# United Kingdom and Ireland compared

United Kingdom and Ireland side by side: 42 shared sourced indicators across 9 domains, and the 13 events their chronicles record of each other.

Canonical: https://terralore.co/compare/gbr-vs-irl
Updated: 2026-08-10 (latest of the two dossiers' refreshes and the two chronicles' verification dates)

Two sourced records set beside each other — nothing on this page was written for the pair. Every figure is the same observation, with the same source, as on the two national dossiers; every event is the same record, with the same sources, as on its own chronicle. Figures are compared, never graded. A "—" is an absence in the source data, never a zero; each value shows its own observation year — vintages differ by indicator and nation.

## Formation

- United Kingdom: 12 July 927 — The monarchs of Britain recognise Æthelstan as king of the English
- Ireland: 6 December 1922 — The Irish Free State comes into being

## Economy

| Metric | United Kingdom | Observed | Ireland | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| GDP | $3.69 T | 2024 | $609 B | 2024 |
| GDP per capita | $53,246 | 2024 | $112,895 | 2024 |
| GDP growth | 1.1% | 2024 | 2.6% | 2024 |
| Inflation | 3.3% | 2024 | 2.1% | 2024 |
| Trade openness | 62.8% | 2024 | 246.2% | 2024 |

## Society

| Metric | United Kingdom | Observed | Ireland | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Population | 69 m | 2024 | 5.4 m | 2024 |
| Life expectancy | 81.4 yrs | 2024 | 83.0 yrs | 2024 |
| Urban population | 83.2% | 2024 | 64.3% | 2024 |
| Fertility rate | 1.6 | 2024 | 1.5 | 2024 |

## Governance

| Metric | United Kingdom | Observed | Ireland | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Voice & accountability | 79.6 | 2024 | 85.5 | 2024 |
| Political stability | 70.3 | 2024 | 78.0 | 2024 |
| Government effectiveness | 74.4 | 2024 | 82.7 | 2024 |
| Regulatory quality | 78.7 | 2024 | 83.2 | 2024 |
| Rule of law | 78.8 | 2024 | 84.4 | 2024 |
| Control of corruption | 78.4 | 2024 | 79.7 | 2024 |

## Health

| Metric | United Kingdom | Observed | Ireland | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Health spending | 11.1% | 2024 | 6.9% | 2024 |
| Physicians | 3.30 | 2023 | 3.88 | 2023 |
| Under-5 mortality | 4.7 | 2024 | 3.9 | 2024 |
| Measles immunisation | 89.0% | 2024 | 90.0% | 2024 |
| Safe drinking water | 99.8% | 2024 | 96.1% | 2024 |

## Education

| Metric | United Kingdom | Observed | Ireland | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Education spending | 5.9% | 2021 | 2.9% | 2021 |
| Primary enrolment | 102.2% | 2023 | 96.5% | 2022 |
| Secondary enrolment | 112.1% | 2023 | 130.6% | 2022 |
| Tertiary enrolment | 80.4% | 2023 | 77.6% | 2022 |

## Technology

| Metric | United Kingdom | Observed | Ireland | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| R&D spending | 2.7% | 2023 | 1.6% | 2023 |
| Researchers (per million) | 4,473 | 2017 | 5,753 | 2023 |
| Internet users | 95.5% | 2024 | 97.2% | 2024 |
| Mobile subscriptions | 122 | 2024 | 113 | 2024 |
| High-tech exports | 29.2% | 2024 | 53.5% | 2024 |

## Geography

| Metric | United Kingdom | Observed | Ireland | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Land area | 241,930 km² | 2023 | 68,890 km² | 2023 |
| Forest area | 13.3% | 2023 | 11.5% | 2023 |
| Agricultural land | 70.3% | 2023 | 60.8% | 2023 |
| CO₂ per capita (t) | 4.2 | 2024 | 6.0 | 2024 |
| Renewable energy | 12.2% | 2021 | 12.7% | 2021 |

## Resources

| Metric | United Kingdom | Observed | Ireland | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Resource rents | 0.6% | 2021 | 0.1% | 2021 |
| Oil rents | 0.4% | 2021 | 0.0% | 2021 |
| Mineral rents | 0.0% | 2021 | 0.0% | 2021 |
| Forest rents | 0.0% | 2021 | 0.0% | 2021 |
| Electricity access | 100.0% | 2023 | 100.0% | 2023 |

## Military

| Metric | United Kingdom | Observed | Ireland | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Military burden | 2.3% | 2024 | 0.2% | 2024 |
| Defense spending | $82 B | 2024 | $1.3 B | 2024 |
| Armed forces | 153,000 | 2020 | 9,000 | 2020 |

Each metric is also ranked across all nations: https://terralore.co/rankings (markdown twins at /rankings/<metric>.md). Full dossiers: https://terralore.co/country/GBR.md and https://terralore.co/country/IRL.md.

## Entangled histories (13 events)

Events in which either nation's sourced chronicle names the other — including under earlier names of the same state. Each is the record exactly as its own chronicle carries it, with that chronicle's sources.

