Ireland's government is republic, parliamentary democracy

Ireland is mostly level to rolling interior plain surrounded by rugged hills and low mountains, there are sea cliffs on west coast.

Irelands natural resources include: natural gas, peat, copper, lead, zinc, silver, barite, gypsum, limestone, dolomite.

The population of the island is slightly under 6 million (2006), with 4.2 million in the republic and an estimated almost 1.75 million in Northern Ireland

Ireland is the third largest island in Europe, and the twentieth-largest island in the world. It lies to the north-west of contanential Europe and is surrounded by hundreds of islands and islets.

Ireland is an island on the western fringe of Europe.