11 March 1990 (declared); 6 September 1991 (recognized by Soviet Union)
Religions
Roman Catholic 87.4%, Church of Ireland 2.9%, other Christian 1.9%, other 2.1%, unspecified 1.5%, none 4.2% (2006 census)
Roman Catholic 79%, Russian Orthodox 4.1%, Protestant (including Lutheran and Evangelical Christian Baptist) 1.9%, other or unspecified 5.5%, none 9.5% (2001 census)
Languages
English (official) is the language generally used, Irish (Gaelic or Gaeilge) (official) spoken mainly in areas located along the western seaboard
Lithuanian (official) 82%, Russian 8%, Polish 5.6%, other and unspecified 4.4% (2001 census)
Exports
machinery and equipment, computers, chemicals, pharmaceuticals; live animals, animal products
mineral products 23%, textiles and clothing 16%, machinery and equipment 11%, chemicals 6%, wood and wood products 5%, foodstuffs 5% (2001)
External Debt
$2,352,000,000,000 $
$31,030,000,000 US
Exchange Rate
euros (EUR) per US dollar - 0.6689 (2008 est.), 0.7345 (2007), 0.7964 (2006), 0.8041 (2005), 0.8054 (2004)
litai (LTL) per US dollar - 2.3251 (2008 est.), 2.5362 (2007), 2.7498 (2006), 2.774 (2005), 2.7806 (2004)
Military Budget as percentage of GDP
0.900%
0.900%
Beijing Olympics Medal Count
3
5
Location
Western Europe, occupying five-sixths of the island of Ireland in the North Atlantic Ocean, west of Great Britain
Eastern Europe, bordering the Baltic Sea, between Latvia and Russia
Area
70,273 km sq
65,300 km sq
Coastline
1,448 km
90 km
Climate
temperate maritime; modified by North Atlantic Current; mild winters, cool summers; consistently humid; overcast about half the time
transitional, between maritime and continental; wet, moderate winters and summers
