Ireland History, Geography, Economy and Important Events

The country of Ireland was created as an Irish Free State in 1922 as a result of the Anglo-Irish Treaty. It had Dominion status until 1937 when a new constitution was adopted, in which the state was named "Ireland" and effectively became a republic, with an elected non-executive president as head of state. It was officially declared a republic in 1949 after the Ireland Act 1948. Ireland became a member of the United Nations in December 1955. It joined the European Economic Community (EEC), the predecessor of the European Union, in 1973. The state had no formal relations with Northern Ireland for much of the twentieth century, but during the 1980s and 1990s British and Irish governments worked with Northern Ireland parties to resolve a "treble". Since the signing of the Good Friday Agreement in 1998, the Irish Government and Northern Ireland Executive have collaborated on several policy areas under the North / South Ministerial Council created by the Agreement.

The state is spread over an area of ​​approximately 70,273 km2 or 27,133 square miles of the island of Ireland, with Northern Ireland remaining. The island is bounded on the north and west by the Atlantic Ocean and on the north channel by the northeast. To the east, the Irish Sea connects to the Atlantic Ocean via the St. George Channel and to the southwest via the Celtic Sea. Ireland is the least forested country in Europe. By the end of the Middle Ages, the lands were heavily forested with native trees such as oak, ash, hazel, birch, alder, willow, aspen, elm, rowan, yew, and Scots pine.

Ireland has an open economy (ranked 6th in the Index of Economic Freedom), and ranks first for "direct-foreign investment" (direct foreign investment). Ireland is ranked 5th in 187 (IMF) and 6th in 175 (World Bank), using global GDP per capita. The alternative metric Revised Gross National Income (GNI) aims to give a more accurate view of "activity in the domestic economy". This is particularly relevant in Ireland's small global economy, as GDP includes income from non-Irish-owned companies.

The Irish constitution describes Irish as the "national language", but English is the dominant language. In the 2006 census, 39% of people considered themselves competent in Irish. Irish is spoken as a community language in most rural areas in the west and south of the country, collectively known as Geltech.

United Kingdom [LM] ,
Definition of international border: L = Land Border | M = Maritime Border