Before going to Ireland, I heard that ireland's natural environment is quite well maintained, and its entire country is lined with trees, rivers and meadows, known as the "Emerald Isle Country", "Green Island" and "Emerald".
I thought that this country full of green would be a relatively primitive and backward country, until I completely broke my cognition after traveling to Ireland, it turned out that in addition to maintaining a good natural environment, ireland's economy has developed quite fast, it has already developed into a highly developed capitalist country, and has the reputation of "Little European Tiger". Ireland in the vigorous development of the economy at the same time, but also to maintain the motherland of the green water and green mountains, this development concept is very worthy of other countries to learn from the emulation, then, Ireland in the end what kind of country? Moving on to take a more holistic look at the current state of Ireland.
Ireland Country Summary
Ireland is a parliamentary republic of Western Europe, it is located in the south-central part of the island of Ireland in western Europe, bordering the Atlantic Ocean in the west, bordering Northern Ireland in the United Kingdom in the northeast, and facing the United Kingdom in the east across the Irish Sea, with a territorial area of 70,280 square kilometers, of which the land area is 68,890 square kilometers, the water area is 1,390 square kilometers, and the coastline is 3,169 kilometers long. The population of the country is about 5 million, which is equivalent to the population of an ordinary prefecture-level city on the mainland. Dublin is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Ireland and the political, economic, cultural, tourism and transport centre of Ireland. Irish is the first official language of Ireland and English is the second official language.
Flag of Ireland
The Irish people have great respect for nature and love to protect the environment, and the green of nature has naturally become one of the colors of the Irish flag. As we all know, the flag of Ireland is horizontally rectangular, with a length-to-width ratio of 2:1. From left to right, it consists of three parallel and equal vertical rectangles of green, white and orange. In addition to the green treasure island that symbolizes Ireland, green also represents the Catholic Irish; white symbolizes the permanent truce, unity and fraternity between Catholics and Protestants, and also symbolizes the pursuit of light, freedom, democracy and peace; orange represents Protestantism and its followers, which also takes the color of the Orange Nassau Palace, and also represents honor and wealth.
Economy of Ireland
Ireland is a highly developed capitalist country, a member of the European Union, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, the World Trade Organisation and the United Nations, and one of the fastest growing economies in the world. In 2020, Ireland's GDP was $425.9 billion, with a per capita GDP of $85,300.
Ireland's main mineral resources are natural gas, peat, copper, lead, graphite, zinc, silver, barite, gypsum, limestone, dolomite, etc., of which lead and zinc ore are abundant, and are the largest lead and zinc producers in Europe. It relies on imports for 70% of its energy needs.
As a "Green Island", Ireland's most traditional economy is dominated by agriculture and animal husbandry, and the Shannon Development Zone, established in 1959, is the world's first special economic zone and is hailed as a successful example of regional development.
Ireland's economic development rate is the fastest period is from the 1980s, Ireland vigorously develop software and biological engineering and other high-tech industries, with a good investment environment to attract a large number of overseas high-tech investment, the economic structure quickly completed the leap from agriculture and animal husbandry to knowledge-based, to achieve rapid growth, the economic growth rate once ranked first in the EU.
Ireland's industry mainly includes electronics, telecommunications, chemical industry, pharmaceuticals, machinery manufacturing, mining, textile, clothing, leather, papermaking, printing, food processing, tobacco, wood processing and other departments; agriculture is mainly animal husbandry, livestock and their products account for more than 70% of the total agricultural output value, the main crops are wheat, oats, potatoes, sugar beets, etc.; foreign trade occupies a pivotal position in the economy, mainly export chemicals, machinery and transportation equipment, food, beverages, tobacco, etc.; mainly import data processing equipment, Chemical products, petroleum (products), textiles, clothing, raw materials, semi-finished products, etc.
Ireland can go from a country with a traditional agriculture and animal husbandry industry to a highly developed capitalist country through the vigorous development of high-tech industries such as software and bioengineering, and does not destroy the natural ecology, retain green mountains and green water, it is really very rare, if the world can do this, I believe that the earth has only two colors, that is, green (land) and blue (ocean).
Irish cultural practices
The Irish are very simple and welcoming, in social occasions they are dressed neatly and decently, green is the irish favorite color, in larger celebrations, they will wear green clothes and green hats, Irish men's traditional dress is skirts.
When Irish meet guests on social occasions, they generally shake hands as a courtesy. When meeting with friends and family, most of them use kissing cheeks or cheeks two or three times to shake hands instead of showing affection and friendship between each other; Irish people need to make an appointment in advance to negotiate business; do not be empty-handed when visiting Irish homes, a bottle of wine, a bouquet of flowers, a box of chocolate candy or cheese are very suitable gifts.
Irish people are afraid of "13" and "Friday", do not want others to ask about their whereabouts, salary, age and marital status, etc., and avoid using red, white and blue combinations.
The National Faith of Ireland
More than 80% of the Irish population is Irish, with the rest predominantly English and Scottish. There are about 50,000 to 60,000 Overseas Chinese in Ireland.
