Polity · 1922 CE – 1937 CE
Irish Free State
Saorstát Éireann
- Peak recorded area
- 74,860 km²
- 1922 CE
- Rulers on record
- 7
- from 1837 CE
- Data series
- 59
- 1922 CE–1937 CE
Overview
The Irish Free State, also known by its Irish name Saorstát Éireann, was a state established in December 1922 under the Anglo-Irish Treaty of December 1921. The treaty ended the three-year Irish War of Independence between the forces of the Irish Republic—the Irish Republican Army (IRA)—and British Crown forces.
Lead section from Wikipedia, reused under CC BY-SA 4.0. Read the article.
Territory
2 dated territorial extents on record from Cliopatria. Areas are measured off the recorded polygons; the line steps because each extent holds until the next one is recorded — nothing is interpolated. CShapes 2.0 holds 1 further extent, measured on a different basis and deliberately not merged into this series.
The record
The best-attested series in each category; where several projects publish the same quantity, the one with the most observations is shown. Each row is the most recent value the record holds at or before 1937 CE, shown with the year that value belongs to. Some statistical series also publish forward projections — the year column is the honest guide. Nothing on this page is interpolated or estimated by us.
People
6 of 15 series| Series | Value · year · source |
|---|---|
| Population121 obs · 1500 CE–1937 CE | 2.9Mpersons1937 CE · Maddison Project Database 2023 |
| Urban Population16 obs · 1922 CE–1937 CE | 475Kpersons1937 CE · Correlates of War NMC v6.0 |
| City Pop Dublin13 obs · 1750 CE–1925 CE | 418Kpersons1925 CE · Chandler/Modelski Historical Urban Population |
| Height Men13 obs · 1730 CE–1930 CE | 173.25cm1930 CE · Clio-Infra |
| City Pop Cork11 obs · 1732 CE–1900 CE | 76Kpersons1900 CE · Chandler/Modelski Historical Urban Population |
| City Pop Belfast9 obs · 1757 CE–1925 CE | 415Kpersons1925 CE · Chandler/Modelski Historical Urban Population |
Economy
6 of 15 series| Series | Value · year · source |
|---|---|
| GDP per capita PPP338 obs · 1600 CE–1937 CE | 5,366int'l $ (inflation adj.)1937 CE · Gapminder |
| GDP per capita20 obs · 1820 CE–1937 CE | 4,7132011 int'l $1937 CE · Maddison Project Database 2023 |
| Total Exports16 obs · 1922 CE–1937 CE | 113.69million USD (current)1937 CE · CoW Bilateral Trade v4.0 |
| Total Imports16 obs · 1922 CE–1937 CE | 4,710.83million USD (current)1937 CE · CoW Bilateral Trade v4.0 |
| Trade Balance16 obs · 1922 CE–1937 CE | -2,135.44million USD (current)1937 CE · CoW Bilateral Trade v4.0 |
| Trade Openness16 obs · 1922 CE–1937 CE | 331.19million USD (current)1937 CE · CoW Bilateral Trade v4.0 |
Military
| Series | Value · year · source |
|---|---|
| CINC Score16 obs · 1922 CE–1937 CE | 0.0011CINC (share of world capability)1937 CE · Correlates of War NMC v6.0 |
| Energy Consumption16 obs · 1922 CE–1937 CE | 2.6Mcoal-ton equivalents1937 CE · Correlates of War NMC v6.0 |
| Iron Steel Production16 obs · 1922 CE–1937 CE | 0tons1937 CE · Correlates of War NMC v6.0 |
| Military Expenditure16 obs · 1922 CE–1937 CE | 7.4Mcurrent USD1937 CE · Correlates of War NMC v6.0 |
| Military Personnel16 obs · 1922 CE–1937 CE | 6,000persons1937 CE · Correlates of War NMC v6.0 |
Territory & resources
| Series | Value · year · source |
|---|---|
| Coal Production38 obs · 1900 CE–1937 CE | 1.04TWh1937 CE · Our World in Data Energy |
| Gas Production38 obs · 1900 CE–1937 CE | 0TWh1937 CE · Our World in Data Energy |
| Oil Production16 obs · 1922 CE–1937 CE | 0TWh1937 CE · Our World in Data Energy |
Governance
6 of 8 series| Series | Value · year · source |
|---|---|
| Electoral Democracy Index19 obs · 1919 CE–1937 CE | 0.768index (0-1)1937 CE · V-Dem v15 |
