Ireland is a country located in Western Europe occupying five-sixths of the island of Ireland in the North Atlantic Ocean just west of Great Britain. It rests in a strategic location on major air and sea routes between North America and northern Europe. The country is only slightly larger than West Virginia but boasts almost 900 miles of coastline and a mostly temperate climate. Ireland has mild winters and cool summers. It is overcast half of the time and regularly humid. The terrain is mostly flat with rolling interior plains surrounded by rugged hills and low mountains. The west coast is sea cliffs. The land holds many natural resources including natural gas, peat, copper, lead, zinc, silver, barite, gypsum, limestone, and dolomite. Also, 66.1% of Irish land is agricultural land. A great positive attribute for Ireland is that it has no applicable natural hazards to worry about. However, they do have an issue with water pollution, particularly the lakes, from agricultural runoff. …show more content…
The net migration rate is 4.09 migrant(s)/1,000 population. Ireland's great economic growth during the 1990s brought unexpected levels of prosperity and helped turn Ireland into a "country of net immigration" by the early 2000s(Ireland: From Rapid Immigration to Recession, 2009). Net immigration leads to an increase in the labor force and increases the possible output capacity of the economy. Net inflows of people also lead to an increase in aggregate demand. Migrants increase the total spending within the economy(Impact of Immigration on UK Economy, 2015). Irish have a strong grasp on their culture and traditions. In fact, the economy is boosted because of the tourism that flocks to the country for the history and culture to be