Location | Western Europe, occupying five-sixths of the island of Ireland in the North Atlantic Ocean, west of Great Britain |
Geographic coordinates | 53 00 N, 8 00 W |
Map references | Europe |
Area | total: 70,273 sq km land: 68,883 sq km water: 1,390 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly larger than West Virginia |
Land boundaries | total: 490 km border countries (1): UK 490 km |
Coastline | 1,448 km |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 nm exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm |
Climate | temperate maritime; modified by North Atlantic Current; mild winters, cool summers; consistently humid; overcast about half the time |
Terrain | mostly flat to rolling interior plain surrounded by rugged hills and low mountains; sea cliffs on west coast |
Elevation extremes | highest point: Carrauntoohil 1,041 m lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m mean elevation: 118 m |
Natural resources | natural gas, peat, copper, lead, zinc, silver, barite, gypsum, limestone, dolomite |
Land use | agricultural land: 66.1% (2018 est.) arable land: 15.4% (2018 est.) permanent crops: 0% (2018 est.) permanent pasture: 50.7% (2018 est.) forest: 10.9% (2018 est.) other: 23% (2018 est.) |
Irrigated land | 0 sq km (2012) |
Total renewable water resources | 52 billion cubic meters (2017 est.) |
Natural hazards | rare extreme weather events |
Geography - note | strategic location on major air and sea routes between North America and northern Europe; over 40% of the population resides within 100 km of Dublin |
Source: CIA World Factbook
This page was last updated on September 18, 2021