Overview:
The economy is small, open, and trade dependent. Agriculture, once the most
important sector, is now dwarfed by industry, which accounts for 37% of GDP
and about 80% of exports and employs 26% of the labor force. The government
has successfully reduced the rate of inflation from double-digit figures in
the late 1970s to 3.8% in 1991. In 1987, after years of deficits, the
balance of payments was brought into the black. Unemployment, however,
remains a serious problem. A 1991 unemployment rate of 20.4% placed Ireland
along with Spain as the countries with the worst jobless records in Western
Europe.
GDP:
purchasing power equivalent - $39.2 billion, per capita $11,200; real growth
rate 1.3% (1991 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
3.8% (1991)
Unemployment rate:
20.4% (1991)
Budget:
revenues $11.4 billion; expenditures $12.6 billion, including capital
expenditures of $1.6 billion (1992 est.)
Exports:
$27.8 billion (f.o.b., 1991)
commodities:
chemicals, data processing equipment, industrial machinery, live animals,
animal products
partners:
EC 74% (UK 34%, Germany 11%, France 10%), US 8%
Imports:
$24.5 billion (c.i.f., 1991)
commodities:
food, animal feed, chemicals, petroleum and petroleum products, machinery,
textiles, clothing
partners:
EC 66% (UK 41%, Germany 9%, France 4%), US 14%
External debt:
$14.8 billion (1990)
Industrial production:
growth rate 3.0% (1991); accounts for 37% of GDP
Electricity:
4,957,000 kW capacity; 14,480 million kWh produced, 4,080 kWh per capita
(1991)
Industries:
food products, brewing, textiles, clothing, chemicals, pharmaceuticals,
machinery, transportation equipment, glass and crystal
Agriculture:
accounts for 11% of GDP and 15% of the labor force; principal crops -
turnips, barley, potatoes, sugar beets, wheat; livestock - meat and dairy
products; 85% self-sufficient in food; food shortages include bread grain,
fruits, vegetables
Economic aid:
donor - ODA commitments (1980-89), $90 million
Currency:
Irish pound (plural - pounds); 1 Irish pound (#Ir) = 100 pence
Exchange rates:
Irish pounds (#Ir) per US$1 - 0.6227 (March 1992), 0.6190 (1991), 0.6030
(1990), 0.7472 (1989), 0.6553 (1988), 0.6720 (1987)
Fiscal year:
calendar year
:Ireland Communications
Railroads:
Irish National Railways (CIE) operates 1,947 km 1.602-meter gauge,
government owned; 485 km double track; 38 km electrified
Highways:
92,294 km total; 87,422 km paved, 4,872 km gravel or crushed stone
Inland waterways:
limited for commercial traffic
Pipelines:
natural gas 225 km
Ports:
Cork, Dublin, Shannon Estuary, Waterford
Merchant marine:
55 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 146,081 GRT/177,058 DWT; includes 4
short-sea passenger, 32 cargo, 2 refrigerated cargo, 3 container, 3
petroleum tanker, 3 specialized tanker, 2 chemical tanker, 6 bulk
Civil air:
23 major transport aircraft
Airports:
36 total, 35 usable; 17 with permanent-surface runways; none with runways
over 3,659 m; 2 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 6 with runways 1,220-2,439 m
Telecommunications:
small, modern system using cable and digital microwave circuits; 900,000
telephones; broadcast stations - 9 AM, 45 FM, 86 TV; 2 coaxial submarine
cables; 1 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT earth station
:Ireland Defense Forces
Branches:
Army (including Naval Service and Air Corps), National Police (GARDA)
Manpower availability:
males 15-49, 894,421; 724,262 fit for military service; 34,182 reach
military age (17) annually
Defense expenditures:
exchange rate conversion - $566 million, 1-2% of GDP (1992 est.)
:Israel Header
Note:
The Arab territories occupied by Israel since the 1967 war are not included
in the data below. As stated in the 1978 Camp David Accords and reaffirmed
by President Bush's post-Gulf crisis peace initiative, the final status of
the West Bank and Gaza Strip, their relationship with their neighbors, and a
peace treaty between Israel and Jordan are to be negotiated among the
concerned parties. The Camp David Accords further specify that these
negotiations will resolve the location of the respective boundaries. Pending
the completion of this process, it is US policy that the final status of the
West Bank and Gaza Strip has yet to be determined (see West Bank and Gaza
Strip entries). On 25 April 1982 Israel relinquished control of the Sinai to
Egypt. Statistics for the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights are included in the
Syria entry.
:Israel Geography
Total area:
20,770 km2
Land area:
20,330 km2
Comparative area:
slightly larger than New Jersey
Land boundaries:
1,006 km; Egypt 255 km, Jordan 238 km, Lebanon 79 km, Syria 76 km, West Bank
307, Gaza Strip 51 km
Coastline:
273 km
Maritime claims:
Continental shelf:
to depth of exploitation
Territorial sea:
6 nm
Disputes:
separated from Lebanon, Syria, and the West Bank by the 1949 Armistice Line;
differences with Jordan over the location of the 1949 Armistice Line that
separates the two countries; West Bank and Gaza Strip are Israeli occupied
with status to be determined; Golan Heights is Israeli occupied; Israeli
troops in southern Lebanon since June 1982; water-sharing issues with Jordan
Climate:
temperate; hot and dry in desert areas
Terrain:
Negev desert in the south; low coastal plain; central mountains; Jordan Rift
Valley
Natural resources:
copper, phosphates, bromide, potash, clay, sand, sulfur, asphalt, manganese,
small amounts of natural gas and crude oil
Land use:
arable land 17%; permanent crops 5%; meadows and pastures 40%; forest and
woodland 6%; other 32%; includes irrigated 11%
Environment:
sandstorms may occur during spring and summer; limited arable land and
natural water resources pose serious constraints; deforestation
Note:
there are 175 Jewish settlements in the West Bank, 38 in the
Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, 18 in the Gaza Strip, and 14 Israeli-built
Jewish neighborhoods in East Jerusalem
:Israel People