Republic of Ireland
| Ireland[a]
Éire (Irish)
|
||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
||||||
| Anthem: "Amhrán na bhFiann" "The Soldier's Song"  |
||||||
![Location of the Republic of Ireland (dark green)– on the European continent (green & dark grey)– in the European Union (green) — [Legend]](/wiki/File:EU-Ireland.svg) Location of the Republic of Ireland (dark green)
– on the European continent (green & dark grey) |
||||||
| Capital (and largest city) |
Dublin 53°20.65′N 6°16.05′W / 53.34417°N 6.2675°W |
|||||
| Official language(s) | Irish English |
|||||
| Ethnic groups (2006) | 87% Irish, 13% others and unspecified[1][2] |
|||||
| Demonym | Irish | |||||
| Government | Constitutional Parliamentary republic |
|||||
| - | President | Michael D. Higgins | ||||
| - | Taoiseach | Enda Kenny | ||||
| - | Tánaiste | Eamon Gilmore | ||||
| Legislature | Oireachtas | |||||
| - | Upper House | Seanad Éireann | ||||
| - | Lower House | Dáil Éireann | ||||
| Independence | from the United Kingdom | |||||
| - | Declared | 24 April 1916 | ||||
| - | Ratified | 21 January 1919 | ||||
| - | Recognised | 6 December 1922 | ||||
| - | Constitution | 29 December 1937 | ||||
| - | Left the Commonwealth | 18 April 1949 | ||||
| Area | ||||||
| - | Total | 70,273 km2 (120th) 27,133 sq mi |
||||
| - | Water (%) | 2.00 | ||||
| Population | ||||||
| - | 2011 census | 4,581,269 [3] (119th) | ||||
| - | Density | 65.2/km2 (142nd) 168.8/sq mi |
||||
| GDP (PPP) | 2010 estimate | |||||
| - | Total | $172.345 billion[4] | ||||
| - | Per capita | $38,549[4] | ||||
| GDP (nominal) | 2010 estimate | |||||
| - | Total | $204.261 billion[4] | ||||
| - | Per capita | $45,688[4] | ||||
| HDI (2011) | ▬ 0.908[5] (very high) (7th) |
|||||
| Currency | Euro (€)Prior to 2002, Ireland used the punt (Irish pound) as its circulated currency. The euro was introduced as an accounting currency in 1999.</ref> (EUR) |
|||||
| Time zone | WET (UTC+0) | |||||
| - | Summer (DST) | IST (WEST) (UTC+1) | ||||
| Date formats | dd/mm/yyyy | |||||
| Drives on the | left | |||||
| Internet TLD | .ie[b] | |||||
| Calling code | 353 | |||||
| a. ^ Article 4 of the Constitution of Ireland declares that the name of the state is Ireland; Section 2 of the Republic of Ireland Act 1948 declares that the description of the state is the Republic of Ireland.[6] b. ^ The .eu domain is also used, as it is shared with other European Union member states. |
||||||
Ireland is a European country on the island of Ireland. It is a member of the European Union. The country is sometimes called the Republic of Ireland, but Ireland is its official name. It covers about five-sixths of the island of Ireland. The other sixth is called Northern Ireland, which is still part of the United Kingdom. The republic's capital is Dublin. Cork is the second largest city in the country and the third largest on the island of Ireland. The population of Ireland is 4.6 million. English is the main language spoken. The Irish language is widely taught in all schools, and it is still spoken as a first language in some areas of the country, known as the Gaeltacht. Irish is the first official language, followed by English.
[change] History
Several hundred years ago, the English took over the country and made it part of the United Kingdom in 1801. Ireland left the United Kingdom in 1922 and has been an independent country since then.
[change] Politics
The head of State, the President, is elected for seven years by the adult citizens. The same president can only be elected twice (14 years). Most of the president's tasks are representing and ceremonial ones. The president has little power over the government.
Ireland is a democracy and people vote for their representatives. The Taoiseach (equivalent to a prime minister) is selected by the parliament. The Taoiseach is usually the head of the biggest party.
The Oireachtas (equivalent to the parliament) consists of the Dáil Éireann (the lower House) and the Seanad (the 'upper House'). The system is similar to that of France or the United States, except that the President is not an executive.
The main political parties in Ireland are Fianna Fail, Fine Gael, the Labour, Sinn Féin, and the Green Party.
[change] References
- ↑ "Ireland". CIA World Factbook. Central Intelligence Agency. https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/ei.html. Retrieved 28 August 2011.
- ↑ "CSO 2006 Census – Volume 5 – Ethnic or Cultural Background (including the Irish Traveller Community)" (PDF). 2006. http://www.cso.ie/census/census2006results/volume_5/vol_5_2006_complete.pdf. Retrieved 9 July 2009.
- ↑ Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedpop2011 - ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 "Ireland". International Monetary Fund. http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/weo/2011/01/weodata/weorept.aspx?sy=2008&ey=2011&scsm=1&ssd=1&sort=country&ds=.&br=1&c=178&s=NGDPD%2CNGDPDPC%2CPPPGDP%2CPPPPC%2CLP&grp=0&a=&pr.x=50&pr.y=6. Retrieved 29 April 2011.
- ↑ "Human Development Report 2011". United Nations. http://hdr.undp.org/en/media/HDR_2011_EN_Table1.pdf. Retrieved 2011-11-02.
- ↑ John Coakley (20 August 2009). Politics in the Republic of Ireland. Taylor & Francis. p. 76. ISBN 9780415476720. http://books.google.com/books?id=fzFPQ2pZgd0C&pg=PA76. Retrieved 2 May 2011.
|
|||||||||||||
