Ireland

Table of Contents

Introduction & Quick Facts
Land
- Relief
- Drainage
- Soils
- Climate
- Plant and animal life
People
- Ethnic groups, language, and religion
- Settlement patterns
- Demographic trends
Economy
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing
  - Agriculture
  - Forestry and fishing
- Resources and power
- Manufacturing
- Finance
- Trade
- Services
- Labour and taxation
- Transportation and telecommunications
  - Roads and railways
  - Waterborne traffic
  - Air facilities
  - Telecommunications
Government and society
- Constitutional framework
- Local government
- Justice
- Political process
- Security
- Health and welfare
- Housing
- Education
Cultural life
- Daily life and social customs
- The arts
  - Literature: Prose and poetry
  - Theatre
  - Music and dance
  - Visual arts
- Cultural institutions
- Sports and recreation
- Media and publishing
History
- Early Ireland
  - Neolithic Period
  - Bronze Age
  - Iron Age
  - Early Celtic Ireland
    - Political and social organization
    - Rural economy and living conditions
    - Early political history
    - Irish raids and migrations
  - Early Christianity
    - Conversion
    - Irish monasticism
    - Learning and art
  - The Norse invasions and their aftermath
- First centuries of English rule (c. 1166–c. 1600)
  - The Anglo-Norman invasion
  - The 14th and 15th centuries
  - The Kildare ascendancy
  - The Reformation period
  - Ireland under Elizabeth I
    - The Shane O’Neill rebellion
    - The Desmond rebellion
    - The Tyrone rebellion
- Modern Ireland under British rule
  - The 17th century
    - James I (1603–25)
    - Charles I (1625–49) and the Commonwealth (1649–60)
    - The Restoration period and the Jacobite war
  - The 18th century
  - Social, economic, and cultural life in the 17th and 18th centuries
  - The 19th and early 20th centuries
    - Political discontent
    - The rise of Fenianism
    - The Home Rule movement and the Land League
    - The 20th-century crisis
- Independent Ireland to 1959
  - The Irish Free State, 1922–32
  - De Valera’s governments (1932–48) and the quest for sovereignty
  - The Republic of Ireland
- Developments since 1959
  - Economic and political developments
    - Integration in Europe
    - The rough road to prosperity
    - The debt crisis and beyond
  - Social and religious changes
  - Relations with Northern Ireland
Leaders of Ireland since 1922

References & Edit History Facts & Stats

Images, Videos & Interactives

Map showing the republic of Ireland, its counties, and its major cities.

Cliffs of Moher, County Clare, Ireland

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River Liffey, Dublin

Ireland's coastline

St. Patrick's Cathedral, Dublin

Ireland: Religious affiliation

For Students

Ireland summary

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Ireland: Facts & Stats

Written and fact-checked by The Information Architects of Encyclopaedia Britannica

News •

European ‘year of the Normans’ reopens debate over Irish identity • May 21, 2025, 2:48 AM ET (The Guardian)

Women's Nations League: Adelaide United striker Erin Healy earns Republic of Ireland call-up • May 20, 2025, 2:32 AM ET (BBC)

Ireland joins six other countries in calling on Israel to ‘immediately’ lift Gaza blockade • May 17, 2025, 6:00 AM ET (Irish Times)

Trump has just crushed Ireland’s European dream • May 15, 2025, 9:17 PM ET (The Telegraph)

Budget giveaway promises absent as Ireland’s economic model faces unprecedented threat • May 14, 2025, 6:51 AM ET (Irish Times)

