Browse a full set of economic indicators

Ireland

Includes Ireland real Gross Domestic Product growth rate, with latest forecasts and historical data, GDP per capita, GDP composition and breakdown by sector.

Browse additional economic indicators and data sets, selected by Global Finance editors, to learn more about Ireland economic outlook, debt to GDP ratio, international trade performance and population trends. Rankings of Ireland best banks and safest banks are also available.

Basic Information

Government Type: Parliamentary republic

Capital City: Dublin

GDP & Economic Information

Macroeconomy & Sovereign Data

Central Bank Central Bank of Ireland

Currency Euros (EUR)

International Reserves USD 7.46 billion (2020)
World Bank, last updated 12/16/2021
Gross Domestic Product – GDP USD 516.25 billion (2021 estimate)
IMF – World Economic Outlook, October 2021
GDP (Purchasing Power Parity) USD 561.46 billion (2021 estimate)
IMF – World Economic Outlook, October 2021

GDP Data

Real GDP growth 2017 8.9%
2018 9%
2019 4.9%
2020* 5.9%
2021* 13%

*Estimate
GDP per capita – current prices USD 102,394.02 (2021 estimate)
IMF – World Economic Outlook, October 2021
GDP per capita – PPP USD 111,359.65 (2021 estimate)
IMF – World Economic Outlook, October 2021
GDP (PPP) – share of world total 0.39% (2021 estimate)
GDP – composition by sector agriculture: 0.9%
industry: 38.0%
services: 54.8%
(2018)
Gross domestic expenditure on R&D; (% of GDP)
1.2% (2019)
OECD, retrieved January 2022
Inflation 2017 0.3%
2018 0.7%
2019 0.9%
2020* -0.5%
2021* 1.9%

*Estimate

Inflation & Debt

Inflation 2017 0.3%
2018 0.7%
2019 0.9%
2020* -0.5%
2021* 1.9%

*Estimate
Government Bond Ratings Standard & Poor’s: A+

Moody’s: A2

Standard & Poor’s / Moody’s (January 2022)
Unemployment rate 2017 6.7%
2018 5.8%
2019 5%
2020* 5.8%
2021* 7.8%

*Estimate
Household saving rates 21.4% (2020)
OECD, retrieved January 2022
Public debt (General government gross debt as a % of GDP) 2017 67.8%
2018 63.2%
2019 37.3%
2020* 58.5%
2021* 57.4%

*Estimate
Public deficit (General government net lending/borrowing as a % of GDP) 2017 1.5%
2019 1.6%
2019 1.6%
2020* 4%
2021* -4.5%

*Estimate

Market value of publicly traded shares USD 110.2 billion (2018)
Largest Companies
Medtronic, Accenture, Eaton, Johnson Controls International, Aon, Aptiv, Trane Technologies, Seagate Technology, Kerry Group, Experian, Smurfit Kappa Group, Flutter Entertainment, Bank of Ireland, AIB Group, Kingspan Group PLC, Horizon Therapeutics Public Limited Company, Steris, Ryanair Holdings
Forbes Global 2000 (2021)

Import/Export

Exports as percent of GDP (Exports of goods and services) 122.3% (2018)

Shares in world total merchandising export 0.85% (2018)

Shares in world total commercial services export 3.56% (2018)

Total exports USD 451.5 billion (2018 estimate)

Export commodities Machinery and equipment, computers, chemicals, medical devices, pharmaceuticals; foodstuffs, animal products

Total imports USD 334.4 billion (2018 estimate)

Import commodities Data processing equipment, other machinery and equipment, chemicals, petroleum and petroleum products, textiles, clothing

Exports – major partners US 27.1%, UK 13.4%, Belgium 11%, Germany 8.1%, Switzerland 5.1%, Netherlands 4.9%, France 4.3% (2017)

Imports – major partners UK 29%, US 18.9%, France 12.1%, Germany 9.6%, Netherlands 4.1% (2017)

Competitiveness & Trade

Current account balance USD 40.5 billion (2018 estimate)

Current account balance by percentage of GDP 10.6 % (2018 estimate)

