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Some facts about Ireland
The Republic of Ireland used to be part of the UK, but it has been independent since 1921. About 3.75 million people live in the republic - 30% of them in or near the capital Dublin. The other big cities are Cork (180,000) and Limerick (79,000).
There are two official languages in Ireland - Irish, or Gaelic, and English. Road signs and official documents are written in both languages, but most people use English in everyday life.
Ireland used to be a relatively poor , agricultural country, and many people left to find work in Britain and the USA. But the economy has grown very fast since the 1990s and, today, people come from Britain and many other countries to work in Ireland.
The computer and service industries are very important and about 90% of the country's exports are now industrial products.
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