation on the island is one of the most strategically important US bases in the Pacific. |
Birth rate | 14.45 births/1,000 population (2006 est.) | 25.07 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $70.46 billion
expenditures: $69.4 billion; including capital expenditures of $5.5 billion (2005 est.) |
revenues:
$605.3 million expenditures: $654.2 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (2000) |
Capital | name: Dublin
geographic coordinates: 53 20 N, 6 15 W time difference: UTC 0 (5 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) daylight saving time: +1hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last Sunday in October |
Hagatna (Agana) |
Climate | temperate maritime; modified by North Atlantic Current; mild winters, cool summers; consistently humid; overcast about half the time | tropical marine; generally warm and humid, moderated by northeast trade winds; dry season from January to June, rainy season from July to December; little seasonal temperature variation |
Coastline | 1,448 km | 125.5 km |
Constitution | adopted 1 July 1937 by plebiscite; effective 29 December 1937 | Organic Act of 1 August 1950 |
Country name | conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Ireland local long form: none local short form: Eire |
conventional long form:
Territory of Guam conventional short form: Guam |
Currency | - | US dollar (USD) |
Death rate | 7.82 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.) | 4.2 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Debt - external | $1.049 trillion (30 June 2005) | $NA |
Dependency status | - | organized, unincorporated territory of the US with policy relations between Guam and the US under the jurisdiction of the Office of Insular Affairs, US Department of the Interior |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Thomas C. FOLEY
embassy: 42 Elgin Road, Ballsbridge, Dublin 4 mailing address: use embassy street address telephone: [353] (1) 668-8777 FAX: [353] (1) 668-9946 |
none (territory of the US) |
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, San Francisco |
none (territory of the US) |
Disputes - international | Ireland, Iceland, and the UK dispute Denmark's claim that the Faroe Islands' continental shelf extends beyond 200 nm | none |
Economic aid - donor | ODA, $607 million (2004) | - |
Economic aid - recipient | - | Guam receives large transfer payments from the US Federal Treasury ($143 million in 1997) into which Guamanians pay no income or excise taxes; under the provisions of a special law of Congress, the Guam Treasury, rather than the US Treasury, receives federal income taxes paid by military and civilian Federal employees stationed in Guam |
Economy - overview | Ireland is a small, modern, trade-dependent economy with growth averaging a robust 7% in 1995-2004. Agriculture, once the most important sector, is now dwarfed by industry and services. Industry accounts for 46% of GDP, about 80% of exports, and 29% 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 EU 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 circulating the euro on 1 January 2002 along with 11 other EU nations. | The economy depends on US military spending, tourism, and the export of fish and handicrafts. Total US grants, wage payments, and procurement outlays amounted to $1 billion in 1998. Over the past 20 years, the tourist industry has grown rapidly, creating a construction boom for new hotels and the expansion of older ones. More than 1 million tourists visit Guam each year. The industry has recently suffered setbacks because of the continuing Japanese slowdown; the Japanese normally make up almost 90% of the tourists. Most food and industrial goods are imported. Guam faces the problem of building up the civilian economic sector to offset the impact of military downsizing. |
Electricity - consumption | 22.97 billion kWh (2003) | 744 million kWh (1999) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2003) | 0 kWh (1999) |
Electricity - imports | 1.2 billion kWh (2003) | 0 kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production | 23.41 billion kWh (2003) | 800 million kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production by source | - | fossil fuel:
100% hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Carrauntoohil 1,041 m |
lowest point:
Pacific Ocean 0 m highest point: Mount Lamlam 406 m |
Environment - current issues | water pollution, especially of lakes, from agricultural runoff | extirpation of native bird population by the rapid proliferation of the brown tree snake, an exotic species |
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 |
- |
Ethnic groups | Celtic, English | Chamorro 47%, Filipino 25%, white 10%, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, and other 18% |
Exchange rates | euros per US dollar - 0.8041 (2005), 0.8054 (2004), 0.886 (2003), 1.0626 (2002), 1.1175 (2001) | the US dollar is used |
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 (eligible for a second term); election last held 31 October 1997 (next scheduled for October 2011); note - Mary MCALEESE appointed to a second term when no other candidate qualified for the 2004 presidential election; prime minister (taoiseach) 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 state:
