Useful facts and figures about Ireland

Economy
Ireland is a small, modern, trade-dependent economy. Ireland joined the euro on January 1, 2002. GDP growth averaged 6% from 1995 to 2007, but economic activity dropped sharply in 2008-09 as GDP fell by 3% in 2008 and nearly 8% in 2009.

Ireland entered into a recession for the first time in more than a decade with the onset of the world financial crisis and the subsequent severe slowdown in the property and construction markets.

Agriculture, once the most important sector, is now dwarfed by industry and services. Although the export sector – dominated by foreign multinationals – remains a key component of Ireland’s economy, construction has most recently fuelled economic growth along with strong consumer spending and business investment.

Property prices rose more rapidly in Ireland in the decade up to 2007 than in any other developed economy. Average home prices have fallen 50% from the 2007 peak.

In 2008 the Fianna Fáil 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.

Country name: Ireland (Éire in Irish) Location: Western Europe, occupying five-sixths of the island of Ireland in the North Atlantic, west of Great Britain
Area: 70,273 sq km in total
Transport – airports: 39 (2010)
Currency: euro
GDP (purchasing power parity): $41,000 (2009 est)
Language: English (official) is the language generally used; Irish (Gaeilge) (official) spoken mainly in areas along the west coast
Population: 4.5 million
Population growth: 1.007% (2010 est)
Literacy (age 15 and over can read and write): 99% of the total population
Net migration rate: 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2010 est)
Nationality: noun: Irishman (men), Irishwoman (women), Irish (collective plural); adjective: Irish
Land use: arable land: 16.82%; permanent crops: 0.03%; other: 83.15% (2005 est)
Ethnic groups: Irish 87.4%; other white 7.5%; Asian 1.3%; black 1.1%; mixed 1.1%; unspecified 1.6% (2006 est)
Religions: Roman Catholic 87.4%; Church of Ireland 2.9%; other Christian 1.9%; other 2.1%; unspecified 1.5%; none 4.2% (2006 est)
International country code: 353
Broadcast media: publicly owned broadcaster Raidió Teilifís Éireann (RTÉ) operates two TV stations; commercial television stations are available; about 75% of households use multi-channel satellite and TV services that provide access to a wide range of stations; RTÉ operates four national radio stations and has launched digital audio broadcasts on several stations; a number of commercial broadcast stations operate at the national, regional and local levels
Internet country code: .ie