telephone:
[353] (1) 6687122
FAX:
[353] (1) 6689946
Flag:
three equal vertical bands of green (hoist side), white, and orange;
similar to the flag of the Cote d'Ivoire, which is shorter and has the
colors reversed - orange (hoist side), white, and green; also similar
to the flag of Italy, which is shorter and has colors of green (hoist
side), white, and red

@Ireland, Economy

Overview:
The economy is small and trade dependent. Agriculture, once the most
important sector, is now dwarfed by industry, which accounts for 37%
of GDP, about 80% of exports, and employs 28% of the labor force.
Since 1987, real GDP growth, led by exports, has averaged 4% annually.
Over the same period, inflation has fallen sharply and chronic trade
deficits have been transformed into annual surpluses. Unemployment
remains a serious problem, however, and job creation is the main focus
of government policy. To ease unemployment, Dublin aggressively courts
foreign investors and recently created a new industrial development
agency to aid small indigenous firms. Government assistance is
constrained by Dublin's continuing deficit reduction measures.
National product:
GDP - purchasing power equivalent - $46.3 billion (1993)
National product real growth rate:
2.7% (1993)
National product per capita:
$13,100 (1993)
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
2.7% (1994 est.)
Unemployment rate:
16% (1994 est.)
Budget:
revenues:
$16 billion
expenditures:
$16.6 billion, including capital expenditures of $1.6 billion (1992
est.)
Exports:
$28.3 billion (f.o.b., 1992)
commodities:
chemicals, data processing equipment, industrial machinery, live
animals, animal products
partners:
EC 75% (UK 32%, Germany 13%, France 10%), US 9%
Imports:
$23.3 billion (c.i.f., 1992)
commodities:
food, animal feed, data processing equipment, petroleum and petroleum
products, machinery, textiles, clothing
partners:
EC 66% (UK 41%, Germany 8%, Netherlands 4%), US 15%
External debt:
$17.6 billion (1992)
Industrial production:
growth rate 11.5% (1992); accounts for 37% of GDP
Electricity:
capacity:
5,000,000 kW
production:
14.5 billion kWh
consumption per capita:
4,120 kWh (1992)
Industries:
food products, brewing, textiles, clothing, chemicals,
pharmaceuticals, machinery, transportation equipment, glass and
crystal
Agriculture:
accounts for 8% of GDP and 13% of the labor f