Germany vs Ireland

Germany is 5.1 times larger than Ireland — 357,022 against 70,273 km². Germany is 15 times more populous than Ireland — 83,491,249 against 5,484,367 people.

Side by side

Population density

Germany is 3.0 times more densely populated than Ireland — 234 against 78 people per km². Density is where area and population interact, and it often reverses the impression the headline figures give — a large country with a small population can feel emptier than a small crowded one by an enormous margin.

Practical differences

• They drive on opposite sides — Germany on the right, Ireland on the left.

Germany

Germany borders nine countries, more than any other in Europe. The Rhine carries more freight than any other river in Europe. The country has around 25,000 castles and palaces, and the Black Forest and Bavarian Alps mean about a third of it is wooded.

Ireland

The interior is a low limestone plain ringed by coastal mountains, which is why the rivers drain inward and the middle of the country is bog. The Cliffs of Moher run 14 km and reach 214 m. Ireland has no native snakes, and only one native reptile.

Neutral facts only. Nothing here addresses politics, government, economics or which country is preferable in any respect — population is the one figure that dates, and it carries its year.