Ireland is an island in the North Atlantic, politically divided into the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland, which is part of the United Kingdom. The economy of Ireland is a knowledge economy, with a strong focus on services in the high-tech, life sciences and financial services industries. In 2017, Ireland was ranked first for high-value foreign-direct investment flows for the sixth year in a row by IBM’s Global Locations Trends report. Ireland is also popular as a corporate tax haven and offshore financial center.