Irish Republic
Land area: Total: 70,280 sq km
Population: 4.2 million (July 2009 est.)
Labour force: 2.27 million (2008 est.)
Occupations: Agriculture:6% industry: 7% services:67% (2006 est.)
Languages: English (official) is the language generally used, Irish (Gaelic or Gaeilge) spoken mainly in areas located along the western seaboard
Capital: Dublin
Head of State: President Mary MCALEESE (11 November 1997)
National holiday: Saint Patrick's Day, 17 March
Economy: Ireland is a small, modern, trade-dependent economy. GDP growth averaged 6% in 1995-2007. Agriculture, once the most important sector, is now dwarfed by industry and services. The Irish Government has implemented a series of national economic programs designed to curb price and wage inflation, invest in infrastructure, increase labour force skills, and promote foreign investment. In 2008 the government moved to guarantee all bank deposits, recapitalise the banking system, and establish partly-public venture capital funds in response to the country's economic downturn.
Imports: £18,459 million (2008) from the UK
Industries: Steel, lead, zinc, silver, aluminium, barite, and gypsum mining processing; food products, brewing, textiles, clothing; chemicals, pharmaceuticals; machinery, rail transportation equipment; glass and crystal; software, tourism
Inflation: 4% (2008 est.)
Did you know... More than 8 million pints of Guinness are drunk in Ireland every day.
During his 1984 visit, President Ronald Regan stopped off in a traditional Dublin Pub. After taking one sip out of a pint of Guinness he left.
His glass was then smashed by secret service agents!