President George W. BUSH of the US (since 20 January 2001); Vice President Richard B. CHENEY (since 20 January 2001) head of government: Governor Carl GUTIERREZ (since 8 November 1994) and Lieutenant Governor Madeleine BORDALLO (since 8 November 1994) cabinet: executive departments; heads appointed by the governor with the consent of the Guam legislature elections: US president and vice president elected on the same ticket for a four-year term; governor and lieutenant governor elected on the same ticket by popular vote for four-year terms; election last held 3 November 1998 (next to be held NA November 2002) election results: Carl GUTIERREZ reelected governor; percent of vote - Carl GUTIERREZ (Democrat) 53.2%, Joseph ADA (Republican) 46.8% |
Exports | 27,450 bbl/day (2001) | $75.7 million (f.o.b., 1999) |
Exports - commodities | machinery and equipment, computers, chemicals, pharmaceuticals; live animals, animal products | mostly transshipments of refined petroleum products; construction materials, fish, food and beverage products |
Exports - partners | US 18.7%, UK 17.4%, Belgium 15.2%, Germany 7.4%, France 6.4%, Netherlands 4.8% (2005) | US 25% |
Fiscal year | calendar year | 1 October - 30 September |
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 | territorial flag is dark blue with a narrow red border on all four sides; centered is a red-bordered, pointed, vertical ellipse containing a beach scene, outrigger canoe with sail, and a palm tree with the word GUAM superimposed in bold red letters; US flag is the national flag |
GDP | - | purchasing power parity - $3.2 billion (2000 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 5%
industry: 46% services: 49% (2002 est.) |
agriculture:
NA% industry: 15% (1993) services: NA% |
GDP - per capita | - | purchasing power parity - $21,000 (2000 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 5.5% (2005 est.) | NA% |
Geographic coordinates | 53 00 N, 8 00 W | 13 28 N, 144 47 E |
Geography - note | strategic location on major air and sea routes between North America and northern Europe; over 40% of the population resides within 100 km of Dublin | largest and southernmost island in the Mariana Islands archipelago; strategic location in western North Pacific Ocean |
Highways | - | total:
885 km paved: 675 km unpaved: 210 km note: there are also 685 km of roads classified non-public, including roads located on federal government installations |
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; despite recent legislation, narcotics-related money laundering - using bureaux de change, trusts, and shell companies involving the offshore financial community - remains a concern | - |
Imports | 178,600 bbl/day (2001) | $203 million (f.o.b., 1999 est.) |
Imports - commodities | data processing equipment, other machinery and equipment, chemicals, petroleum and petroleum products, textiles, clothing | petroleum and petroleum products, food, manufactured goods |
Imports - partners | UK 37%, US 13.8%, Germany 9.2%, Netherlands 4.5% (2005) | US 23%, Japan 19% |
Independence | 6 December 1921 (from UK by treaty) | none (territory of the US) |
Industrial production growth rate | 3% (2005 est.) | NA% |
Industries | steel, lead, zinc, silver, aluminum, barite, and gypsum mining processing; food products, brewing, textiles, clothing; chemicals, pharmaceuticals; machinery, rail transportation equipment, passenger and commercial vehicles, ship construction and refurbishment; glass and crystal; software, tourism | US military, tourism, construction, transshipment services, concrete products, printing and publishing, food processing, textiles |
Infant mortality rate | total: 5.31 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 5.82 deaths/1,000 live births female: 4.76 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.) |
6.71 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 2.4% (2005 est.) | 0% (1999 est.) |
International organization participation | AsDB, Australia Group, BIS, CE, EAPC, EBRD, EIB, EMU, ESA, EU, FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITU, MIGA, MINURSO, MONUC, NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OPCW, OSCE, Paris Club, PCA, PFP, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIFIL, UNMIL, UNOCI, UNTSO, UPU, WCO, WEU (observer), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO, ZC | ESCAP (associate), Interpol (subbureau), IOC, SPC |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | - | 20 (2000) |
Irrigated land | NA | NA sq km |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court (judges appointed by the president on the advice of the prime minister and cabinet) | Federal District Court (judge is appointed by the president); Territorial Superior Court (judges appointed for eight-year terms by the governor) |
Labor force | 2.03 million (2005 est.) | 60,000 (2000 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture: 8%
industry: 29% services: 64% (2002 est.) |
federal and territorial government 26%, private 74% (trade 24%, other services 40%, industry 10%) (2000 est.) |
Land boundaries | total: 360 km
border countries: UK 360 km |
0 km |
Land use | arable land: 16.82%
permanent crops: 0.03% other: 83.15% (2005) |
arable land:
11% permanent crops: 11% permanent pastures: 15% forests and woodland: 18% other: 45% (1993 est.) |
Languages | English (official) is the language generally used, Irish (official) (Gaelic or Gaeilge) spoken mainly in areas located along the western seaboard | English, Chamorro, Japanese |
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 | modeled on US; US federal laws apply |
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 other 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%, other 10.9%; seats by party - Fianna Fail 81, Fine Gael 31, Labor Party 21, Sinn Fein 5, Progressive Democrats 8, Green Party 6, other 14 |
unicameral Legislature (15 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve two-year terms)
