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Republic of Ireland

Ireland
Éire  (Irish)
Flag of Ireland
Coat of arms of Ireland
Flag Coat of arms
Anthem: "Amhrán na bhFiann"
"The Soldiers' Song"
Location of  Ireland  (dark green)– in Europe  (green & dark grey)– in the European Union  (green)
Location of  Ireland  (dark green)

– in Europe  (green & dark grey)
– in the European Union  (green)

Capital
and largest city
Dublin
53°20.65′N 6°16.05′W / 53.34417°N 6.26750°W / 53.34417; -6.26750
Official languages
National language Irish
Ethnic groups (2011)
  • 84.5% White Irish
  • 9.1% Other White
  • 1.6% Not stated
  • 1.5% Other Asian / Asian Irish
  • 1.3% Other
  • 1.4% Black Irish / Black African
  • 0.7% Irish Traveller
  • 0.4% Chinese
  • 0.1% Other Black
Demonym Irish
Government Unitary parliamentary republic
• President
Michael D. Higgins
• Taoiseach
Enda Kenny
• Tánaiste
Frances Fitzgerald
Legislature Oireachtas
Seanad
Dáil
Independence from the United Kingdom
24 April 1916
21 January 1919
6 December 1921
6 December 1922
29 December 1937
18 April 1949
• Joined the EEC
1 January 1973
Area
• Total
70,273 km2 (27,133 sq mi) (120th)
• Water (%)
2.00
Population
• 2016 census
4,757,976 (120th)
• Density
67.7/km2 (175.3/sq mi) (142nd)
GDP (PPP) 2016 estimate
• Total
$324 billion (56th)
• Per capita
$69,375 (11th)
GDP (nominal) 2016 estimate
• Total
$308 billion (42nd)
• Per capita
$65,871 (14th)
Gini (2014) Negative increase 30.0
medium · 23rd
HDI (2015) Increase 0.916
very high · 6th
Currency Euro () (EUR)
Time zone GMT/WET (UTC​)
• Summer (DST)
IST/WEST (UTC+1)
Date format dd/mm/yyyy
Drives on the left
Calling code +353
ISO 3166 code IE
Internet TLD .ie
  1. ^ Article 4 of the Constitution of Ireland declares that the name of the state is Ireland; Section 2 of the Republic of Ireland Act 1948 declares that Republic of Ireland is "the description of the State".
  2. ^ The .eu domain is also used, as it is shared with other European Union member states.
Largest urban centres by population

Calatrava-bridge dublin.JPG
Dublin
LimerickCity Riverpoint.jpg
Limerick

# Settlement Population # Settlement Population

Cork City Hall - Anglesea Street - geograph.org.uk - 1405948.jpg
Cork
Galway Harbour 2007.jpg
Galway

1 Dublin 1,110,627 11 Ennis 25,360
2 Cork 198,582 12 Kilkenny 24,423
3 Limerick 91,454 13 Tralee 23,693
4 Galway 76,778 14 Carlow 23,030
5 Waterford 51,519 15 Newbridge 21,561
6 Drogheda 38,578 16 Naas 20,713
7 Dundalk 37,816 17 Athlone 20,153
8 Swords 36,924 18 Portlaoise 20,145
9 Bray 31,872 19 Mullingar 20,103
10 Navan 28,559 20 Wexford 20,072

– in Europe  (green & dark grey)
– in the European Union  (green)

Ireland (Listeni/ˈaɪərlənd/; Irish: Éire [ˈeːɾʲə]), also described as the Republic of Ireland (Poblacht na hÉireann), is a sovereign state in north-western Europe occupying about five-sixths of the island of Ireland. The capital and largest city is Dublin, which is located on the eastern part of the island, and whose metropolitan area is home to around a third of the country's 4.75 million inhabitants. The state shares its only land border with Northern Ireland, a part of the United Kingdom. It is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, with the Celtic Sea to the south, Saint George's Channel to the south-east, and the Irish Sea to the east. It is a unitary, parliamentary republic. The legislature, the Oireachtas, consists of a lower house, Dáil Éireann, an upper house, Seanad Éireann, and an elected President (Uachtarán) who serves as the largely ceremonial head of state, but with some important powers and duties. The head of government is the Taoiseach (Prime Minister, literally 'Chief', a title not used in English), who is elected by the Dáil and appointed by the President, and appoints other government ministers.


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