Facts

Also Known As	Irish Free State • Éire
Head Of Government	Prime Minister: Micheál Martin
Capital	Dublin
Population	(2025 est.) 5,374,000
Currency Exchange Rate	1 USD equals 0.937 euro
Head Of State	President: Michael D. Higgins
Form Of Government	unitary multiparty republic with two legislative houses (Senate [60²]; House of Representatives [158])
Official Languages	Irish; English
Official Religion	none
Official Name	Éire (Irish); Ireland¹ (English)
Total Area (Sq Km)	71,118
Total Area (Sq Mi)	27,458
Monetary Unit	euro (€)
Population Rank	(2025) 123
Population Projection 2030	5,262,000
Density: Persons Per Sq Mi	(2025) 195.7
Density: Persons Per Sq Km	(2025) 75.6
Urban-Rural Population	Urban: (2019) 68.6% • Rural: (2019) 31.4%
Life Expectancy At Birth	Male: (2021) 80.5 years • Female: (2021) 84.3 years
Literacy: Percentage Of Population Age 15 And Over Literate	Male: 100% • Female: 100%
Gni (U.S.$ ’000,000)	(2023) 419,126
Gni Per Capita (U.S.$)	(2023) 78,970
¹As provided by the constitution.²Includes 11 nonelective seats.

Photos and Videos

Map showing the republic of Ireland, its counties, and its major cities.

Cliffs of Moher, County Clare, Ireland

River Liffey, Dublin

Ireland's coastline

St. Patrick's Cathedral, Dublin

Cobh, County Cork, Ireland

Eyeries, County Cork, Ireland

Long Room, Old Library, Trinity College Dublin

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A piece of Irish soda bread on a white plate.

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Learn about The Great Book of Ireland, a book containing hundreds of Irish poems, music compositions, and drawings produced between 1989 and 1991

View a demonstration of early and medieval Irish foods possibly eaten by Saint Patrick and his contemporaries

National anthem of Ireland

See All Videos, Images, Audio and Interactives →

Topics

Conn Cétchathach Leaders of Ireland European Monetary Union League of Nations European Union nation-state Irish War of Independence Anglo-Irish Agreement Anglo-Irish Treaty Council of Europe United States India United Kingdom China Canada Russia Germany Australia Japan France

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Oliver Cromwell

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English statesman

Charles I

Charles I

king of Great Britain and Ireland

George III

George III

king of Great Britain

David Lloyd George

David Lloyd George

prime minister of United Kingdom

William E. Gladstone

William Ewart Gladstone

prime minister of United Kingdom

William III

William III

king of England, Scotland, and Ireland

Charles II, 19th-century engraving by William Holl.

Charles II

king of Great Britain and Ireland

Leo Varadkar

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prime minister of Ireland

Godfrey Kneller: painting of James II

James II

king of England, Scotland, and Ireland

Charles Stewart Parnell

Charles Stewart Parnell

Irish leader

Robert Stewart, Viscount Castlereagh

Irish statesman

Micheál Martin

Micheál Martin

prime minister of Ireland

Patron saint of Ireland

St. Patrick

bishop and patron saint of Ireland

Gerry Adams

Gerry Adams

Irish leader

Thomas Wentworth, 1st earl of Strafford

English noble

Eamon de Valera

Eamon de Valera

president of Ireland

Michael D. Higgins

Michael D. Higgins

president of Ireland

Brian Cowen.

Brian Cowen

prime minister of Ireland

Anne

Anne

queen of Great Britain and Ireland

Wellesley, Richard Colley Wellesley, Marquess

Richard Colley Wellesley, Marquess Wellesley

British statesman

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Europe

continent

Atlantic Ocean, with depth contours and submarine features

Atlantic Ocean

Dublin Castle

Dublin

national capital, Ireland

Cork: City Hall

Cork

Ireland

County Wicklow, Ireland

Wicklow

county, Ireland

Brandon Mountain

Kerry

county, Ireland

County Sligo, Ireland

Sligo

county, Ireland

Thomond Bridge over the River Shannon and King John's Castle at Limerick, Ireland

Limerick

Ireland

Muntervary peninsula

Cork

county, Ireland

Headfort estate

Meath

county, Ireland

Athy

Kildare

county, Ireland

Gardens at Glenveagh National Park, County Donegal, Ulster, Ire.

Donegal

county, Ireland

County Clare, Ireland

Clare

county, Ireland

Narrow Water Castle

Ulster

historic province, Ireland

Limerick county, Ireland

Limerick

county, Ireland

Quiz

Flag of Ireland

The Irish Quiz

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Islands and Archipelagos

Actual continental drift of plates. Thematic map.

Geography Fun Facts

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List

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