The South-West is a strategic planning area within the Southern Region in Ireland. It is a NUTS Level III statistical region of Ireland (coded IE053). It includes the city of

Cork City Cork ( , from , meaning 'marsh') is the second largest city in Ireland and third largest city by population on the island of Ireland. It is located in the south-west of Ireland, in the province of Munster. Following an extension to the city's ...

and the

counties A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesChambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...

Cork Cork or CORK may refer to: Materials * Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product ** Cork (plug), a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container ***Wine cork Places Ireland * Cork (city) ** Metropolitan Cork, also known as G ...

and Kerry. The South-West region spans 12,161 km², roughly 16% of the total area of the state and according to the 2016 census has a population of 689,750.Irish Region Office - Regions of Ireland: South-West Region
From 1994 to 2014, the region was governed by the South-West Regional Authority. That body was abolished in 2014, and from 2015 it was succeeded by the Southern Regional Assembly. The South-West Region benefits from a mild climate and has a very scenic environment, which includes features such as

MacGillycuddy's Reeks , photo=MacGuillycuddy's Reeks.jpg , photo_caption= , country=Ireland , country1= , location = County Kerry , region = Munster , region_type = Provinces of Ireland , parent= , border= , length_km=19 , length_orientation=East–West ...

(the highest mountain range in Ireland), the

Dingle Peninsula The Dingle Peninsula ( ga, Corca Dhuibhne; anglicised as Corkaguiny, the name of the corresponding barony) is the northernmost of the major peninsulas in County Kerry. It ends beyond the town of Dingle at Dunmore Head, the westernmost point ...

, Mizen Head and the Iveragh Peninsula along with numerous small islands.

South-West Regional Authority

The South-West Region was administered by the South-West Regional Authority, which consisted of 24 elected representatives, including the region's representative on the EU Committee of the Regions. These representatives met once a month and were nominated from the three administrative councils of the region: *

Cork City Council Cork City Council ( ga, Comhairle Cathrach Chorcaí) is the authority responsible for local government in the city of Cork in Ireland. As a city council, it is governed by the Local Government Act 2001. Prior to the enactment of the 2001 Act, t ...

(7) *

Cork County Council Cork County Council ( ga, Comhairle Contae Chorcaí) is the authority responsible for local government in County Cork, Ireland. As a county council, it is governed by the Local Government Act 2001. The council is responsible for housing and ...

(9) *

Kerry County Council Kerry County Council ( ga, Comhairle Contae Chiarraí) is the authority responsible for local government in County Kerry, Ireland. As a county council, it is governed by the Local Government Act 2001. The council is responsible for housing a ...

(8) The Regional Authorities were dissolved in 2014 and were replaced by Regional Assemblies.

Demographics

The South-West region has experienced a steady increase in its population with migration to the region due to its strong educational infrastructure, scenic beauty, mild climate, as well as its quality of life and work. According to the 2016 census, the South-West region had a population of 689,750, which constitutes 14.5% of the national population. Its population density was 52.5 persons per km². 78.6% of the south-west's population (542,196 people), reside in County Cork. The remaining 21.4% (147,554 people) live in County Kerry. The southwest is the home of

Munster Irish Munster Irish () is the dialect of the Irish language spoken in the province of Munster. Gaeltacht regions in Munster are found in the Gaeltachtaí of the Dingle Peninsula in west County Kerry, in the Iveragh Peninsula in south Kerry, in Cap ...

and contains a number of nationally significant

Gaeltacht ( , , ) are the districts of Ireland, individually or collectively, where the Irish government recognises that the Irish language is the predominant vernacular, or language of the home. The ''Gaeltacht'' districts were first officially reco ...

areas, such as

Dingle Dingle ( Irish: ''An Daingean'' or ''Daingean Uí Chúis'', meaning "fort of Ó Cúis") is a town in County Kerry, Ireland. The only town on the Dingle Peninsula, it sits on the Atlantic coast, about southwest of Tralee and northwest of Kill ...

