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Irish state

Ireland
Éire  (Irish)
Anthem: "Amhrán na bhFiann"
(English: "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 (2016)
  • 82.2% White Irish
  • 9.5% Other White
  • 2.6% Not stated
  • 2.1% Other Asian / Asian Irish
  • 1.5% Other
  • 1.2% Black Irish / Black African
  • 0.7% Irish Traveller
  • 0.1% Other Black
Demonym Irish
Government Unitary parliamentary republic
• President
Michael D. Higgins
• Taoiseach
Leo Varadkar
• Tánaiste
Simon Coveney
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) (118th)
• Water (%)
2.00
Population
• 2016 census
Increase 4,761,865 (123rd)
• Density
67.7/km2 (175.3/sq mi) (142nd)
GDP (PPP) 2018 estimate
• Total
$382 billion (56th)
• Per capita
$79,925 (7th)
GDP (nominal) 2018 estimate
• Total
$385 billion (42nd)
• Per capita
$80,641 (4th)
Gini (2014) Negative increase 30.0
medium · 23rd
HDI (2015) Increase 0.923
very high · 8th
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 (2016 census)

Samuel Beckett Bridge, Dublin 20150807 1.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 1,173,179 11 Kilkenny 26,512
2 Cork 208,669 12 Ennis 25,276
3 Limerick 94,192 13 Carlow 24,272
4 Galway 79,934 14 Tralee 23,691
5 Waterford 53,504 15 Newbridge 22,742
6 Drogheda 40,956 16 Portlaoise 22,050
7 Swords 39,248 17 Balbriggan 21,722
8 Dundalk 39,004 18 Naas 21,393
9 Bray 32,600 19 Athlone 21,349
10 Navan 30,173 20 Mullingar 20,928

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

Ireland (/ˈaɪərlənd/ (About this sound listen); Irish: Éire [ˈeːɾʲə] (About this sound listen)), also known as the Republic of Ireland (Poblacht na hÉireann), is a sovereign state in north-western Europe occupying 26 of 32 counties 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; the Taoiseach in turn appoints other government ministers.


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