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The territory of Northern Ireland is part of the island of Ireland, of which it occupies the north-eastern sector; politically it is part of the United Kingdom and forms the historic province of Ulster with the three counties of Cavan, Donegal and Monaghan (included in the Republic of Ireland). Represented in the English Parliament, it also has its own Parliament (formed by the Senate and the House of Commons) and since December 1999 a mixed autonomous government, made up of five Catholic and five Protestant ministers; executive power is exercised by a governor, representing the sovereign of the United Kingdom. After the deposition of arms by the IRA in 2001, the British authorities relinquished control of the region. The territory is characterized by a vast central depression, partly occupied by Lough Neagh, surrounded by reliefs originating from the Caledonian corrugation, isolated from each other by wide river valleys and culminating at 852 m in the Slieve Donard (Morne mountains). The coasts are often high and indented by deep inlets, known locally as loughs, of which the largest are Lough Foyle, Belfast Lough, Strangford Lough and Carlingford Lough. Main rivers are the Bann, tributary and emissary of Lough Neagh, the Foyle, the Lagan and the Erne, which forms two lake basins (Upper Erne and Lower Erne). Thanks to the position on the sea and the influences of the westerly winds, the climate is mild, with cool summers and mild winters. The population, slightly increasing compared to 1998, is concentrated in the two main centers of Belfast and Londonderry, connected to each other by a dual motorway route N and S of the Lough Neagh basin; in the capital there is an international airport. The most common language is English, which is the official language, but Gaelic is also spoken. The professed religions are Catholic (28%), Presbyterian (23%), Episcopal Protestant (19%) and Methodist (4%). § For history see United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. The economy is mainly based on agriculture (cereals, potatoes, flax, fodder), on cattle, sheep and pig breeding and on fishing (main ports are Ardglass and Kilkeel); the industries, active in particular in the mechanical, shipbuilding, textile, food, chemical and tobacco sectors, are located in the capital and in the cities of Londonderry, Newtownabbey, Bangor, Armagh and Omagh