Ireland 🇮🇪

Quick facts

• Capital: Dublin
• Continent: Europe
• Population: 5,023,109
• Area: 70,273 km²
• Density: 71.5 people per km²
• Currency: EUR
• Languages: English, Irish
• ISO code: IE

Where Ireland sits

Ireland 🇮🇪 is one of 46 countries in Europe, with its capital at Dublin. It covers 70,273 square kilometres — 118th in the world — and is home to about 5,023,109 people, 124th globally.

The countries it shares a continent with include Russia, Germany, United Kingdom, France and Italy. If you are learning geography region by region — which works far better than alphabetically, because memory for places is spatial — those are the ones to learn alongside it.

How Ireland compares

Raw figures are hard to hold on their own, so it helps to anchor them. In population, Ireland sits closest to New Zealand and Costa Rica. In land area, its nearest counterparts are Georgia and Sierra Leone.

At 71.5 people per square kilometre it is somewhat above the world average of 59.4. It ranks higher by area than by population, so it is more spacious than its population alone suggests.

English is an official language in 58 countries here, among them Antigua and Barbuda, Australia, Bahamas and Barbados, and 53 others. The EUR is shared with 25 other countries, including Andorra, Austria and Belgium, and 22 others.

To see Ireland next to every other country, sort the country rankings by population, area or density; its currency and languages are listed alongside every other country's in world currencies and world languages.

How to remember Ireland

Dublin is on the east coast, on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey. For the flag, don't confuse it with Ivory Coast's: Ireland puts green next to the flagpole, Ivory Coast puts orange there.

The flag of Ireland: green, white and orange

🇮🇪 The flag is three vertical stripes of green, white and orange, with green next to the flagpole. The colours have no official meaning, but a common explanation is that green stands for the Irish nationalist tradition, orange for the Orange tradition, and white for lasting peace between them.

Region and neighbours

Ireland is a country in northwestern Europe that covers about five-sixths of the island of Ireland, with the Irish Sea to the east. It shares land borders with one country: United Kingdom. The border is with Northern Ireland, which is part of the United Kingdom.

• United Kingdom 🇬🇧 — capital London

Three facts about Ireland

1. The River Shannon is the longest river in Ireland.
2. Carrauntoohil, in the MacGillycuddy's Reeks in the southwest, is the highest point in Ireland.
3. Ireland adopted the euro in 2002, and its two official languages are Irish and English.

Sources: Wikipedia: Republic of Ireland, Wikipedia: Flag of Ireland, Wikipedia: Dublin, CIA World Factbook.

Quiz yourself on Ireland

• European capitals quiz — match Ireland to Dublin
• European flags quiz — spot the Ireland flag among its neighbours

Quizzes that include Ireland

Three angles are worth covering for any country — where it is, what its flag looks like, and what its capital is. For Ireland those are:

• Europe map quiz — place it on a blank map
• Europe flags quiz — identify its flag among its neighbours
• Europe capitals quiz — match it to Dublin
• Ireland capital quiz — five quick questions starting with Ireland
• Daily Map Challenge — five countries to find on a blank world map, the same five for everyone each day

Doing all three for one continent before moving on is far more efficient than learning flags globally, then capitals globally, then the map.

Read more about Ireland

• Capital of Ireland: Dublin — the capital in detail, with size and density rankings
• All 46 countries of Europe

Nearby countries

• Albania 🇦🇱 — capital Tirana
• Andorra 🇦🇩 — capital Andorra la Vella
• Austria 🇦🇹 — capital Vienna
• Belarus 🇧🇾 — capital Minsk
• Belgium 🇧🇪 — capital Brussels
• Bosnia and Herzegovina 🇧🇦 — capital Sarajevo
• Bulgaria 🇧🇬 — capital Sofia
• Croatia 🇭🇷 — capital Zagreb
• Cyprus 🇨🇾 — capital Nicosia
• Czechia 🇨🇿 — capital Prague
• Denmark 🇩🇰 — capital Copenhagen
• Estonia 🇪🇪 — capital Tallinn

Frequently asked questions

What are the colours of the Ireland flag?

The flag of Ireland is three vertical stripes of green, white and orange, with green next to the flagpole. The colours have no official meaning, but a common explanation is that green stands for the Irish nationalist tradition, orange for the Orange tradition, and white for lasting peace between them.

Which countries border Ireland?

Ireland shares land borders with United Kingdom. The border is with Northern Ireland, which is part of the United Kingdom.

How can I remember the capital of Ireland?

Dublin is on the east coast, on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey. For the flag, don't confuse it with Ivory Coast's: Ireland puts green next to the flagpole, Ivory Coast puts orange there.