rview: no economic activity

- Communications
Highways: none; some secondary roads

- Defense Forces
Note: defense is the joint responsibility of Iraq and Saudi Arabia
----------------------------------------------------
Country: Ireland
- Geography
Total area: 70,280 km2; land area: 68,890 km2

Comparative area: slightly larger than West Virginia

Land boundary: 360 km with UK

Coastline: 1,448 km

Maritime claims:

Continental shelf: no precise definition;

Exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm;

Territorial sea: 12 nm

Disputes: maritime boundary with the UK; Northern Ireland question with
the UK; Rockall continental shelf dispute involving Denmark, Iceland, and the UK
(Ireland and the UK have signed a boundary agreement in the Rockall area)

Climate: temperate maritime; modified by North Atlantic Current;
mild winters, cool summers; consistently humid; overcast about half the time

Terrain: mostly level to rolling interior plain surrounded by rugged
hills and low mountains; sea cliffs on west coast

Natural resources: zinc, lead, natural gas, crude oil, barite,
copper, gypsum, limestone, dolomite, peat, silver

Land use: 14% arable land; NEGL% permanent crops; 71% meadows and
pastures; 5% forest and woodland; 10% other

Environment: deforestation

- People
Population: 3,500,212 (July 1990), growth rate -0.4% (1990)

Birth rate: 15 births/1,000 population (1990)

Death rate: 9 deaths/1,000 population (1990)

Net migration rate: - 10 migrants/1,000 population (1990)

Infant mortality rate: 6 deaths/1,000 live births (1990)

Life expectancy at birth: 72 years male, 78 years female (1990)

Total fertility rate: 2.1 children born/woman (1990)

Nationality: noun--Irishman(men), Irish (collective pl.); adjective--Irish

Ethnic divisions: Celtic, with English minority

Religion: 94% Roman Catholic, 4% Anglican, 2% other

Language: Irish (Gaelic) and English; English is the language generally
used, with Gaelic spoken in a few areas, mostly along the western seaboard

Literacy: 99%

Labor force: 1,310,000; 57.3% services, 19.1% manufacturing and
construction, 14.8% agriculture, forestry, and fishing (1988)

Organized labor: 36% of labor force

- Government
Long-form name: Republic of Ireland

Type: republic

Capital: Dublin

Administrative divisions: 26 counties; Carlow, Cavan, Clare, Cork,
Donegal, Dublin, Galway, Kerry, Kildare, Kilkenny, Laois, Leitrim, Limerick,
Longford, Louth, Ma