| Liberal Democracy Index19 obs · 1919 CE–1937 CE | 0.657index (0-1)1937 CE · V-Dem v15 |
| Participatory Democracy Index19 obs · 1919 CE–1937 CE | 0.527index (0-1)1937 CE · V-Dem v15 |
| Regime Type19 obs · 1919 CE–1937 CE | 3RoW index (0-3)1937 CE · V-Dem v15 |
| Rule Of Law Index19 obs · 1919 CE–1937 CE | 0.961index (0-1)1937 CE · V-Dem v15 |
| Polity217 obs · 1921 CE–1937 CE | 8index (-10 to 10)1937 CE · Clio-Infra |
Development
6 of 13 series| Series | Value · year · source |
|---|---|
| Tech Railway Line Km89 obs · 1825 CE–1937 CE | 5,255km1937 CE · CHAT (Comin-Hobijn) |
| Freedom Of Expression Index19 obs · 1919 CE–1937 CE | 0.858index (0-1)1937 CE · V-Dem v15 |
| Tech Aviation Passenger Km18 obs · 1920 CE–1937 CE | 1.4passenger-km1937 CE · CHAT (Comin-Hobijn) |
| Tech Commercial Vehicles15 obs · 1923 CE–1937 CE | 9.9count1937 CE · CHAT (Comin-Hobijn) |
| Tech Passenger Cars15 obs · 1923 CE–1937 CE | 44.5Kcount1937 CE · CHAT (Comin-Hobijn) |
| Tech Telegraph14 obs · 1924 CE–1937 CE | 1.5count1937 CE · CHAT (Comin-Hobijn) |
Rulers
7 on record with dated reigns. Reign years follow the house convention: BCE years are negative.
- Victoriamonarch of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland1837 CE – 1901 CE
- Edward VIImonarch of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland1901 CE – 1910 CE
- George Vmonarch of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland1910 CE – 1927 CE
- Kevin O'HigginsVice-President of the Executive Council of the Irish Free State1922 CE – 1927 CE
- Ernest BlytheVice-President of the Executive Council of the Irish Free State1927 CE – 1932 CE
- Éamon de ValeraPresident of the Executive Council of the Irish Free State1932 CE – 1937 CE
- Seán T. O'KellyVice-President of the Executive Council of the Irish Free State1932 CE – 1937 CE
Language & currency
- Official & national languages
- English, Irish
- Currency
- Irish pound (IEP), pound sterling (GBP)
Sources
Every figure above comes from one of these. Nothing on this page is estimated, interpolated or model-generated.
Chandler/Modelski Historical Urban PopulationChandler 1987 / Modelski 2003
Chandler, T. (1987). Four Thousand Years of Urban Growth; Modelski, G. (2003). World Cities: -3000 to 2000.
Compiled from published works (Chandler 1987; Modelski 2003)
CHAT (Comin-Hobijn)2009 (FinalCHAT_72909)
Comin, D. & Hobijn, B. (2009). The CHAT Dataset. NBER Working Paper 15319.
NBER research data, freely downloadable
Clio-Infra2017 datasets
Clio-Infra project (2017). Reconstructions of global inequality and well-being. International Institute of Social History.
Academic use, attribution
Seshat Global History Databank. Cliopatria: a historical basemap of polity borders (cliopatria.geojson).
Correlates of War NMC v6.0v6.0
Singer, J.D. (1987). National Material Capabilities Data (NMC), v6.0. Correlates of War Project.
Free academic use, citation
Barbieri, K. & Keshk, O. (2016). Correlates of War Project Trade Data Set, v4.0.
Free academic use, citation
Gapminderv14 / systema globalis
Gapminder Foundation. Gapminder systema globalis dataset.
CC BY 4.0
Maddison Project Database 20232023
Bolt, J. & van Zanden, J.L. (2024). Maddison Project Database 2023. University of Groningen GGDC.
CC BY 4.0
Our World in Data (2024). Energy dataset. Based on Energy Institute & Ember.
CC BY 4.0
V-Dem v15v15
Coppedge, M. et al. (2025). V-Dem Country-Year Dataset v15. Varieties of Democracy Project.
Free academic/non-commercial use, attribution
Wikipedia contributors. Article lead sections, reused under CC BY-SA 4.0.
CC BY-SA 4.0
Irish Free State is one of the polities with a sourced record deep enough to publish.