Northern Ireland

Constituent part of the United Kingdom, in the northeast of the island of Ireland; area 13,460 sq km/5,196 sq mi; population (2001) 1,685,300. It is comprised of six of the nine counties that form Ireland's northernmost province of Ulster (Antrim, Armagh, Down, Fermanagh, Londonderry, and Tyrone) which are divided into 26 regional districts for administrative purposes. The capital is Belfast, and other major towns and cities include Londonderry, Enniskillen, Omagh, Newry, Armagh, and Coleraine. Geographical features are the Mourne Mountains, Belfast Lough, Lough Neagh, and the Giant's Causeway. Major industries include engineering, shipbuilding, aircraft components, textiles, processed foods (especially dairy and poultry products), rubber products, and chemicals.

People
In 2000, 56% of the population were Protestant and 44% were Catholic. 5.3% of the population are Irish-speaking.

Government
Under the terms of the 1998 Good Friday agreement, Northern Ireland has a 108-member assembly, elected by proportional representation. It exercises executive and legislative authority, devolved from the UK Parliament at Westminster, in areas including health, social security, education, and agriculture. It came under direct rule from the UK from 1972 until devolution in 1998; devolution was suspended in 2000 and again in 2001 following stalemate over the decommissioning of the IRA. Northern Ireland is entitled to send 18 members of Parliament to Westminster, and there are 26 district councils. The region costs the UK government £3 billion annually.

Economy
Agriculture is declining in importance in Northern Ireland, while manufacturing and service industries are increasing. The region has suffered from high rates of unemployment, though this has improved since the late 1990s. The Catholic unemployment rate has been substantially higher than the Protestant rate. The onset of the peace process brought an economic dividend to Northern Ireland as visitor numbers increased dramatically from 1997.