Northern Ireland is a part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It is variously described as acountry, province, or region 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, theNorthern Ireland Assembly holds responsibility for a range of devolved policy matters, while other areas are reserved for theBritish 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]".