Republic of Ireland

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Ireland described as the Republic of Ireland is a state in Western Europe. It encompasses approximately five-sixths of the island of Ireland, which was partitioned into two jurisdictions in 1921. The country shares its only land border with Northern Ireland, which is part of the United Kingdom, and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, the Irish Sea to the east, St George's Channel to the southeast, and the Celtic Sea to the south.

Concluding the Irish War of Independence, the Anglo-Irish Treaty established the Irish Free State on 6 December 1922 as a self-governing dominion within the British Commonwealth. It gained increasing sovereignty through the Statute of Westminster and the abdication crisis of 1936. A new constitution introduced in 1937 declared it an entirely sovereign state named Ireland. The last formal link with the United Kingdom was severed in 1949 when the Oireachtas (national parliament) passed the Republic of Ireland Act, which proclaimed Ireland a republic by discarding the remaining duties of the monarch. Ireland seceded from the British Commonwealth, having discontinued attending meetings in 1937. and was officially recognised by Britain through the Ireland Act 1949.

During British rule and initial independence, Ireland was one of Western Europe's most impoverished countries and suffered high levels of emigration. However, in contrast to many other states during that period, it remained democratic and financially solvent. The protectionist economy was opened in the late 1950s and Ireland joined the European Union in 1973. An economic crisis led to large-scale economic reforms in the late 1980s, as taxation and regulation were dramatically reduced. The economy experienced rapid economic expansion between 1995-2007, known as the Celtic Tiger period, until the global financial crisis of 2007-2010.

Ireland is governed as a parliamentary democracy and constitutional republic. It is one of the world's most developed countries, and is ranked fifth in the Human Development Index, first in the Economist Intelligence Unit’s quality-of-life index, and sixth on the Global Peace Index. The country is also highly ranked for press freedom, economic freedom and democracy and political freedom. It is one of the world's most sustainable countries, ranking fifth from bottom in the Failed States Index. Ireland is a member of the OECD, WTO and UN.