FDI inflows 2016 USD 39,389 million
2017 USD -1,250 million
2018 USD -66,346 million
FDI Outflows 2016 USD 30,064 million
2017 USD -39,091 million
2018 USD 13,272 million
Value of cross-border M&A, by country of purchaser 2015: USD 94,558 million
2016: USD 67,162 million
2017: USD -6,504 million
2018: USD 3,650 million
Cross-border M&A deals worth over $3 billion completed in 2014 Mallinckrodt PLC, Questcor Pharmaceuticals Inc, United States, USD 5.6 billion / Shire PLC, ViroPharma Inc, United States, USD 4.2 billion

Cross-border M&A deals worth over $3 billion completed in 2015 Actavis PLC, Allergan Inc, United States, USD 68.4 billion / CRH PLC, Lafarge SA & Holcim Ltd-Certain Assets, France, USD 7.4 billion / Shire PLC, NPS Pharmaceuticals Inc, United States, USD 5.1 billion / Perrigo Co PLC, Omega Pharma Invest NV, Belgium, USD 4.5 billion / XL Group PLC, Catlin Group Ltd, Bermuda, USD 3.8 billion

Best countries for doing business Economies are ranked on their ease of doing business. A high ease of doing business ranking means the regulatory environment is more conducive to the starting and operation of a local firm.

Overall ranking:

24 out of 190 countries

​Subcategories:
Starting a Business: 23 out of 190 countries
Dealing with Construction Permits: 36 out of 190 countries
Getting Electricity: 47 out of 190 countries
Registering Property: 60 out of 190 countries
Getting Credit: 48 out of 190 countries
Protecting Minority Investors: 13 out of 190 countries
Paying Taxes: 4 out of 190 countries
Trading across Borders: 52 out of 190 countries
Enforcing Contracts: 91 out of 190 countries
Resolving Insolvency: 19 out of 190 countries
Global competitiveness ranking
24 out of 141 countries

(2019)
Index of Economic Freedom Ranking: 6 / Score: 80.5 (Free)

(100=totally free 0=totally repressed)

Population & Geographic Data

Time Zone UTC 0
Total Area 70,273 sq km (2014)
Total Population 1990: 3.53 million
2000: 3.83 million
2010: 4.57 million
2015: 4.71 million
2020: 5.01 million (Estimate)
Urban population as % of total population 1960 – 45.2%
1980 – 55.3%
2000 – 59.2%
2018 – 63.2%
Population median age
37.1 years
Population growth rate 1.11% (2018 estimate)

Life expectancy 81 years (2018 estimate)

% of population living on less than $3.10 a day 0.5% (last available estimate, 2015)

Inequality of wealth distribution (Gini index)
31.8 (last available estimate, 2015)

(0=perfect equality, 100=absolute inequality)
Freedom House rating Free
Political Rights: 1
Civil Liberties: 1 (2019)
(1 represents the most free, 7 the least free rating)
Total telephone subscribers as % of population Fixed: 38% Mobile: 103.2% (2018)
(fixed-telephone subscribers and mobile-cellular subscribers)
Internet users as % of total population 84.52 % (2018)

Language & Religon

Languages English (official, the language generally used), Irish (Gaelic or Gaeilge) (official, spoken by approximately 39.8% of the population as of 2016; mainly spoken in areas along Ireland’s western coast known as gaeltachtai, which are officially recognized re

Literacy N/A
Religions Roman Catholic 78.3%, Church of Ireland 2.7%, other Christian 1.6%, Orthodox 1.3%, Muslim 1.3%, other 2.4%, none 9.8%, unspecified 2.6% (2016 est.)

World Rankings

Population 5.01 M
Mercer Cost of living index Dublin: 43rd (2019)

C02 Emissions per capita 7.31 metric tons per capita (2014)

Global Finance Rankings & Awards: Ireland

Global Finance Magazine holds several conferences and awards ceremonies throughout the year to recognize the winning financial institutions and companies in a host of categories including World’s Best Trade Finance Banks, World's Biggest Banks, World's Safest Banks, World's Best Developed & Emerging Markets Banks, World's Best Internet Banks, and World’s Best Investment Banks.


Data Sources:

IMF World Economic Outlook

UN World Population Prospects

World Inequality Report

S&P Global Ratings

Moody’s

Fitch Ratings

IMF Direction of Trade Statistics (DOTS)

UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD)

CIA The World Factbook

World Bank’s World Integrated Trade Solution

Forbes Global 2000

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