Claim: North-eastern Ireland is part of the United Kingdom

Northern Ireland -LRB- Tuaisceart Éireann -LSB- ˈt̪ˠuəʃcəɾˠt̪ˠ ˈeːɾʲən̪ˠ -RSB- ; Ulster-Scots : Norlin Airlann -RRB- is a country of the United Kingdom located in the north-east of the island of Ireland . It has been variously described as a country , province , region , or `` part '' of the United Kingdom , amongst other terms . Northern Ireland shares a border to the south and west with the Republic of Ireland . In 2011 , its population was 1,810,863 , constituting about 30 % of the island 's total population and about 3 % of the UK 's population . Established by the Northern Ireland Act 1998 as part of the Good Friday Agreement , the Northern Ireland Assembly holds responsibility for a range of devolved policy matters , while other areas are reserved for the British government . Northern Ireland co-operates with the Republic of Ireland in some areas , and the Agreement granted the Republic the ability to `` put forward views and proposals '' with `` determined efforts to resolve disagreements between the two governments '' .   Northern Ireland was created in 1921 , when Ireland was partitioned between Northern Ireland and Southern Ireland by an act of the British parliament . Unlike Southern Ireland , which would become the Irish Free State in 1922 , the majority of Northern Ireland 's population were unionists , who wanted to remain within the United Kingdom , most of whom were the Protestant descendants of colonists from Great Britain ; however , a significant minority , mostly Catholics , were nationalists who wanted a united Ireland independent of British rule . Today , the former generally see themselves as British and the latter generally see themselves as Irish , while a distinct Northern Irish or Ulster identity is claimed both by a large minority of Catholics and Protestants and by many of those who are non-aligned .   For most of the 20th century , when it came into existence , Northern Ireland was marked by discrimination and hostility between these two sides in what First Minister of Northern Ireland David Trimble called a `` cold house '' for Catholics . In the late 1960s , conflict between state forces and chiefly Protestant unionists on the one hand , and chiefly Catholic nationalists on the other , erupted into three decades of violence known as the Troubles , which claimed over 3,500 lives and caused over 50,000 casualties . The 1998 Good Friday Agreement was a major step in the peace process , including the decommissioning of weapons , although sectarianism and religious segregation still remain major social problems , and sporadic violence has continued .   Northern Ireland has historically been the most industrialised region of Ireland . After declining as a result of the political and social turmoil of the Troubles , its economy has grown significantly since the late 1990s . The initial growth came from the `` peace dividend '' and the links and increased trade with the Republic of Ireland , continuing with a significant increase in tourism , investment and business from around the world . Unemployment in Northern Ireland peaked at 17.2 % in 1986 , dropping to 6.1 % and down by 1.2 percentage points over the year , similar to the UK figure of 6.2 % . 58.2 % of those unemployed had been unemployed for over a year .   Prominent artists and sports persons from Northern Ireland include Van Morrison , Rory McIlroy , Joey Dunlop , Wayne McCullough and George Best . Some people from Northern Ireland prefer to identify as Irish -LRB- e.g. , poet Seamus Heaney and actor Liam Neeson -RRB- while others prefer to identify as British -LRB- e.g. actor Kenneth Branagh -RRB- . Cultural links between Northern Ireland , the rest of Ireland , and the rest of the UK are complex , with Northern Ireland sharing both the culture of Ireland and the culture of the United Kingdom . In many sports , the island of Ireland fields a single team , a notable exception being association football . Northern Ireland competes separately at the Commonwealth Games , and people from Northern Ireland may compete for either Great Britain or Ireland at the Olympic Games .