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| | Background Celtic tribes arrived on the island between 600-150 B.C. Invasions by Norsemen that began in the late 8th century were finally ended when King Brian BORU defeated the Danes in 1014. English invasions began in the 12th century and set off more than seven centuries of Anglo-Irish struggle marked by fierce rebellions and harsh repressions. A failed 1916 Easter Monday Rebellion touched off several years of guerrilla warfare that in 1921 resulted in independence from the UK for 26 southern counties; six northern (Ulster) counties remained part of the UK. In 1948 Ireland withdrew from the British Commonwealth; it joined the European Community in 1973. Irish governments have sought the peaceful unification of Ireland and have cooperated with Britain against terrorist groups. A peace settlement for Northern Ireland is being implemented with some difficulties. In 2006, the Irish and British governments developed and began to implement the St. Andrews Agreement, building on the Good Friday Agreement approved in 1998. The People | Population | 4,109,086 (July 2007 est.) | | Age structure | 0-14 years: 20.8% (male 442,664/female 413,556)
15-64 years: 67.5% (male 1,387,803/female 1,385,355)
65 years and over: 11.7% (male 212,782/female 266,926) (2007 est.) | | Life expectancy at birth | total population: 77.9 years
male: 75.27 years
female: 80.7 years (2007 est.) | Population growth rate | 1.143% (2007 est.) | | Ethnic groups | Celtic, English | | Religions | Roman Catholic 88.4%, Church of Ireland 3%, other Christian 1.6%, other 1.5%, unspecified 2%, none 3.5% (2002 census) | | Population below poverty line | 7% (2005 est.) | | People living with HIV/AIDS | 2,800 (2001 est.) | | HIV/AIDS - deaths | less than 100 (2003 est.) | | Mobile phones in use | 4.69 million (2006) | | Internet users | 1.437 million (2006) |
Data (Background & The People) provided by The World Factbook |
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