Physical features
The island of Ireland is situated in the extreme north-west of Europe.
Area: 70,282 km2 [Northern Ireland: 14,139 km2].
Climate
Influenced by the Gulf Stream and with the prevailing winds predominantly from the south-west, the climate is equable and temperatures are fairly uniform over the whole country. The coldest months are January and February with average daily air temperatures of between 4°C and 7°C, while July and August are the warmest (14°C to 16°C). Extremes of air temperature, below -10°C or above 30°C, are extremely rare.
In low-lying areas average annual rainfall is mostly between 800 and 1200mm but ranges from less than 750mm in some eastern areas to 1500mm in parts of the west. In mountainous areas annual rainfall may exceed 2000mm.
4.2 million
For more information please contact Central Statistics Office Ireland
Language
English is recognised as the second official language but is the language of the workplace outside of Gaeltacht areas where Irish continues to be spoken.
Religion
The Irish Constitution guarantees freedom of conscience and the free
profession and practice of religion to all citizens.
Politics
In December 1921 an Anglo-Irish Treaty was signed and 26 counties gained independence as the Irish Free State. Six Ulster counties had been granted their own parliament in Belfast in 1920 and remained within the United Kingdom.
A new constitution was introduced in 1937 and Ireland remained neutral during the Second World War. In 1949 the Irish Republic was established. Ireland was admitted to the UN in 1955 and acceded to the European Economic Community in 1973, together with the United Kingdom and Denmark.
Economy
As an international trading economy, with a small domestic market, Ireland is heavily dependent on foreign trade. Regularly cited as one of the most open markets in the world, and rating highly in globalisation indexes. Over the 1996-2007 period, Irish GNP increased at a rapid rate averaging 7% growth per year making it the fastest growing economy in the EU. However, there was a dramatic turnaround in 2008 and the Irish economy officially entered into a recession in the first half of the year, when negative quarter-on-quarter growth was recorded for two consecutive quarters. As of Quarter 3 2008, GNP was down 4.9% on Quarter 3 2007. The global financial crisis, along with domestic factors such as the slowdown in the construction sector and the contraction in consumer spending have impacted negatively on the economy. And even though oil price and interest rate movements were favourable in the second half of 2008, the euro has strengthened considerably against sterling, hurting our export and retail sectors. Furthermore, our own recent banking crisis has reduced the cash-flow to enterprises. Compounding these unfavourable trends has been the dramatic decline in tax revenue caused by the downturn in construction and domestic demand. This has led to a significant revision of expenditure plans for 2009 in order to avoid an excessive dependence on borrowing. Taking all these factors into account, it is clear that the macroeconomic background for the Irish labour market has become one of contraction and uncertainty. Looking ahead, it is becoming increasingly clear that the economic downturn will be more pronounced than had previously been expected, with no prospect of a recovery before 2010.
