Official Name: Eire (Irish) Ireland (English)

Currency:  Euro

 

Current Exchange Rate:

 

Hemisphere: Northern

Continent:

Location: In Atlantic Ocean just W of Great Britain. Neighbors: United Kingdom (Northern Ireland) isolated groups of hills and mountains. Coastlines is heavily indented by the Atlantic Ocean.

Area: 27,133 sq mi, 70,273 sq km

Form of Government: Unitary multiparty republic with a two legislative houses (Senate 60), (House of Representatives 166)

Population: (2007) 4,330,000

Population Density: (2007) persons per sq mi 159.6, persons per sq km 61.6

Principal Language(s): English (official generally used), Irish (Gaelic) (official spoken mainly in W seaboard areas)

Religions: Roman Catholic 87%, Church of Ireland 3%, none 4%

Capital: Dublin

Capital Population: 506,211

Capital Average Temperature: Maximum: 12.7 degrees Celsius, 54.9 degrees Fahrenheit
                                               
Major Cities: Cork 119,418, Galway 72,414, Limerick 52,539, Waterford 45,748

Topography: Consists of central plateau surrounded by dented by the Atlantic Ocean.

Economy: G.D.P. $ 93.85 billion

G.D.P. per Capita: $ 45,600
 
Vital Statistics: Birth rate per 1,000 population (2006): 15.0 (world avg. 20.3). Death rate per 1,000 population (2006); 7.0 (world avg. 8.6) Total fertility rate (avg. births per childbearing woman 2005) 1.88. Life expectancy at birth (2005) male 75.0 years; female 80.3 years

Government Website: www.irgov.ie

Reference Sources: The World Almanac 2009, The New York Times Almanac   2009, Time Almanac 2009, World Climate website.