About Ireland

General Information
Ireland is an island in the North Atlantic. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel, the Irish Sea, and St George’s Channel. Ireland is the second-largest island of the British Isles, the third-largest in Europe, and the twentieth-largest on Earth. Politically, Ireland is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially named Ireland), which covers five-sixths of the island, and Northern Ireland, which is part of the United Kingdom, in the northeast of the island. In 2011,

Population
The population of Ireland was about 6.4 million, ranking it the second-most populous island in Europe after Great Britain.

Political Structure
The Republic of Ireland is a parliamentary democracy based on the British model, with a written constitution and a popularly elected president who has mostly ceremonial powers. The government is headed by a prime minister, the Taoiseach, who is appointed by the President on the nomination of the lower house of parliament, the Dáil. Members of the government are chosen from both the Dáil and the upper house of parliament, the Seanad. Its capital is Dublin.

Infrastructure and Economy
Despite the two jurisdictions using two distinct currencies (the euro and pound sterling), a growing amount of commercial activity is carried out on an all-Ireland basis. This has been facilitated by the two jurisdictions’ shared membership of the European Union, and there have been calls from members of the business community and policymakers for the creation of an “all-Ireland economy” to take advantage of economies of scale and boost competitiveness.

Languages
Two main languages are spoken in Ireland: Irish and English.

Currency
Euro

Exchange Controls
Ireland has no exchange controls.