- 5th century: **The mission of St Patrick** — The British-born missionary Patrick, traditionally active from the 430s, evangelised much of Ireland, secured toleration for Christians and fostered a native clergy and monasticism; his feast is 17 March. (from the Ireland chronicle; sources: Saint Patrick; Ireland Converts to Christianity)
- 1169: **Anglo-Norman landing in Ireland** — At the invitation of the exiled Leinster king Diarmait Mac Murchada, Anglo-Norman, Welsh and Flemish forces landed in Wexford in 1169, beginning centuries of English involvement in Ireland. (from the Ireland chronicle; sources: Normans Invade Ireland; Anglo-Norman invasion of Ireland)
- 1171: **Henry II and the Lordship of Ireland** — Henry II landed at Waterford in 1171, the first English king in Ireland, and established the Lordship of Ireland; in 1177 he made his son John 'Lord of Ireland'. (from the Ireland chronicle; sources: Anglo-Norman invasion of Ireland; Normans Invade Ireland)
- 1607–1609: **Flight of the Earls and the Plantation of Ulster** — After the Gaelic earls fled Ireland in 1607, King James I planted English and Scottish Protestant settlers across confiscated lands in Ulster from 1609, embedding a lasting religious and political division. (from the Ireland chronicle; sources: Ireland Converts to Christianity; The Cromwellian Conquest and Land Settlement of Ireland)
- 1 Jan 1801: **Act of Union** — The Act of Union merged the Kingdom of Ireland with Great Britain into the United Kingdom on 1 January 1801, abolishing the Irish Parliament and placing Ireland under direct rule from Westminster. (from the Ireland chronicle; sources: Charles Stewart Parnell and the Home Rule Movement; Irish History Timeline – From 1916 to Today)
- 1 January 1801: **Union with Ireland forms the United Kingdom** — The Acts of Union 1800 merged the kingdoms of Great Britain and Ireland, creating the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and abolishing the separate Irish parliament. (from the United Kingdom chronicle; sources: Act for the Union of Great Britain and Ireland; Act of Union (United Kingdom, 1801))
- 1845–1852: **The Great Famine (An Gorta Mór)** — Potato blight destroyed Ireland's staple crop from 1845; about a million people died and a million more emigrated, and the population fell sharply even as food continued to be exported amid an inadequate British relief effort. (from the Ireland chronicle; sources: Irish Potato Famine: Date, Cause & Great Hunger; The Great Hunger: The History of An Gorta Mór)
- 1845–1852: **The Great Irish Famine** — Potato blight and an inadequate, laissez-faire government response caused mass starvation in Ireland, killing roughly a million people and forcing about a million more to emigrate. (from the United Kingdom chronicle; sources: The Great Famine; Great Famine (Irish history))
- 1914–1918: **The First World War** — Britain and its empire fought in the First World War at enormous human cost; the war accelerated social and political change, including votes for women, and led to the partition of Ireland and the Irish Free State in 1922. (from the United Kingdom chronicle; sources: The end of the British Empire after the Second World War; Act of Union (United Kingdom, 1801))
- 1919–1921: **War of Independence** — After Sinn Féin's 1918 victory and the first Dáil in 1919, the IRA waged a guerrilla war against British forces until a truce on 11 July 1921 opened the way to negotiations. (from the Ireland chronicle; sources: Irish History Timeline – From 1916 to Today)
- 6 Dec 1921: **Anglo-Irish Treaty** — The Treaty signed in London created the Irish Free State as a dominion within the British Empire and confirmed the partition of Ireland, leaving six northern counties in the United Kingdom. (from the Ireland chronicle; sources: Irish History Timeline – From 1916 to Today)
- 1955: **UK annexes Rockall** — British Royal Marines landed on the uninhabited Atlantic islet of Rockall in 1955 and claimed it for the United Kingdom; it was declared part of Scotland by the Island of Rockall Act 1972. (from the Ireland chronicle; sources: Who owns Rockall? The history of the Atlantic dispute between Ireland and the UK; Who owns Rockall? A history of disputes over a tiny Atlantic island)
- 1988: **UK–Ireland continental shelf agreement** — Ireland and the United Kingdom agreed a delimitation of the continental shelf between them; Ireland maintained that Rockall, an uninhabitable rock, generates no continental shelf or exclusive economic zone. (from the Ireland chronicle; sources: Who owns Rockall? The history of the Atlantic dispute between Ireland and the UK; Who owns Rockall? A history of disputes over a tiny Atlantic island)

## Sources

- World Development Indicators — World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-06-14 · https://data.worldbank.org
- Worldwide Governance Indicators (via World Bank API) — Worldwide Governance Indicators / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-08-10 · https://www.worldbank.org/en/publication/worldwide-governance-indicators
- Global Health Observatory (WHO, via World Bank WDI) — WHO / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-08-10 · https://www.who.int/data/gho
- Child mortality & immunisation estimates (UN IGME and WHO/UNICEF, via World Bank WDI) — UNICEF and WHO / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-08-10 · https://childmortality.org
- R&D statistics (UNESCO UIS, via World Bank WDI) — UNESCO Institute for Statistics / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-06-15 · https://uis.unesco.org
- ICT indicators (ITU, via World Bank WDI) — ITU / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-06-15 · https://www.itu.int/en/ITU-D/Statistics
- Military Expenditure Database (via World Development Indicators) — SIPRI / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-06-14 · https://www.sipri.org/databases/milex

Chronicle references are cited inline above and resolve in full at https://terralore.co/country/GBR/chronicle.md and https://terralore.co/country/IRL/chronicle.md.

Citation template: Terralore, "United Kingdom and Ireland compared", terralore.co/compare/gbr-vs-irl, retrieved <YYYY-MM-DD>.