Ireland is a sovereign state in western Europe, occupying about five-sixths of the island of Ireland. The capital and largest city is Dublin, whose metropolitan area is home to around a quarter of the country’s 4.6 million inhabitants. The state shares its only land border with Northern Ireland. It is a unitary, parliamentary republic with an elected president serving as head of state. The head of government is nominated by the lower house of parliament.

　　Following the Irish War of Independence and the subsequent Anglo-Irish Treaty, Ireland gained independence from the United Kingdom in 1922. Initially a dominion, Ireland received official British recognition of full legislative independence in the Statute of Westminster of 1931. A new constitution was adopted in 1937, by which the name of the state became “Ireland.” In 1949, Ireland was declared a republic under the Republic of Ireland act 1948.

　　Ireland ranks among the wealthiest countries in the world in terms of GDP per capita. In 1973, Ireland enacted a series of liberal economic policies that resulted in rapid economic growth, coupled with a dramatic rise in inequality. The country achieved considerable prosperity from 1995 to 2007. This was halted by an uNPRecedented financial crisis that began in 2008, in conjunction with the concurrent global economic crash.

　　In 2011 and 2013 Ireland was ranked as the seventh-most developed country in the world by the United Nations Human Development Index. It also performs well in several metrics of national performance, including freedom of the press, economic freedom and civil liberties. It pursues a policy of neutrality through non-alignment.

　　The population of Ireland stood at 4,588,252 in 2011, an increase of 8.2% since 2006. As of 2011, Ireland had the highest birth rate in the European Union (16 births per 1,000 of population). In 2012, 35.1% of births were to unmarried women. Annual population growth rates exceeded 2% during the 2002-2006 period, which was attributed to high rates of natural increase and immigration. This rate declined somewhat during the subsequent 2006-2011 period, with an average growth rate of 1.6%.

　　Ireland ranks fifth in the world in terms of gender equality. In 2011, Ireland was ranked the most charitable country in Europe, and second most charitable in the world. Contraception was controlled in Ireland until 1979, however, the receding influence of the Catholic Church has led to an increasingly secularized society . In 1983, the Eighth Amendment recognized “the right to life of the unborn”, subject to qualifications concerning the “equal right to life” of the mother. The passage of the Thirteenth and Fourteenth Amendments, guaranteeing the right to have an abortion performed abroad, and the right to learn about “services” that are illegal in Ireland but legal abroad. The prohibition on divorce in the 1937 Constitution was repealed in 1995 under the Fifteenth Amendment. Divorce rates in Ireland are very low compared to European Union averages while the marriage rate in Ireland is slightly above the European Union average。

　　Capital punishment is constitutionally banned in Ireland, while discrimination based on age, gender, sexual orientation, marital or familial status, religion, race is illegal.

　　Ireland became the first country in the world to introduce an environmental levy for plastic shopping bags in 2002 and a public smoking ban in 2004. Recycling in Ireland is carried out extensively and Ireland has the second highest rate of packaging recycling in the European Union.

　　爱尔兰是西欧主权国家，面积占爱尔兰岛的 5/6，仅与北爱尔兰接壤。首都都柏林是最大的城市，人口约为全国 460万人口的 1/4。爱尔兰是单一制议会制共和国，总统由选举产生并担任国家元首，政府首脑则由众议院提名产生。

　　爱尔兰独立战争以及随后的《英爱条约》签署之后，爱尔兰于1922年脱离联合王国获得独立。独立之初，爱尔兰只是一个自治领，1931年英国议会通过《威斯敏斯特条例》，其完整的独立立法权才得到英国正式承认。1937年，爱尔兰制定，新宪法定国名为爱尔兰。1949年，爱尔兰通过《1948年爱尔兰共和国法案》，宣布成为共和国。

　　按人均GDP来看，爱尔兰位居全世界最富有国家之列。1973 年，爱尔兰颁布了一系列自由经济政策，推动了经济快速增长，也导致社会不平等问题加剧。1995 年至 2007 年，爱尔兰经济蓬勃发展。然而，随着 2008 年空前的金融危机与世界经济崩溃，这一良好经济展势头戛然而止。

　　2011年和2013年，根据《联合国人类发展指数报告》，爱尔兰成为世界第七大最发达国家。在其他多个国家评价指标中排名也非常出色，包括新闻出版自由、经济自由、公民自由。该国遵循不结盟的中立外交政策。

　　2011年，爱尔兰总人口达到4,588,252，相比2006年增长了8.2%。截止2011，爱尔兰拥有欧盟最高的出生率：16‰。2012年，未婚先孕而出生的新生儿占35.1%。2002年至2006年期间，年人口增长率超过2%，原因是较高的自然增长率以及移民涌入。2006年至2011年期间增长率略微下降，平均增长率为1.6%。

　　在性别平等方面，爱尔兰排名世界第五。2011年，爱尔兰获评欧洲最慈善国家，世界第二大最慈善国家。1979之前，爱尔兰控制避孕药使用，但由于天主教教会影响日渐衰微，爱尔兰社会越来越世俗化。1983年，爱尔兰第八宪法修正案确立“未出生的胎儿享有生命权”，胎儿同母亲具有“同等生命权利”。第十三以及第十四修正案通过后，公民开始享有在国外堕胎的权利，并享有了解、获取相关“服务”信息的权利，这种服务在国外合法，但在爱尔兰是非法的。1937年宪法禁止公民离婚，1995年第十五修正案废除了这一条目。与欧盟平均水平相比，爱尔兰离婚率非常低。同时，结婚率略高于欧盟平均水平。

　　爱尔兰宪法禁止死刑，此外，年龄、性别、性取向、婚姻、家庭状况、宗教等方面的歧视都是非法的。

　　爱尔兰在2002年率先对塑料购物袋使用征收环境税，2004年又成为第一个推行公众场所禁烟令的国家。爱尔兰广泛实施废物循环利用，并已成为欧盟包装循环利用率第二高的国家。

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