elections: last held 7 November 2000 (next to be held NA November 2002) election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - Republican Party 8, Democratic Party 7 note: Guam elects one delegate to the US House of Representatives; election last held 7 November 2000 (next to be held NA November 2002); results - Robert UNDERWOOD was reelected as delegate; percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - Democratic Party 1 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 77.73 years
male: 75.11 years female: 80.52 years (2006 est.) |
total population:
77.94 years male: 75.66 years female: 80.55 years (2001 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 99% male: 99% female: 99% (2003 est.) |
definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 99% male: 99% female: 99% (1990 est.) |
Location | Western Europe, occupying five-sixths of the island of Ireland in the North Atlantic Ocean, west of Great Britain | Oceania, island in the North Pacific Ocean, about three-quarters of the way from Hawaii to the Philippines |
Map references | Europe | Oceania |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm |
exclusive economic zone:
200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
Merchant marine | total: 23 ships (1000 GRT or over) 103,589 GRT/145,044 DWT
by type: cargo 19, chemical tanker 2, container 1, roll on/roll off 1 foreign-owned: 4 (Germany 2, US 2) registered in other countries: 21 (Bahamas 2, Bermuda 1, Cyprus 3, Gibraltar 1, Netherlands 10, Panama 2, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 1, UK 1) (2006) |
none (2000 est.) |
Military - note | - | defense is the responsibility of the US |
Military branches | Irish Defense Forces (Oglaigh na h-Eireann): Army (includes Naval Service and Air Corps) (2006) | - |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $700 million (FY00/01) | - |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 0.9% (FY00/01) | - |
National holiday | Saint Patrick's Day, 17 March | Discovery Day, first Monday in March (1521) |
Nationality | noun: Irishman(men), Irishwoman(women), Irish (collective plural)
adjective: Irish |
noun:
Guamanian(s) adjective: Guamanian |
Natural hazards | NA | frequent squalls during rainy season; relatively rare, but potentially very destructive typhoons (especially in August) |
Natural resources | natural gas, peat, copper, lead, zinc, silver, barite, gypsum, limestone, dolomite | fishing (largely undeveloped), tourism (especially from Japan) |
Net migration rate | 4.87 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.) | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Pipelines | gas 1,728 km (2006) | - |
Political parties and leaders | Fianna Fail [Bertie AHERN]; Fine Gael [Enda KENNY]; Green Party [Trevor SARGENT]; Labor Party [Pat RABITTE]; Progressive Democrats [Michael McDOWELL]; Sinn Fein [Gerry ADAMS]; Socialist Party [Joe HIGGINS]; The Workers' Party [Sean GARLAND] | Democratic Party (party of the Governor) [leader NA]; Republican Party (controls the legislature) [leader NA] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | NA |
Population | 4,062,235 (July 2006 est.) | 157,557 (July 2001 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 10% (1997 est.) | NA% |
Population growth rate | 1.15% (2006 est.) | 2.09% (2001 est.) |
Ports and harbors | - | Apra Harbor |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 9, FM 106, shortwave 0 (1998) | AM 4, FM 7, shortwave 0 (1998) |
Radios | - | 221,000 (1997) |
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) (2005) |
0 km |
Religions | Roman Catholic 88.4%, Church of Ireland 3%, other Christian 1.6%, other 1.5%, unspecified 2%, none 3.5% (2002 census) | Roman Catholic 85%, other 15% (1999 est.) |
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: 0.79 male(s)/female total population: 0.99 male(s)/female (2006 est.) |
at birth:
1.14 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.1 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.11 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 1.01 male(s)/female total population: 1.1 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal; US citizens, but do not vote in US presidential elections |
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) |
general assessment:
modern system, integrated with US facilities for direct dialing, including free use of 800 numbers domestic: modern digital system, including cellular mobile service and local access to the Internet international: satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Pacific Ocean); submarine cables to US and Japan (Guam is a trans-Pacific communications hub for MCI, Sprint, AT&T, IT&E, and GTE, linking the US and Asia) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 2.033 million (2005) | 84,134 (1998) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 4.21 million (2005) | 55,000 (1998) |
Television broadcast stations | 4 (many low-power repeaters) (2001) | 5 (1997) |
Terrain | mostly level to rolling interior plain surrounded by rugged hills and low mountains; sea cliffs on west coast | volcanic origin, surrounded by coral reefs; relatively flat coralline limestone plateau (source of most fresh water), with steep coastal cliffs and narrow coastal plains in north, low-rising hills in center, mountains in south |
Total fertility rate | 1.86 children born/woman (2006 est.) | 3.85 children born/woman (2001 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 4.3% (2005 est.) | 15% (2000 est.) |
Waterways | 753 km (pleasure craft only) (2005) | none |