Catholicism is the predominant religion in Ireland, accounting for about 92% of the population. Ireland is one of the few devout religious countries in Europe, Catholic doctrine is the basis of Irish social formation and way of life, and divorce and abortion are rare.
Education in Ireland
Ireland's long history and excellent educational standards are recognized around the world. As early as the Middle Ages, Ireland was the leader in education in the Western world. The Irish government spends up to 15% of its total fiscal expenditure on education each year, much higher than other EU countries. Ireland enjoys a free 12-year education from primary school to secondary school graduation, and the seamless connection between high school graduation and British universities, students can directly apply to famous universities in the UK with Irish high school examination results.
Irish universities are also world-renowned. Trinity College, along with Oxbridge, is Ireland's most famous institution of higher learning. Ireland's seven national universities are among the world's top 500 universities and are globally recognized as gold qualifications.
Medical care in Ireland
Ireland was voted "one of the most suitable countries in the world for the elderly" by the British newspaper The Guardian, and Irish medical care is free, and Ireland's medical services are also the best in the world. The Irish health care system is part of the public health system, where everyone has their own family doctor, and minor illnesses do not have to go to the hospital or queue. The patient's trust in the doctor is unconditional. Every doctor in the Irish medical system is not only the world leader in medicine, but because every doctor has faith, doctors will take the initiative to care for the emotions of patients, and it is absolutely impossible to prescribe expensive drugs or over-treat for their own interests.
Irish music, dance
When it comes to Ireland, I have to let everyone know about Irish music and dance.
Known as the land of pop music, Ireland has produced one of the world's greatest rock bands, u2, the popular boy band boyzone and Westlife, the pure natural voice enja and the girl group Celtic women, The Cranberries, One Direction member Niall Horan, and the musical prodigy Declan. The folk song "The Last Rose of Summer", written by the eighteenth-century Dublin poet Thomas Moore, is a song loved by people all over the world.
Irish tap dance is passionate, melodic, extremely distinct and varied rhythm, combining the essence of Irish traditional music, song and dance, reflecting the spirit of modern Ireland. The dance drama "The Dance of the Great River" is known as "the world's first tap dance" and is an excellent representative of Irish culture.
Transport in Ireland
Irish traffic rules are the opposite of those in the country. On the left, the driver's seat of the car is on the right, but the car with the driver's seat on the left can also drive here.
Airlines: Dublin, Cork, Shannon and Belfast are Ireland's four largest airports, with the main airlines being Air Lingus and Ryanair, one of Europe's largest low-cost carriers.
Rail: Irish Rail is run by Irishrail and runs through major cities. Ireland does not have any electrified rail and no free train timetables are available; Irish Rail offers any discounts for all young and old; Irish Rail offers students a near-half discount and only needs to apply for a Student Travel Kard for 15 euros for 1 year, which is changed once a year. There are no high-speed trains in Ireland, with a maximum speed of 90 km/h, and the ordinary intercity car Intercity is a red box, and the fare is not high.
Roads: Ireland has a very well-developed road network with a total length of 96,000 kilometres. Ireland's coach system is more sophisticated than the railway system, with fares always lower than trains, but much slower; discounts are available for students, but the holding of Student Travel Kard is also required.
Water transport: Ireland's main commercial ports are Dublin, Cork, Limerick, Greenor, Rosslare, Dunlaughal, Galway and Watford; from here there are regular ferries to the UK and France.
Irish cuisine
The Irish family diet is dominated by potatoes, vegetables and beef, and bread is one of the staple foods of the Irish. Ireland has introduced the way of eating in France, Italy and other countries on the basis of traditional diet, and Irish cuisine is not greasy and very light. Meals are generally potatoes, meat (lamb, pork, chicken) or fish, one or two vegetables (carrots, celery, cabbage, onions, peppers, cucumbers, mushrooms are seasonal vegetables), or eaten raw (salad) or boiled; in addition, The Irish love to eat dairy products, eggs, cheese, milk, yogurt, fruit, etc. They also like Chinese Su and Cantonese cuisine.
The Irish people's tea party for entertaining friends is quite exquisite, when the friends come to sit down, first let the guests drink the Unique Irish Dark Beer (Guinness Guinness) cup after cup, and then the owner is willing to serve tea or coffee and other convenience foods. Legend has it that the world-famous Guinness World Record was created by the Irish when they drank Guinness dark beer and bragged and bet. Irish Whiskey is a whisky produced only in Ireland and distilled from barley malt and grain for more than 700 years.
Tourism in Ireland
Ireland has a scenic wonderland and rich historical heritage, and the city's humanities and natural beauty attract visitors from all over the world. When you're in Ireland, don't miss these famous attractions: Cliffs of Moher, Dark Hedges, Larry Bain Hill, Dunluce Castle, Carrick's Rope Bridge, Giant's Causeway, Dublin Castle, Trinity College, Penny Bridge, Temple Bar, St. Patrick's Church and more.
Ireland: A highly developed capitalist European country that has developed its economy while maintaining green mountains and rivers, such a country is worth learning to travel.
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