Ireland – key data
Area: 70,273 km² (of which land: 68,883 km², water: 1,390 km²)
Population: 4.7 million (2011 estimate, CIA). Composition: Irish 87.4%, other whites 7.5%, Asians 1.3%, blacks 1.1%, mixed races 1.1%, no information 1.6% (2006 census)
Population density: 66 residents per km²
Population growth: 1.061% per year (2011, CIA)
Capital: Dublin (506,211 residents, 2006)
Highest point: Carrauntoohil, 1,041 m
Lowest point: Atlantic Ocean, 0 m
Form of government: Ireland has been a republic since 1937. The constitution dates from the same year; the last constitutional amendment was made in 1999. The Irish houses of Parliament consists of two chambers: the House of Representatives (Dáil Éireann) has 166 members, the Senate (Seanad Éireann) 60 members. From December 6, 1921, Ireland had the status of an independent Dominion in the Commonwealth (larger independence in domestic affairs). The 6 counties in the province of Ulster remained part of Great Britain. Ireland withdrew from the Commonwealth on April 18, 1949 and proclaimed the Irish Republic in 1949. Ireland has been a member of the EU since 1973. Visit themakeupexplorer for Quick Facts About Ireland.
Administrative division: 4 provinces: Connacht, Leinster, Munster and Ulster
Head of State: President Michael D. Higgins, since November 11, 2011
Head of Government: Prime Minister Enda Kenny, since March 9, 2011
Language: the official languages in Ireland are both English and Irish (Gaelic). However, Irish is only spoken by a small fraction of the population, especially in western regions.
Religion: Roman Catholic 87.4%, Church of Ireland 2.9%, other Christians 1.9%, other religions 2.1%, no information 1.5%, no religion 4.2% (2006 census)
Local time: CET -1 h. The UK has daylight saving time (CET) between the last Sunday in March and the last Sunday in October.
The time difference to Central Europe is -1 hour in both winter and summer.
International phone code: +353
Internet identifier:.ie
Mains voltage: 220 V, 50 Hz
The Republic of Ireland is an island nation in the northwest of Europe. The Irish national territory covers over 70,285 square kilometers and extends over most of the island. Ireland borders the United Kingdom’s Northern Ireland to the north and is bordered by the Irish Sea to the east and the Atlantic Ocean to the south and west. The largest north-south extension in Ireland is 485 kilometers, while the country is 275 kilometers from east to west. The Irish coast is varied and mostly rocky and rugged with its numerous bays.
The landscape of Ireland is characterized by an extensive, flat and undulating lowland, that of raised bogs and a large number of lakes is interspersed. The shape of the land is also compared with an oversized bowl, the bottom of which is formed by the central limestone plain with rivers, moors and lakes, which is framed by the mountains with an almost completely closed rim as the bowl edge. Only on the east coast near Dublin do the mountain ranges form a gap, so that the central lowlands extend to the Irish Sea. The mountain ranges drop down to the sea in the west of the country and the coast is part of it numerous bays and fjord-like notches are often craggy and rugged, such as on the Cliffs of Moher. The coast, which is hardly usable for humans, offers an ideal habitat for an enormous biodiversity of seabirds. One of the world’s largest gannet colonies can be found near Little Skellig, while petrels, cormorants, puffins, alke and seagulls transform the coast and the islands of Kerry, West Corke and Clare into a gigantic and above all deafening breeding area over the summer.
Ireland is the most westerly branch of Europe, as the European continental shelf only drops suddenly 50 kilometers off the west coast of Ireland into the depths of the Atlantic. The numerous offshore islands such as the Aran Islands or tiny rock archipelago in turn form the outposts to Ireland, on which both prehistoric cultural monuments and the ancient Gaelic way of life were particularly well preserved and asserted.
The mountains on the Irish island appear to be higher than they actually are. This is because a sizeable part of Ireland is just a little above sea level. At 1,041 meters, Carrauntoohil is the highest mountain in Ireland and also Croagh Patrick, located on Clew Bay at 765 meters high, it offers a real challenge even for experienced mountain hikers. The appearance of the Irish landscape was mainly created during the last Ice Age. The mountains were abraded by gigantic glaciers; In addition, many cirques emerged, which one encounters in the Killarney National Park in impressive splendor, and deposits of sand and rubble formed the central lowlands with their carved valleys. Until the end of the Ice Age Ireland was connected to the British Isles, of which it was around 6000 BC. Was separated by the rising sea level.
The Shannon is the longest river at around 386 kilometers Ireland. It has its source in County Cavan and forms three large lakes along its course: Lough Allen, Lough Ree and Lough Derg. The Lough Neagh in Ulster is the largest Irish Sea; its area of 396 square kilometers brings it to an area of 30 kilometers in length and 15 kilometers in width.
Population in Ireland
This map of the population distribution in Ireland was created by the Worldmapper team. Densely populated areas appear bloated, the area of sparsely populated areas is reduced. The shape of the grid has been preserved; an underlying map with the original geographic extent helps with the interpretation of the cartogram. The distorted map is intended to help present abstract statistical information clearly.
