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History Ireland consists of 32 Counties. Six of these counties are known as Northern Ireland and are governed by the United Kingdom. For hundreds of years there have been many conflicts between the nationalist and loyalist groups over these northern counties. The northern counties have a population of both catholic and protestant therefore the whole country is divided on separate issues, the Catholic Community wish to belong under Irish rule while the Protestants wish to remain under British rule. Language -Almost all the people speak English and about 1/4th also speak Irish -Irish or Gaelge is the official language of the country. It is spoken on a daily basis in some parts of the west of Ireland. The latter areas are known as the Gaeltacht. In Ireland, the road signs are in both Irish and English. English, however, is the language spoken by the vast majority of the people. Both Irish and English are taught in most schools. Major Religions and Percentages: -Roman Catholic 91.6% -Church of Ireland: 2.5% -Other: 5.9% Population Statistics and distribution of population: -3,924,140 -Age Structure: - 0-14 Years: 21.2% (Male – 427, 017) (Female – 404,191) - 15-64 Years: 67.4% (Male -1,322,98