What are the Key Facts of Ireland?

Where is Ireland?

Ireland (whose official name is the Republic of Ireland) is a Western European country located on the eastern part of the island of Ireland. This north-west European country occupies 26 of 32 counties (5/6th area) of the island of Ireland. It is situated to the west of Great Britain. Check out this – Map of Ireland and Other 40 Related Irish Maps for more maps and info about Ireland.

What is the Geography of Ireland?

The country spreads across a total area of 70,273 sq. km (27,132 sq. mi). Out of the total area, 68,883 sq. km (26,596 sq. mi) is land and 1,390 sq. km (536 sq. mi) is water.

Ireland’s total land boundary is 490 km (304.5 mi) long, which is completely shared with Northern reland, a part of the United Kingdom. The country has a 1,448 km (899.7 mi) long coastline. The Irish Sea surrounds this country to the east, St George’s Channel to the south-east, and the Celtic Sea to the south.

The mean elevation of the country is 118 m (387.1 ft). While the highest point is Carrauntoohil at 1,041 m (3,415.4 ft), the lowest point is the Atlantic Ocean at 0 m (0 ft). Ireland’s terrain is mainly characterized by a flat to rolling interior plain, surrounded by low mountains and rugged hills. You will find the sea cliffs mostly on the west coast.

Bogs, lakes, and rivers dissect the central lowlands of flat rolling plains. The major mountain ranges in the Republic of Ireland are Macgillycuddy’s Reeks, Bluestack, Blackstairs, Nephinbeg, Slieve Mish, Derryveagh, Comeragh, Wicklow, Twelve Pins, Silvermines, and Ox. The highest point in Ireland, Carrauntoohil, is located on Macgillycuddy’s Reeks mountain range.

Many sea cliffs are there on the western coastline with a maximum height of around 213 m (700 ft). The most famous of these sea cliffs is the Cliff of Moher, one of Europe’s most beautiful ones. The country has dozens of coastal islands, and the largest of them is Achill. Other major coastal islands of the Republic of Ireland are the Aran Islands, Beara, and Dingle.

The longest river in the country is the River Shannon, 386 km (240 miles) long. Along its route, River Shannon widens into four lakes (also called loughs), and they are Lough Ree, Lough Derg, Lough Bafin, and Lough Allen. Other major inland loughs in the country are Mask, Corrib, and Conn. Nore, Liffey, Lee, Finn, Boyne, Blackwater, Barrow, Suir, and Slaney.

What is the Climate of Ireland?

The country has a mild and humid climate. However, the climate is changeable because of a lack of temperature extremes as well as abundant rainfall. The country has a temperate oceanic climate classified as Cfb on the Köppen climate classification system. You will find this kind of weather, mostly in northwestern Europe. Warm summers and cold winters are generally found in Ireland.

Winter in the Republic of Ireland is relatively milder than in other places located in the same latitude, such as Russia’s Sakhalin and Canada’s Newfoundland. This is mainly because Ireland is situated downwind of a large ocean.

At similar latitudes, you will find temperate oceanic climates such as in USA’s Seattle. However, Ireland has milder weather than Seattle. This is because the prevailing winds towards Ireland carry the additional heat over the Atlantic Current and Gulf Stream.

The wind blows from the southwest towards the west coast’s high mountains. The maximum amount of rainfall takes place on Valentia Island. It receives almost twice the rainfall as Dublin, located in the eastern part of the country. While Dublin gets 762 mm (30.0 inches) of rain, Valentia Island receives 1,400 mm (55.1 in) rainfall.

The coldest months of the year are January and February. During these two months, the average daily air temperatures hover within 39.2-44.6 °F (4-7 °C).

The warmest months of the year are July and August. During these two months, the average daily air temperatures hover within 57.2-60.8 °F (14-16 °C).

• In inland areas, the mean daily maximum temperature remains around 66.2-68.0 °F (19-20 °C) from July-August.
• Near the coast, the mean daily maximum temperature remains around 62.6-64.4 °F (17-18 °C) since July-August.

May and June are the sunniest months in the country. During these two months, the average per day sunshine remains around 5-7 hours.

Atlantic depressions generally take place from December-to-February. The wind speed in Western coastal counties reaches around 160 km/h or 99 mph. Thunderstorms usually develop during the summer months, particularly either in late July or early August.

What is the Economy of Ireland?

The Economy of Ireland is small, modern, and trade-dependent. During 1995-2007, the average GDP growth was 6%. However, during the world financial crisis, especially in the period from 2008 to 2011, the country’s economic activity dropped sharply. In 2010, the economy had a budget deficit of 32.4% of GDP, which was the most massive deficit of a country in the entire world.

To recapitalize Ireland’s banking sector and avoid default on its sovereign debt, the country agreed to a $92 billion loan package from the European Union and International Monetary Fund. Ireland exited the EU-IMF bailout program formally in late 2013, and the economy started to make rapid advancement in 2014.

The nominal GDP of Ireland grew at an annual rate of 5.55% to US$388.699 billion in 2019. The export and import values of the country in 2018 were US$175 billion and US$ 98.9 billion, respectively. It resulted in a positive trade balance of US$76.2 billion.

The major exports are Blood, antisera, vaccines, toxins and cultures, Packaged Medicaments, Nitrogen Heterocyclic Compounds, Scented Mixtures, and Medical Instruments. Ireland’s major imports are Planes, Helicopters, spacecraft, unmanaged medications, Computers, Packaged medications, and Refined Petroleum.

The unemployment rate dropped from 5.5% in 2018 to 4.7% in 2019. In July 2020, the unemployment rate was 5%. The rate of poverty among Irish people increased from 4.2% in 2008 to 6.7% in 2017.

What is the Transportation System of Ireland?

Ireland has 40 airports, out of which 16 have paved runways, and 24 have unpaved runways. Major airports are Dublin Airport (Dublin), Cork Airport (Cork), Shannon Airport (Clare), etc.

The total roadways in Ireland are 99,830 km (62,031.5 mi) long, including 2,717 km (1,688.3 mi) of expressways. Ireland has 4,301 km (2,672.5 mi) long railways, out of which 1,930 km (1,199.2 mi) is narrow gauge, 2,371 km (1,473.3 mi) is narrow gauge.

Shannon Foynes and Dublin are the major seaports of Ireland. There are 93 merchant marine vessels in the country, out of which 37 are general cargo, nine bulk cargo, one oil tanker, and 46 are other types of vessels.

What International Organizations is Ireland Part of?

WTO, IMF, UN, UNESCO, WHO, ILO, Australia Group, BIS, CD, CE, EAPC, EBRD, ECB, EIB, EMU, ESA, EU, FAO, FATF, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, MIGA, MINURSO, MONUSCO, NEA, NSG, OECD, OPCW, OSCE, Paris Club, PCA, PFP, UNCTAD, UNDOF, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIFIL, UNOCI, UNRWA, UNTSO, UPU, WCO, WIPO, WMO, ZC, ADB (non-regional member), ICC (national committees), IGAD (partners), ITUC (NGOs), OAS (observer)