GENERAL
The island of Ireland is situated in the extreme north-west of Europe between 51.5 and 55.5 degrees north latitude and between 5.5 and 10.5 degrees west longitude. The island of Ireland is divided politically between the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. References in this text to Ireland generally refer to the Republic of Ireland.

CLIMATE
Ireland's climate is equable and temperatures are fairly uniform over the whole country. The coldest months are January and February with mean daily air temperatures of between 4C and 7C. July and August are the warmest (14C to 16C). May and June are the sunniest months, averaging 5 to 7 hours of sunshine per day. However, particularly in the West of Ireland the weather can change rapidly and there is always plenty of rain.

POPULATION
Ireland has been inhabited since Stone Age times. For more than five thousand years peoples moving westwards across the European continent have settled in the country and each new group of immigrants, Celts, Vikings, Normans, English, has contributed to the present population. In 1841, shortly before the Great Famine, the area comprising the present Irish State had a population of over 6.5 million. The next census (1851) showed a massive decline to 5.1 million for the same area, due to deaths from starvation and disease and large-scale emigration. At the 1996 census, the population of the State was 3,626,087. About 60% of the people live in cities and town of 1,000 or more inhabitants. Population densities are highest in the east and south. The population is very young with approximately 41% under twenty-five years of age and 24 per cent under fifteen.

LANGUAGE
Ireland has two official languages: Irish and English. The latest available figures show that 35% of adults claim to have a knowledge of the Irish language.

RELIGION
The religion of most people in Ireland (Republic) is Roman Catholic. According to the 1991 census 91.6% of the population were Roman Catholics, 2.5% were Church of Ireland (Anglican), 0.4% Presbyterians, 0.1% Methodists and less than O.l% Jewish. About 3% of the population belonged to other religious groupings or have no specific religious beliefs. No information on religion was supplied in respect of 2.4% of the population. The Irish Constitution guarantees freedom of conscience and the free profession and practice of religion to all citizens.

(Note: Above information is taken from www.usi.ie)