luding capital expenditures of $2
billion (2000)

Industries: food products, brewing, textiles, clothing; chemicals,
pharmaceuticals, machinery, transportation equipment, glass and
crystal; software

Industrial production growth rate: 14% (2000 est.)

Electricity - production: 19.542 billion kWh (1999)

Electricity - production by source: fossil fuel: 94.42%

hydro: 4.23%

nuclear: 0%

other: 1.35% (1999)

Electricity - consumption: 18.414 billion kWh (1999)

Electricity - exports: 50 million kWh (1999)

Electricity - imports: 290 million kWh (1999)

Agriculture - products: turnips, barley, potatoes, sugar beets,
wheat; beef, dairy products

Exports: $73.5 billion (f.o.b., 2000)

Exports - commodities: machinery and equipment, computers,
chemicals, pharmaceuticals; live animals, animal products

Exports - partners: EU 59% (UK 19%, Germany 9%, France 7%), US 20%
(2000)

Imports: $45.7 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.)

Imports - commodities: data processing equipment, other machinery
and equipment, chemicals; petroleum and petroleum products,
textiles, clothing

Imports - partners: EU 54% (UK 29%, Germany 6%, France 5%), US 18%,
Japan 5%, Singapore 4% (2000)

Debt - external: $11 billion (1998)

Economic aid - donor: ODA, $245 million (2000)

Currency: Irish pound (IEP); euro (EUR)

note: on 1 January 1999, the EU introduced the euro as a common
currency that is now being used by financial institutions in Ireland
at a fixed rate of 0.787564 Irish pounds per euro and will replace
the local currency for all transactions in 2002

Currency code: IEP; EUR

Exchange rates: Irish pounds per US dollar - 1.0658 (January 2001),
1.0823 (2000), 0.9374 (1999), 0.7014 (1998), 0.6588 (1997), 0.6248
(1996)

Fiscal year: calendar year

Ireland Communications

Telephones - main lines in use: 1.59 million (2001)

Telephones - mobile cellular: 2 million (2001)

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)

Radio broadcast stations: AM 9, FM 106, shortwave 0 (1998)

Radios: 2.55 million (1997)

Television broadcast stations: 4 (many low-power repeaters) (2001)

Televisions: 1.82 million (2001)

Internet country code: .ie

Internet Service Providers (ISPs): 22 (2000)

Internet users: 1 million (2001)

Ireland Transportat