The modern Irish state was established in 1922 as the Irish Free State, a dominion within the British Empire, following the Anglo-Irish Treaty which brought an end to the Irish War of Independence. The partition of Ireland had already been provided for in previous British legislation in 1921[11] in response to opposition to Irish Home Rule or independence by Unionists, who formed a majority in the north-eastern part of the country. Six of the nine counties in the northern province of Ulster were established under that legislation as Northern Ireland, part of the United Kingdom, with which the Irish state shares its only land border. The state is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, with the Celtic Sea to the south, St George's Channel to the south east, and the Irish Sea to the east.
In 1801, the kingdoms of Ireland and Great Britain, previously in a personal union, were united to form the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. Following a failed uprising in 1916, in 1919 Irish nationalist parliamentarians supporting the establishment of the Irish Republic formed a secessionist parliament and the Irish Republican Army launched a guerrilla war to realise independence. The Anglo-Irish Treaty of 1922 concluded that war and established the Irish Free State as a self-governing dominion within the British Commonwealth. Northern Ireland chose to remain as part of the United Kingdom. The independent state increased in sovereignty through the 1931 Statute of Westminster and the abdication crisis of 1936.[12] A new constitution introduced in 1937 declared it a sovereign state named Ireland (Éire).[13][14] The Republic of Ireland Act proclaimed Ireland a republic in 1949 by removing the remaining duties of the monarch. Ireland consequently withdrew from the British Commonwealth.[15]
While it ranks among the wealthiest countries in the world today in terms of GDP,[16] Ireland was one of the most impoverished countries in Europe while it was a part of the United Kingdom and for decades after independence. Economic protectionism was dismantled in the late 1950s and Ireland joined the European Economic Community in 1973. Economic liberalism from the late 1980s onwards resulted in rapid economic expansion, particularly from 1995 to 2007, which became known as the Celtic Tiger period. An unprecedented financial crisis beginning in 2008 ended this era of rapid economic growth.[17][18]
| Capital (and largest city) | Dublin 53°20.65′N 6°16.05′W / 53.34417°N 6.2675°W | |
| Official language(s) | Irish[1] English | |
|---|---|---|
| Ethnic groups (2006) | 87% Irish, 13% others and unspecified[2][3] | |
| Demonym | Irish | |
| Government | Constitutional Parliamentary republic | |
| - | President | Michael D. Higgins |
| - | Taoiseach | Enda Kenny |
| - | Tánaiste | Eamon Gilmore |
| Legislature | Oireachtas | |
| - | Upper house | Seanad Éireann |
| - | Lower house | Dáil Éireann |
| Independence | from the United Kingdom | |
| - | Declared | 24 April 1916 |
| - | Ratified | 21 January 1919 |
| - | Recognised | 6 December 1922 |
| - | Constitution | 29 December 1937 |
| - | Left the Commonwealth | 18 April 1949 |
| Area | ||
| - | Total | 70,273 km2 (120th) 27,133 sq mi |
| - | Water (%) | 2.00 |
| Population | ||
| - | 2011 census | 4,581,269[4] (119th) |
| - | Density | 65.2/km2 (142nd) 168.8/sq mi |
| GDP (PPP) | 2011 estimate | |
| - | Total | $175.185 billion[5] (55th) |
| - | Per capita | $39,312[5] (15th) |
| GDP (nominal) | 2011 estimate | |
| - | Total | $212.792 billion[5] (42nd) |
| - | Per capita | $47,751[5] (14th) |
| HDI (2011) |  0.908[6] (very high) (7th) | |
| Currency | Euro (€)[note 1] (EUR) | |
| Time zone | WET (UTC+0) | |
| - | Summer (DST) | IST (WEST) (UTC+1) |
| Date formats | dd/mm/yyyy | |
