Economy Overview:
See statistics, finance &
trade info..»
- Ireland is a small, modern, trade-dependent economy
with growth averaging a robust 8% in 1995-2002.
- Per capita GDP is 10% above
that of the four big European economies.
- The extraordinary performance of
the Irish economy has given Ireland the name of The
Celtic Tiger, in comparison with the strong Asian Tiger economies of Taiwan
and Korea.
- Industry accounts for 46% of GDP, about 80% of exports, and employs
28% of the labour force.
- Agriculture, once the most important sector, is
now dwarfed by industry and services.
- The Irish Government has based its
successful economic policy on containing inflation, reducing government spending,
increasing labour force skills and promoting foreign investment.
GDP Purchasing
Power Parity: approx. € 96.3 billion (2002).
GDP real growth rate:
+6.9% (2002).
GDP per capita: purchasing power parity - approx. €
24,823 (2002).
Population below poverty line: 10% (1997 est.).
Labour force: 1.8 million (2001).
Labour force - occupation by sectors:
agriculture 8%, industry 29%, services 64% (2002).
Unemployment rate:
4.3% (2002).
Budget: € 26 billion in revenues and € 25.8
billion in expenditures (2002).
Currency: Euro (EUR).
Industries:
Food products, brewing, textiles, clothing, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, machinery,
transportation equipment, glass and crystal; software, music.
Main airports:
Dublin, Shannon, Cork.
Main ports: Dun Laoghaire, Dublin, Rosslare,
Cork.
Historical background -
Megalithic culture in Ireland circa 4500-1500 BC. Stone constructions characteristic
of the Irish landscape and heritage.
- Bronze Age and trade in the
European Atlantic, 1500-700 BC.
- Celtic tribes settle in the island
ca. 600 BC.
- Roman empire: the Romans name Ireland as "Hibernia"
but they never settle on the island.
- Christianity spreads in Hibernia
ca. 350 AD, blending with native beliefs and greatly influencing Irish history
and society to this day.
- Golden Age of Irish literature and scholarship
between the 7th and 9th centuries.
- Viking age: Scandinavians take
control of Ireland between 795-1014 AD.
- English rule: English invasions
began in 1169, seting off eight centuries of continuous violent conflict, Irish
rebellions and English repressions. Guerrilla warfare. Statutes of Kilkenny of
1366 segregating the Irish from the English, restricting Irish culture and forbiding
Anglo-Irish marriages. Decline of Irish language and culture. Disappearance of
the Irish nobility.
- Emigration: Social poverty and Potato Famine, 1845.
Mass emigration to North America.
- Irish renaissance, Late 19th century:
strong emergence of Irish national identity. Irish intellectuals advocate the
right of the Irish to govern themselves. Cultural and political organisations
are created. Irish rebellions intensify.
- The Irish Free State: 26
counties of Ireland declare independence from the UK in 1916 and create the Irish
Free State in 1921. 6 Irish counties remained part of the UK.
- World Wars:
50,000 Irish die in WW1, 1914-1918. The Irish Free State stays neutral during
WW2.
The Irish Free State leaves the British Commonwealth in 1949 and is known
as the Republic of Ireland.
- Political activism: "The Troubles"
intensify during the late 1960's in Northern Ireland between Irish Nationalists
and the British Unionists.
- European Union: the Republic of Ireland
becomes a EEC - EU member state in 1973. Northern Ireland enters the EEC - EU
as a territory of the UK on the same day.
- The
Celtic Tiger: the Irish economy takes off in the mid 1990's and after
several years of spectacular growth becomes one of the most prosperous and robust
economies of the European Union.
- Peace in Northern Ireland: signature
of the 1998 "Good Friday Agreement" between Ireland and the UK; the
Republic of Ireland abandons its constitutional demands of a united Ireland and
the UK gives political autonomy to the Ulster counties. Yet, tensions are still
running high and the northern Irish society remains divided, hindering economic
and human development in the region and making of northern Ireland the last volatile
political conflict within the European Union.
Tourism and Culture -
Tourist information and literature..»
-
Dublin, the world-famous capital city of Ireland.
- The city
of Cork and the emigrant port and museum of Cobh, from which thousands left
to start a another life in the New World.
- The real Ireland is often to be
found in the west of the river Shannon. After Dublin, discover the true Irish
culture in the rural west country.
- Discover Ireland's deep Catholic traditions:
Visit its churches and attend a religious pilgrimage.
- The dynamic and culturally
vibrant city of Galway, an ideal base to explore the Gaelic speaking areas of
Connemara and the Aran Islands.
- The Gaeltacht areas of Kerry, Connemara
and Aran Islands are among Ireland's most popular tourist destinations. The stunning
beauty of its landscape together with the strong cultural Irish heritage makes
of Kerry, Connemara and Aran a part of Ireland not to be missed.
- Drink Guinness
and listen to traditional Irish music in any pub in any small Irish town.
- The northwest counties of Sligo, Leitrim and Donegal have unseemingly undiscovered
wilderness.
- Watch a game of one of Ireland's national sports, Gaelic football
and hurling. |
