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How the crowd draws

1,377 drawings of its land border and 686 drawings of its coast, from memory on Borderline’s World map, 16 September 2026 to 27 October 2026.

Draw Ireland

In numbers

Last updated on 27 October 2026
The real oneThe crowd’s
Area69,000 km²27,000 sq mi68,000 km²26,000 sq mi1.2% smaller
Outline3,322 km2,064 mi2,489 km1,546 mi25.1% shorter
Centre8.15° W, 53.16° N8.1° W, 53.2° N8.14° W, 53.18° N8.1° W, 53.2° N2 km north1 mi north
Westernmost10.47° W, 52.15° N10.5° W, 52.2° N10.42° W, 52.12° N10.4° W, 52.1° N4 km short2 mi short
Easternmost6.00° W, 52.96° N6.0° W, 53.0° N6.14° W, 52.96° N6.1° W, 53.0° N10 km short6 mi short
Southernmost9.81° W, 51.45° N9.8° W, 51.5° N9.22° W, 51.56° N9.2° W, 51.6° N12 km short8 mi short
Northernmost7.38° W, 55.39° N7.4° W, 55.4° N7.49° W, 55.24° N7.5° W, 55.2° N16 km short10 mi short

Near the land border, 41% of the crowd’s lines run inside Ireland. Near the coast, 57% run inland.

Borders and coast

Why two lengths?

A line’s length depends on how closely it is drawn. The game’s lines are simplified: they keep a point every few kilometres and cut across small bends. The official lengths, from the CIA World Factbook, are measured on other lines. A border measured on a finer line, following every bend of its rivers and ridges, comes out longer.

Coasts differ most, and either way. Some official coastlines follow every inlet and island (Canada’s 202,080 km); others are smoothed on purpose, crossing bays and sounds (the United States’ 19,924 km), and can come out shorter than the game’s.

Players draw against the game’s line and are scored against it, so the crowd’s length is compared with the game’s, both measured the same way. Set against an official length measured another way, the comparison would say more about the two methods than about the crowd.

Ireland and United Kingdom: 309 km in the game, 499 km officially.

Ireland’s coast: 3,274 km in the game, 1,448 km officially.

1 neighbour
Border withIn the gameThe crowd’s
United Kingdom309 km in the game499 km officially311 km the crowd’s0.6% longer
The coast3,274 km in the game1,448 km officially2,354 km the crowd’s28.1% shorter

How it is measured

The crowd’s Ireland: every few km along the real line, each drawing’s nearest point, inside Ireland or outside it; the median over a short stretch is where the crowd puts the line there, and the real outline moved by it is the crowd’s. Where the move folds a narrow inlet over itself, the loop is cut.

The 2,063 drawings that scored 10 or more on Borderline’s World map, scribbles left out, the real line the game’s own. Area true to scale; the outline copies the real line’s detail, so its length changes only where the shape moves or a loop is cut. The map lays the 1,000 most recent; the heat map, the crowd’s shape and every figure use all 2,063.

6 small pieces of Ireland, 265 km² in all, keep their real shape, shown flat: islands no round asks players to draw, or too small to measure. They count in no figure.

Draw Ireland yourself and add your line to the next update.