Ireland Economy - 2024

Economic overview

strong, export-based EU economy; multinational-business-friendly environment known for resilience, even amid COVID-19 disruptions; real wage growth beyond other OECD members; high livings standards; strong social equity and cohesion; aging labor force

Real GDP (purchasing power parity)

$515.88 billion (2021 est.)
$454.167 billion (2020 est.)
$427.715 billion (2019 est.)

note: data are in 2017 dollars

Real GDP growth rate

13.59% (2021 est.)
6.18% (2020 est.)
5.44% (2019 est.)

Real GDP per capita

$102,500 (2021 est.)
$91,100 (2020 est.)
$86,700 (2019 est.)

note: data are in 2017 dollars

GDP (official exchange rate)

$398.476 billion (2019 est.)

Inflation rate (consumer prices)

2.36% (2021 est.)
-0.33% (2020 est.)
0.94% (2019 est.)

Credit ratings

Fitch rating: A+ (2017)

Moody's rating: A2 (2017)

Standard & Poors rating: AA- (2019)

note: The year refers to the year in which the current credit rating was first obtained.

GDP - composition, by sector of origin

agriculture: 1.2% (2017 est.)

industry: 38.6% (2017 est.)

services: 60.2% (2017 est.)

GDP - composition, by end use

household consumption: 34% (2017 est.)

government consumption: 10.1% (2017 est.)

investment in fixed capital: 23.4% (2017 est.)

investment in inventories: 1.2% (2017 est.)

exports of goods and services: 119.9% (2017 est.)

imports of goods and services: -89.7% (2017 est.)

Agricultural products

milk, barley, beef, wheat, potatoes, pork, oats, poultry, mushrooms/truffles, mutton

Industries

pharmaceuticals, chemicals, computer hardware and software, food products, beverages and brewing; medical devices

Industrial production growth rate

20.33% (2021 est.)

Labor force

2.518 million (2021 est.)

Unemployment rate

6.63% (2021 est.)
5.62% (2020 est.)
4.95% (2019 est.)

Youth unemployment rate (ages 15-24)

total: 17.4% (2021 est.)

male: 16.1%

female: 18.8%

Population below poverty line

13.1% (2018 est.)

Gini Index coefficient - distribution of family income

30.6 (2018 est.)

Average household expenditures

on food: 9% of household expenditures (2018 est.)

on alcohol and tobacco: 5.8% of household expenditures (2018 est.)

Household income or consumption by percentage share

lowest 10%: 2.9%

highest 10%: 27.2% (2000)

Remittances

0.04% of GDP (2021 est.)
0.06% of GDP (2020 est.)
0.15% of GDP (2019 est.)

Budget

revenues: $99.784 billion (2019 est.)

expenditures: $97.713 billion (2019 est.)

Budget surplus (+) or deficit (-)

-0.3% (of GDP) (2017 est.)

Public debt

71.58% of GDP (2020 est.)
69.7% of GDP (2019 est.)
75.19% of GDP (2018 est.)

note: data cover general government debt and include debt instruments issued (or owned) by government entities other than the treasury; the data include treasury debt held by foreign entities; the data include debt issued by subnational entities, as well as intragovernmental debt; intragovernmental debt consists of treasury borrowings from surpluses in the social funds, such as for retirement, medical care, and unemployment; debt instruments for the social funds are not sold at public auctions

Taxes and other revenues

16.51% (of GDP) (2020 est.)

Fiscal year

calendar year

Current account balance

$72.22 billion (2021 est.)
-$27.412 billion (2020 est.)
-$44.934 billion (2019 est.)

Exports

$677.028 billion (2021 est.) note: data are in current year dollars
$569.061 billion (2020 est.) note: data are in current year dollars
$502.313 billion (2019 est.)

Exports - partners

United States 28%, Belgium 10%, Germany 10%, UK 9%, China 5%, Netherlands 5% (2019)

Exports - commodities

vaccines and cultures, packaged medicines, nitrogen compounds, integrated circuits, scented mixtures, medical instruments (2021)

Imports

$477.544 billion (2021 est.) note: data are in current year dollars
$486.946 billion (2020 est.) note: data are in current year dollars
$452.979 billion (2019 est.)

Imports - partners

United Kingdom 31%, United States 16%, Germany 10%, Netherlands 5%, France 5% (2019)

Imports - commodities

aircraft, computers, packaged medicines, refined petroleum, medical cultures/vaccines (2019)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold

$13.247 billion (31 December 2021 est.)
$7.463 billion (31 December 2020 est.)
$5.733 billion (31 December 2019 est.)

Debt - external

$2.829 trillion (2019 est.)
$2.759 trillion (2018 est.)

Exchange rates

euros (EUR) per US dollar -

Exchange rates:
0.845 (2021 est.)
0.876 (2020 est.)
0.893 (2019 est.)
0.847 (2018 est.)
0.885 (2017 est.)