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| Northern
Ireland General Info |
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Area:
13,576 sq km or 5242 sq miles.
Population
of Northern Ireland: 1,697,800 (estimate 2000).
Population Density: 125.1 per square km.
Capital:
Belfast.
Geography: Northern
Ireland has some beautiful scenery, from the rugged coastline in
the north and northeast to the fruit-growing regions of Armagh.
To the west are the Sperrin Mountains and Fermanagh lake, where
the winding River Erne has excellent fishing. The moorland plateau
of Antrim in the northeast gives way to the glens south and to the
Drumlin country of County Down; further south, the Mountains of
Mourne stretch down to the sea.
Government:
In 1998, the Good Friday Agreement between Northern Ireland’s
political parties, the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland
provided the transfer of responsibility for the administration of
Northern Ireland from the United Kingdom to an elected Northern
Ireland Assembly and Executive. None of the British parties holds
seats in Northern Ireland, where the political map is made up between
Unionist and Nationalist parties.
Head of State:
HM Queen Elizabeth II since 1953.
Head of Government:
Prime Minister Tony Blair since 1997.
Language:
English. Irish is spoken by a minority
Religion:
Mostly Protestant (Church of Northern Ireland), but many other Christian
denominations present: Roman Catholic, Church of Scotland, Baptist,
Methodist and others. There are Hindu, Jewish and Muslim minorities.
Time : Greenwich Mean Time
(GMT + 1 hour from last Sunday in March to Saturday before last
Sunday in October).
Electricity:
240 volts AC, 50Hz. Square three-pin plugs are standard. |
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