Ireland is an island.
Ireland ( [ ˈaɪərlənd ] Éire [ ˈeːɾʲə ] ; Ulster-Scots : Airlann [ - scoˈɑːrlən ] ) is an island in the North Atlantic . Ireland is the second-largest island of the British Isles , the third-largest in Europe , and the twentieth-largest on Earth . Politically , Ireland is divided between the Republic of Ireland ( officially named Ireland ) , which covers five-sixths of the island , and Northern Ireland , which is part of the United Kingdom , in the northeast of the island . In 2011 , the population of Ireland was about 6.4 million , ranking it the second-most populous island in Europe after Great Britain .