
Map taken from lonelyplanet.com
About the Country:
OFFICIAL
NAME:
Republic of Ireland
CAPITAL:
Dublin
SYSTEM OF
GOVERNMENT:
Unitary Multiparty
Republic
AREA:
70,282 Sq Km (27,136
Sq Mi)
ESTIMATED 2000
POPULATION
3,640,600
LOCATION
& GEOGRAPHY:
Ireland is located on
an island in the eastern part of the North Atlantic Ocean and on the
western fringe of Europe. It is bound by Northern Ireland to the
northeast, the Irish Sea to the east, the St. Georges Channel to the
southeast and the Atlantic Ocean to the west. The country consists of an
undulating central limestone plateau which is almost completely surrounded
by coastal highlands. The central lowland plain is characterized by many
lakes and scattered low ridges. The Mourne and Wicklow Mountains in the
east and Macgillycuddy's Reek in the southwest are the principal mountain
ranges. The rivers of Ireland cross the central lowlands and the principal
ones include the Shannon, Boyne, Barrow, Slaney, Bann, Lagan, Foyle, Erne,
Moy and Corib. Major Cities (pop. est.); Dublin 477,700, Cork 127,000,
Limerick 52,000, Galway 50,800, Waterford 40,300 (1991). Land Use;
forested 5%, pastures 68%, agricultural-cultivated 13%, other 14% (1992).
CLIMATE:
Ireland
has a temperate climate which is influenced by the North Atlantic Drift
and characterized by mild, moist and changeable conditions. Rainfall is
heaviest in the west where it can exceed 3,000 mm (120 inches) per annum
while 60% of the country has an average annual precipitation between 762
mm and 1,270 mm (30 and 50 inches). Extremes in temperatures are uncommon,
although the weather can be changeable as a result of temperate
depressions. Average temperature ranges are from 4 to 7 degrees Celsius
(39 to 45 degrees Fahrenheit) in January or February to 14 to 16 degrees
Celsius (57 to 61 degrees Fahrenheit) in July or August.
CURRENCY:
The official currency
is the Euro divided into 100 cents.
ECONOMY:
Gross National
Product; USD $44,906,000,000 (1992). Public Debt; USD $41,603,000,000
(1993). Imports; Ir Pounds 14,795,700,000 (1993). Exports; Ir Pounds
19,671,000,000 (1993). Tourism Receipts; USD $1,639,000,000 (1993).
Balance of Trade; Ir Pounds 5,563,000,000 (1993). Economically Active
Population; 1,376,000 or 39.1% of total population (1993). Unemployed;
15.5% (1991).