Top Countries For Foreign Direct Investment
What countries do the best job attracting foreign direct investment and how do they do it? Global Finance investigates.
Ireland GDP and Economic Data
Country Report 2017 - 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.
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International Reserves
USD 3.4 billion (2016)
International Monetary Fund (IMF), data retrieved January 2017
Gross Domestic Product - GDP
USD 325.8 billion (2017, estimate)
GDP (Purchasing Power Parity)
Intl$ 341.9 billion (2017, estimate)
Real GDP growth
| 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 |
| 5.9% | 3.8% | -4.4% | -4.6% | 2% | 0% | -1.1% |
| 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016* | 2017* | ||
| 1.1% | 8.5% | 26.3% | 4.9% | 3.2% |
*Estimate
GDP per capita - current prices
USD 69,118.9 (2017, estimate)
GDP (PPP) - share of world total
| 1980 | 1990 | 2000 | 2010 | 2017* |
| 0.20% | 0.19% | 0.26% | 0.23% | 0.3% |
*Estimate
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GDP - composition by sector
- agriculture: 1%
- industry: 41.3%
- services: 57.6%
(2016 estimate)
Gross domestic expenditure on R&D; (% of GDP)
1.5% (2014)
OECD, data retrieved January 2017
Inflation
| 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016* | 2017* |
| 0.5% | 0.3% | 0.0% | 0.3% | 1.2% |
*Estimate
Unemployment rate
| 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016* | 2017* |
| 13.1% | 11.3% | 9.5% | 8.3% | 7.7% |
*Estimate
Public debt (General government gross debt as a % of GDP)
| 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016* | 2017* |
| 119.5% | 105.2% | 78.7% | 74.6% | 72.6% |
*Estimate
Public deficit (General government net lending/borrowing as a % of GDP)
| 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016* | 2017* |
| -5.7% | -3.7% | -1.9% | -0.7% | -0.5% |
*Estimate
Government bond ratings
Standard & Poor's: A+
Moody's: A3
Standard & Poor's / Moody's (Updated January 2017)
Source
Market value of publicly traded shares
| 2013 | 2014 | 2015 |
| USD 170.1 billion | USD 143.5 billion | USD 128 billion |
Largest companies
Accenture, Eaton, CRH, Allied Irish Banks, XL Group, Shire, Ingersoll-Rand, Bank of Ireland, Ryanair Holdings, Kerry Group, Seagate Technology, Experian, Perrigo, Smurfit Kappa Group, DCC, Mallinckrodt, Endo, Permanent TSB Group, Jazz Pharmaceuticals.
Source
Source
Current account balance by percentage of GDP
9.1% (2017 estimate)
Exports as percent of GDP (Exports of goods and services)
124.0% (2015)
Shares in world total merchandising export
0.7% (2015)
Shares in world total commercial services export
2.7% (2015)
Export commodities
Machinery and equipment, computers, chemicals, medical devices, pharmaceuticals; foodstuffs, animal products
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Import commodities
Data processing equipment, other machinery and equipment, chemicals, petroleum and petroleum products, textiles, clothing
Exports - major partners
US 23.7%, UK 13.8%, Belgium 13.2%, Germany 6.6%, Switzerland 5.5%, Netherlands 4.4%, France 4.4% (2015)
Imports - major partners
UK 32.5%, US 14%, France 10.2%, Germany 9.3%, Netherlands 4.9%, China 4.1% (2015)
FDI inflows
| 2013 | 2014 | 2015 |
| USD 44,899 million | USD 31,134 million | USD 100,542 million |
FDI outflows
| 2013 | 2014 | 2015 |
| USD 29,026 million | USD 43,133 million | USD 101,616 million |
Value of cross-border M&A, by country of purchaser
| 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 |
| USD 2628.7 million | USD -3342.0 million | USD 10577.8 million | USD 97479.7 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: 18 out of 190 countries (2017)
Subcategories:
Starting a business: 10 out of 190 countries
Enforcing Contracts: 90 out of 190 countries
Registering Property: 41 out of 190 countries
Getting Credit: 32 out of 190 countries
Protecting Minority Investors: 13 out of 190 countries
Trading Across Borders: 47 out of 190 countries
Paying Taxes: 5 out of 190 countries
Dealing with Construction Permits: 38 out of 190 countries
Getting Electricity: 33 out of 190 countries
Resolving Insolvency: 17 out of 190 countries
Source
Global competitiveness ranking
23 out of 138 countries
(2016-2017)
Index of Economic Freedom
Ranking: 8 / Score: 77.31 (Mostly free) (2016)
(100=totally free 0=totally repressed)
Source
Source
Languages
English (official, the language generally used), Irish (Gaelic or Gaeilge) (official, spoken by approximately 38.7% of the population as a first or second language in 2011; mainly spoken in areas along the western coast)
Religions
Roman Catholic 84.7%, Church of Ireland 2.7%, other Christian 2.7%, Muslim 1.1%, other 1.7%, unspecified 1.5%, none 5.7% (2011 est.)
Total population
| 1990 | 2000 | 2010 | 2016* | 2021* |
| 3.506 million | 3.79 million | 4.555 million | 4.675 million | 4.875 million |
*Estimate
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Urban population as % of total population
| 1960 | 1980 | 2000 | 2015 |
| 46% | 55% | 59% | 63% |
Inequality of wealth distribution (Gini index)
32.5 (2012)
(0=perfect equality, 100=absolute inequality)
Source
Freedom House rating
Political Rights: 1
Civil Liberties: 1 (2017)
(1 represents the most free, 7 the least free rating)
Source
Total telephone subscribers as % of population
Fixed 40.87% Mobile 103.71% (2015)
(fixed-telephone subscribers and mobile-cellular subscribers)