ABSTRACT
An island in the north Atlantic Ocean, separated from the coasts of Scotland, England and Wales to the east by the Irish Sea, and separated from France to the south-east by St George’s Channel, Ireland is one of the least densely populated countries in Europe, with a total area of 70,300 square kilometres (27,150 square miles), and a population of only 5,093,372, according to the 1991 census. The main urban centres, Dublin and Belfast, are located on the eastern seaboard, with smaller concentrations of population in the west and north, including Galway, Cork, Limerick and Derry. The island is made up of two distinct political units: the Republic of Ireland (whose official name is Eire), composed of the twenty-six counties of the south and northwest (population 3,523,401), and the province of Northern Ireland (often referred to as Ulster), made up of the six counties in the northeast of the island which are part of Great Britain (population 1,569,971). Dublin is the capital of Eire, in which a democratically elected parliament, the Däil, meets. Although the people of Northern Ireland, like those of Scot land and Wales, elect representatives to the Westminster parliament in London, Belfast acts as the administrative centre of the province. English is spoken in all parts of the island, although Irish is the first official language of Eire. Both parts of the island are part of the European Community.
