In May of 2015, Ireland became the latest country to legalize same-sex marriage, and
the first to do so by popular vote.
But are they influential enough in the rest of the world to affect global change?
Just how powerful is Ireland?
Well, the island of Ireland is the third largest in Europe, after Great Britain and Iceland.
However, there are actually two separate ”Irelands” located on the 32 and a half thousand square
mile land mass: Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.
Now, technically, Northern Ireland is not an independent state, and actually belongs
to the United Kingdom.
So we’re going to focus on the Republic of Ireland, which makes up nearly 85% of the
island and hosts some 4.8 million residents.
That’s roughly the same size as West Virginia, but with two and a half times the population.
Despite the comparatively large population, Ireland is actually one of the richest countries
in the world per-capita.
They’re nearly on par with the United States, and significantly wealthier than their neighbors
in the UK.
Like many wealthy countries, Ireland ranks high on the Human Development Index.
At number 11, they’re sandwiched just between Denmark and Sweden.
And as you might be able to tell from their recent same-sex marriage referendum, they’re
also a fairly progressive country, with high marks for civil liberties, human rights, and
freedom of the press.
As a matter of a fact, in 2005 Ireland was deemed to have the highest quality of life
in the world.
Although following the subsequent global recession, they dropped to number 12 in 2013.
Part of their wealth comes from being one of the largest pharmaceutical and medical
supply exporters in the world.
And with an extremely low corporate tax rate, many multinational companies, especially those
from the US, take full advantage of Ireland’s semi-tax haven status.
But when it comes to their military, Ireland falls to the bottom of the list.
With less than 10,000 active personnel, and a defense budget of less than half a percent
of their GDP, Ireland doesn’t even rank in most military comparisons.
They’re less equipped than Somalia.
Besides UN Peacekeeping missions, the Irish military is mostly responsible for protecting
the EU’s fishing industry.
But their nearly nonexistent military is intentional.
Since the 1930s, Ireland has been steadfastly neutral in geopolitics.
As a result, they’ve refused to join NATO or take part in any armed conflicts.
Still, Irish residents are allowed to join foreign militaries, leading to Irish battalions
in unlikely places throughout history.
This neutral stance and lack of a sizable military doesn’t mean that Ireland is defenseless.
They were one of the early countries to join the EU, and were a founding member of both
the Council of Europe and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.
That’s not to mention their close and interfamilial ties with both the UK and the US.
As a matter of a fact, there are seven times more Irish people in the United States than
there are in Ireland, and the Irish make up ten percent of the US population.
Having that kind of connection with the most powerful military in the world means that
they can easily get away with skimping on military spending to focus on what ranks them
so highly elsewhere.
So how powerful is Ireland?
Well, besides giving the world St Patrick’s Day, Guinness, and medical supplies, their
power is mostly self contained.
If you’re interested in learning more about how powerful the United Kingdom is, make sure
you check out our full video here.
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