Ireland vs Spain

Spain is 7.2 times larger than Ireland — 505,370 against 70,273 km². Spain is 9.0 times more populous than Ireland — 49,355,143 against 5,484,367 people.

Side by side

Population density

Spain is 1.3 times more densely populated than Ireland — 98 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 — Ireland on the left, Spain on the right.
• Spain spans 2 time zones, so "local time" there is not a single answer.

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.

Spain

After Switzerland, Spain is the most mountainous country in Europe, with an average elevation around 650 m. The Canary Islands sit off Africa, which is why part of Spain is on a different time zone and why Teide, at 3,715 m, is the country's highest point. Spain has more olive trees than any other country, around 340 million.

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.