Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland is a part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland, variously described as a country, province or region. It shares an open border to the south and west with the Republic of Ireland. At the 2021 census its population was 1,903,175, about three percent of the population of the United Kingdom and 27 percent of that of the island of Ireland, and its capital is Belfast. It was created in 1921, when Ireland was partitioned by the Government of Ireland Act 1920 and a devolved government was set up for the six north-eastern counties. Its devolved Northern Ireland Assembly, established by the Northern Ireland Act 1998, holds responsibility for a range of policy matters, while its government cooperates with that of Ireland in several areas under the terms of the Good Friday Agreement.