Ireland-Will

=Republic of Ireland = Will

[[image:ei-map.gif width="248" height="267"]]
**Population:**


 * __Population- 4,156,119__**

//**Male**:// 75.44 years //**Female**:// 80.88 years [|Population Pyramid] Net Immigration**- 4.82 migrant(s)/1,000 population **Folk** **and Popular Culture:** [|Irish Folk Culture]
 * Crude Birth Rate-** //14.33 births/1,000 population//
 * Crude Death Rate-** //7.77 deaths/1,000 population//
 * Rate of Natural Increase-** //6.56 per 1,000 population//
 * Infant Mortality Rate- //Total://** //5.14 deaths/1,000 live births//
 * //Male://** //5.63 deaths/1,000 live births//
 * //Female://** //4.61 deaths/1,000 live birth////s//
 * //Life Expectancy//-** //**Total population**:// 78.07 years
 * GNI PPP per capita**- $45,500
 * Stage of Demographic Transition-** between stages 3 and 4
 * Migration:
 * Refugees and Asylum Seekers**-Ireland received 7,900 asylum applications in 2002. According to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees the largest numbers of applicants came from Nigeria (3,100), Romania (690), Congo-Kinshasa (260), Moldova (240), Somalia (180), and Ghana (180).

This link above is a great place to go if you want to find some good folk culture on Ireland. It has history, art, music, architecture, Irish sayings and toasts and blessings, and much more so check it out! This Picture also is a symbol of Irish culture it combines a cross with a ring surrounding the intersection. The symbol is associated with Celtic Christianity. Celtic Christianity was developed in medieval in Ireland in coastal areas on the Irish Sea and its just an early form of Christianity.

In the textbook it says that English diffused to Ireland in the seventeenth century when the British invaded Ireland. People speaking English came over as early as the 12th century but English did not catch on because the settlers just joined the Irish culture. Today English is an official language in Ireland and 94% of the people there speak it. Even though the English language has taken over people in Ireland still speak their native language Gaelic, also know as Irish. Gaelic was introduced by the Celts and the Gaels. Before they came to Ireland the language was primitive Irish but it was nothing more then names and phrases, and it was not a real language. So Gaelic is Ireland's first language and today 42% of people living in Ireland still speak Gaelic. Even though English is the main language in Ireland Gaelic was not forgotten about and is still and official language. [|Irish Language] [|Learn Gaelic]
 * Language: **

**Religion:** Although the republic of Ireland is a secular state, 86.8% of the population is Roman Catholic. Ireland has one of the highest weekly church attendances in the western world. Beside Catholic there are other religions that have very small followings. For example .8% of the population is Muslim and .6% is Presbyterian and 4.4% have no religion. Christian missionaries came to Ireland including Patrick in 5th century A.D. He along with the other missionaries helped converge the old religions, know as the Celtic Irish church, into Christianity. The Celtic Irish church believed in rituals and forces of nature, but it was peaceful transitioned into Christianity. Patrick founded the monastery in Armagh and it began its campaign to dominate the Irish church. This played a major role in the spread of Christianity. By the 7th century almost all of Ireland was Christian. Presently there is a conflict in Ireland is divided into 2 countries Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. Northern Ireland is still divided because most of them are unionist and the want to stay a part of the United Kingdom and most unionist have protestant decent.
 * Ethnicity:** Irish 87.4%, other white 7.5%, Asian 1.3%, black 1.1%, mixed 1.1%, unspecified 1.6% (2006 census). Most of the country is still comprised of Irish people. With a total population of 4,156,119 people around 87% of them are Irish.

**Agriculture** : Eighty percent of land in Ireland is given over to agriculture. It Ireland can be loosely categorized into three main types of agriculture: grazing, dairying and arable. There are also dairy farms and livestock. Development: **"The **National Development Plan 2007-2013** entitled //**Transforming Ireland – A Better Quality of Life for All**//, sets out the road map to Ireland’s future. The €184 billion Plan represents another major milestone in building a prosperous Ireland for all the people, characterized by sustainable economic growth, greater social inclusion and balanced regional development. The Plan is the largest and most ambitious investment program ever proposed for Ireland. It builds on, and consolidates, the achievements of the previous Plan, and provides €54.6 billion for investment in economic infrastructure; €49.6 billion for social inclusion measures (children, people with disabilities, etc.); €33.6 billion for social infrastructure (housing, health, justice, etc.); €25.8 billion for human capital (schools, training, higher education, etc.), and €20 billion for enterprise, science and innovation." ([|http://www.ndp.ie/docs/NDP_Homepage][|/1131.htm])


 * Industry: ** "Industry grew by an average annual rate of more than 5% from 1968 to 1981, and peaked at 12% in 1984 before subsiding to an annual rate of about 4%. The greatest growth was in high technology industries, like electronics and pharmaceuticals, where labor productivity also was growing substantially, thus limiting increases in the number of jobs. The most important products of manufacturing, by gross output, are food, metal, and engineering goods, chemicals and chemical products, beverages and tobacco, nonmetallic minerals, and paper and printing. The making of glass and crystal are also important industries. Industrial production continued to grow into the late 1990s, the "Celtic Tiger" years, posting a 15.8% growth in 1998. Industry employed 28% of the labor force in 2000, and accounted for 36% of GDP in 2001. The value of industry output in 2000 was 12.3% higher than in 1999. Computer and pharmaceutical enterprises, largely owned by foreign companies, were responsible for high manufacturing output in 2000. Although there is no formal governmental privatization plan, the government planned to privatize the state-owned natural gas distributor (Bord Gas), the state-owned airline (Aer Lingus), and the state-owned electricity distributor (ESB) as of 2002." (http://www.nationsencyclopedia.com/Europe/Ireland-INDUSTRY.html)

**Services:** In recent years Ireland has moved from more of an agricultural focus to more of a modern knowledge economy. They are the 7th largest zinc producer in the world. They are also one of the biggest producers of software related goods. Companies like IBM take engineers right out of Ireland's colleges and give them good jobs. Ireland has business districts but they are not called districts they are called townside. Financial Services Ireland (FSI) is the principal trade association for financial services in Ireland and the only financial services industry association that focuses on all aspects of the financial services sector across the board. Financial Services Ireland works to create an environment that is conducive to the development of competitiveness of the financial services industry in Ireland in both national and international markets. It also seeks to foster a greater awareness of the value added by the industry for the national economy. These aims are pursued through seminars, workshops, publications, special committees and lobbying activities.


 * Urban Development: ** Agriculture is very important in Ireland and it effects there urban development. They need a lot of green space for agriculture so they don't have as many big cities and are not as developed as some other countries. Dublin is the capitol of the republic of Ireland and also their largest city. There are some other larger cities that are developed such as Cork, Galway, and Limerick. The population of the urban area Dublin 1,045, 769 people. Although the countries urban development is held back by agriculture Ireland still has some large urban areas.

Associated Graph = = Associated Graph **Figure 1** tracks, in absolute terms, the average per person resource demand (Ecological Footprint) and per person resource supply (Biocapacity) in Ireland since 1961. Biocapacity varies each year with ecosystem management, agricultural practices (such as fertilizer use and irrigation), ecosystem degradation, and weather.
 * Ecological Footprint: **

Associated Graph **Figure 2** shows the components of the average per person Ecological Footprint in Ireland since 1961.