Cape Clear Island Clear Island or Cape Clear Island (officially known by its Irish name: Cléire, and sometimes also called Oileán Chléire) is an island off the south-west coast of County Cork in Ireland. It is the southernmost inhabited part of Ireland and ha ...

and Muskerry. 14% of Ireland's Gaeltacht population lives in Cork and Kerry. According to the 2016 Census, 43% of Kerry and 45% of Cork are able to speak Irish. The population of Cork City, including its suburbs, was 208,669.

Economy

The region's economy consists of a range of multi-national companies that specialise in areas such as electronics and pharmaceuticals. The food industry also forms an important sector in the regional economy. Tourism is also a major industry in the region. According to CSO figures for 2014, the region has a GDP of €33.745 bn and a GDP per capita of €50,544. Eurostat figures for 2012 gave the region a GDP of €32.370 bn and a GDP per capita of €48,500 (second highest on the island of Ireland, second only to Dublin €57,200). The workforce of the region in 2003 was 255,800, which equated to a 95.58% employment rate with services (59.9%), industrial employment (31.2%), and agriculture (8.9%) forming the key industries. The 2016 unemployment rate for the South-West region, at 5.7%, is the lowest of any other Irish NUTS region.

Transport

The South-West region contains two airports, Cork International Airport and Kerry International Airport, both of which provide a wide range of flights to locations across

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

. The region also has ferry services operating between Cork, the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and ...

and

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

Geography

Dingle Bay, Ring of Kerry (506509) (27811503116)

Ireland's southernmost and westernmost points are located in the Southwest. Including islands Tearaght Island is the westernmost point located 12.5 km west of the Dingle Peninsula in Kerry. The southernmost point is Fastnet Rock which lies 11.3 km south of mainland County Cork. Only including mainland Ireland,

Brow Head Brow Head ( ga, Ceann Bró) is the most southerly point of mainland Ireland. It is in the rural townland of Mallavogue near Crookhaven in County Cork, Ireland. It is 3.8 km east of Mizen Head at latitude 51.43ºN. History Ptolemy's ''Geog ...

, County Cork is the southernmost point and Dunmore Head, County Kerry is the westernmost point. Ireland's twelve highest mountains are located in County Kerry.

Killarney National Park Killarney National Park ( ga, Páirc Náisiúnta Chill Airne), near the town of Killarney, County Kerry, was the first national park in Ireland, created when the Muckross Estate was donated to the Irish Free State in 1932. The park has sinc ...

in Kerry has Ireland's only native herd of

Red Deer The red deer (''Cervus elaphus'') is one of the largest deer species. A male red deer is called a stag or hart, and a female is called a hind. The red deer inhabits most of Europe, the Caucasus Mountains region, Anatolia, Iran, and parts of ...

and the most extensive covering of native forest remaining in Ireland. The southwest has a total of 132,274 hectares (326,856 acres) of Forest and woodland area, larger than six different Irish counties. The area of the Southwest is 12,203 km², roughly 14.5% of

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel, the Irish Sea, and St George's Channel. Ireland is the s ...

's land area which is large enough to fit the 10 smallest counties inside it and almost as large as

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label=Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is #Descriptions, variously described as ...

. The combined coastline of Cork and Kerry is 1,778 km including islands.

Major settlements

A list of the ten largest settlements in the southwest County capitals are included and are shown in bold. Ch2crop

Sport

The South-West region is the base for several sporting teams such as professional association football teams, Cork City FC and Cobh Ramblers, who compete in the League of Ireland, Kerry GAA and Cork GAA, who compete in the All-Ireland and Munster Championship in traditional Irish sports, Gaelic Football and Hurling and American Football team, Cork Admirals. Teams also compete in rugby, cricket, hockey and various other sports.

References

{{Regions of RoI NUTS statistical regions of the Republic of Ireland