NORTHERN IRELAND - Geography and history
Northern Ireland is bordered by the sea to the north and east. To the south and west, the United Kingdom's border with the Republic of Ireland stretches for 412 kilometres. The official language is English. There are 26 local government districts, however, the different regions of Northern Ireland are frequently referred to by the names of the province's six traditional Irish counties, even though they are no longer the units of local government. These are - clockwise from the northeast - Antrim, Down, Armagh, Fermanagh, Tyrone, and Londonderry (Derry).
Lough Neagh, the largest fresh water lake in the British Isles, and its surrounding lowlands occupy the centre of Northern Ireland, with corridors extending north along the river valley of the Bann, eastward where the river Lagan flows into Belfast Lough, and south-west to the drainage system of the river Erne with its two fine lakes. Much of this southern lowland has been moulded by ice to form drumlins, small smoothly rounded hills which stipple the landscape in an intricate pattern.
Peripheral to the central lowlands is a discontinuous rim of upland, the most extensive being the Antrim plateau in the north-east which slopes upwards and outwards from Lough Neagh to front the North Channel in impressive cliffs. Westward are the rounded masses of the Sperrin mountains, with several summits about 600m, while to the south the County Down lowlands are dominated by the high yet compact mass of the Mourne mountains.
The landscape is predominantly rural, but just under two fifths of the population live in the Belfast Metropolitan Area. Road communications are good, with motorways from Belfast towards the west and north. The region has three airports ? Belfast International Airport, Belfast City Airport and City of Derry Airport, and ports at Belfast, Larne, Londonderry and Warrenpoint.
Fertile soils and rich pasturelands are considered as the region's most valuable natural resource. Basalt, limestone, sand and gravel, granite, chalk, clay and shale are the region's chief minerals. Bauxite, iron ore and coal are also found in small amount.
The region has a temperate climate with mild winters and cool summers. The westerly winds are responsible for this climate. The average normal temperature is around 10°C. In July, the temperatures can be around 15°C and in January, around 5°C. Annual precipitations frequently exceeds 1,000 millimetres: therefore, moderate to heavy rainfall can be expected. Another point is that humidity is high.
Unspoilt beauty and young labour force
Northern Ireland is endowed with an unspoilt natural environment offering a variety of attractive landscapes. This adds to the region's strengths and attractions, as do its relatively low levels of environmental damage, traffic congestion and industrial pollution and its good physical and social infrastructure (roads, schools, hospitals, housing and leisure facilities). Internal communications are excellent, as are international telecommunications links; however, situated at the edge of Europe, the region experiences acute problems of peripherally, and transport connections with mainland Europe require improvements.
Average gross weekly earnings are lower than elsewhere in the United Kingdom, while educational standards are high. Moreover, a large proportion of the population is young; the availability of such a young well-educated labour force is increasingly recognised as an important asset.
Dominated by the Belfast area
In considering regional imbalances it is important to bear in mind that Northern Ireland covers a relatively small area of 13,600 km2. Almost two-fifths of the province's population lives in the Belfast Metropolitan area. The only other sizeable concentration of population is in and around the city of Londonderry (population 106 thousand) in the north-west.
In the west the population is more rural and centres of settlement are more widely dispersed. In addition, although soils are poorer, there is a greater dependence on agriculture, with food processing also being relatively more important.
Reliance on Great Britain as a source of materials and a market for finished products led to the growth of non-agricultural industry in the port of Belfast and its hinterland. As a consequence of this, unemployment in the eastern part of the province is, on the whole, lower and incomes are higher.
|
|