IRELAND

• Official name: Eire / Ireland (The country is often referred to as the Republic of Ireland or the Irish Republic (Poblacht na hEireann) to distinguish it from the geographic term "Ireland," which includes the British territory of Northern Ireland.)
• Location: Western Europe
• International organisations: Council of Europe, European Union, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe, United Nations, World Trade Organisation.
• Borders: Britain
• Coastline: Atlantic Ocean, Irish Sea
• Land area: 70,280 Km2
• Population: 4,500,000
• Annual GDP (PPP) per capita: US$42,200 (2009 CIA estimate). World ranking: 10
• Ethnicity: Virtually the whole population identifies as Irish. Historically, the population is a mix of Celtic, Anglo-Saxon, Norman and Scandinavian. There are small Asian and Afro-Caribbean minorities.
• Languages: Irish and English are official languages. English is almost universally understood and is the language of government, business and communications. About 10% of the population claim to speak Irish as their first language, but this is certainly an exaggeration.
• Religion: Over 90% of the population are at least nominally Catholic Christians. Once the most observant Catholic country in Europe, Ireland has become increasingly secular. Catholicism cesed to be the state religion in 1973. There are small minorities of various Protestant Christian denominations.
• Form of government: Parliamentary democratic republic. Ireland is divided into 26 counties.
• Capital: Dublin (officially called Baile Atha Cliath)
• Constitution: The Constitution of Ireland came into effect on 29 December 1937.
• Head of state: The President, elected by direct universal suffrage for a seven-year term. The President's functions are largely ceremionial. President Michael D Higgins took office on 11 November 2011.
• Head of government: The Prime Minister (commonly called by the Irish title Taoiseach, pronounced Tee-shock), appointed by the President. The Prime Minister is the leader of the largest party in the legislature and is accountable to it.
• Legislature: Ireland has a bicameral legislature, the Parliament / Oireachtas. The Irish House of Representatives / Dail Eireann has 166 members elected for five-year terms by proportional representation from multi-member constituencies. The Senate of Ireland / Seanad Eireann has 60 members. Of these, 43 are elected from panels of candidates representing specified vocational interests, 11 are nominated by the Prime Minister and six are elected by university graduates.
• Electoral authority: The Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government administers national elections, but the best source of Irish election results is Irish Elections.
• Freedom House 2011 rating: Political Rights 1, Civil Liberties 1
• Transparency International Corruption Index: 92% (14 of 178 countries rated)
• Reporters Without Borders Press Freedom 2010 Index: 98% (9 of 178 countries rated)
• Heritage Foundation Economic Freedom 2010 Index: 78.7% (7 of 179 countries rated)

Political history

English penetration of Celtic Ireland began in the 12th century, although English rule over most of Ireland was not established until Tudor times. An Irish Parliament was established in 1295. After the Protestant Reformation Ireland became in effect an English colony, with an elite of English and Scottish Protestant landowners ruling over the Celtic Catholic majority. Despite many rebellions, the Irish were unable to challenge English rule. In 1801 the Irish Parliament was abolished and Ireland was formally incorporated into the United Kingdom.

The admission of Catholics to the British Parliament in 1829 and the expansion of the franchise in 1885 allowed the formation of an Irish Nationalist Party, which campaigned unsuccessfully for "home rule" for Ireland. This was resisted by the Protestant majority in the six northern counties. In 1916 a nationalist rebellion broke out in Dublin, which although suppressed sparked a national rising. After a bitter civil war, independence as the Irish Free State was achieved in 1922. Britian retained the six northern counties, a fact which was not formally recognised by Ireland until 1998.

Under the leadership of Eamon de Valera, Ireland became a republic in 1937 and severed all links with Britain in 1949. In 1972 Ireland joined the European Union. Since the 1970s Ireland has become increasingly prosperous, secular and liberal. Relations with Britain, strained during the 1970s and '80s by the Northern Ireland issue, were improved by the 1998 treaty, when Ireland dropped its claim to the north.

Since the 1920s Irish politics have been dominated by two parties, the Soldiers of Destiny (usually known as Fianna Fail), a conservative Catholic nationalist party, and the Sons of Ireland, or Fine Gael, a more moderate Christian democratic party. The Labour Party has traditionally been an ally of Fine Gael. The radical nationalist tradition is represented by Ourselves Alone or Sinn Fein, a party linked to the illegal Irish Republican Army.

Fianna Fail was in office for most of the postwar period. Bertie Ahearn, Prime Minister from 1997 to 2008, was forced to resign over corruption allegations. He was succeeded by Brian Cowen, who struggled to cope with the collapse of the Irish housing boom and subsequent sharp recession. At early elections in 2011 Fianna Fail suffered the worst defeat in its history, and the Fine Gael leader, Enda Kenny, formed a coalition government with Labour.

Updated November 2011