Ireland skyline

Ireland Economy

Ireland's economy in numbers:

Nominal GDP of USD 532 billion in 2022.

Nominal GDP of USD 551 billion in 2023.

GDP per capita of USD 105,340 compared to the global average of USD 10,589.

GDP per capita of USD 103,032 compared to the global average of USD 10,589.

Average real GDP growth of 8.2% over the last decade.

Average real GDP growth of 7.9% over the last decade.

Share of the region's population
Share of the region's GDP

Economic structure:

In 2021, services accounted for 59% of overall GDP, manufacturing 37%, other industrial activity 3%, and agriculture 1%. Looking at GDP by expenditure, private consumption accounted for 24% of GDP in 2021, government consumption 12%, fixed investment 24%, and net exports 40%.

GDP by economic sector
GDP by type of expenditure

International trade:

In 2020, manufactured products made up 90% of total merchandise exports, mineral fuels 0%, food 8%, ores and metals 1% and agricultural raw materials 0%, with other categories accounting for 1% of the total. In the same period, manufactured products made up 81% of total merchandise imports, mineral fuels 4%, food 11%, ores and metals 1% and agricultural raw materials 1%, with other goods accounting for 2% of the total. Total exports were worth USD 373 billion in 2022, while total imports were USD 160 billion.

Key exports
Key imports
Key export partners
Key import partners

Economic growth:

The economy recorded average annual growth of 8.2% in the decade to 2022. To read more about GDP growth in Ireland, go to our dedicated page.

Fiscal policy:

Ireland's fiscal deficit averaged 2.3% of GDP in the decade to 2022. Find out more on our dedicated page.

Unemployment:

The unemployment rate averaged 8.5% in the decade to 2022. For more information on Ireland's unemployment click here.

Inflation:

Inflation averaged 1.3% in the decade to 2022. Go to our Ireland inflation page for extra insight.

Monetary Policy:

Euro Area monetary policy rate ended 2022 at 2.50%, up from 0.75% a decade earlier. See our Ireland monetary policy page for additional details.

Exchange Rate:

From end-2012 to end-2022 the euro weakened by 18.2% vs the U.S. dollar. For more info on the euro, click here.
The economy rebounded strongly in Q3, with GDP rising 2.0% quarter on quarter (Q2: -1.0% qoq s.a.), in line with our Consensus. However, the recovery was driven by the multinational sector, whose output tends to be volatile. Turning to Q4, our panelists project a slightly weaker—but still robust—expansion. Available data is upbeat. Low unemployment and inflation plus interest rate cuts pushed up consumer confidence in October from Q3, boding well for private spending. In other news, on 6 November, Prime Minister Simon Harris called snap elections for 29 November. His party leads the polls, suggesting limited changes in policy ahead; the government is enjoying a bonanza in revenue thanks to a recent European court ruling granting Ireland almost EUR 14 billion in unpaid tax from Apple, allowing it to unveil EUR 10.5 billion in pre-election tax cuts and extra spending in October.
Projections out to 2034.

46 indicators covered including both annual and quarterly frequencies.

Consensus Forecasts based on a panel of 19 expert analysts.

Want to get insight on the economic outlook for Ireland in the coming years? FocusEconomics collects projections out to 2034 on 46 economic indicators for Ireland from a panel of 19 analysts at the leading national, regional and global forecast institutions. These projections are then validated by our in-house team of economists and data analysts, and averaged to provide one Consensus Forecast you can rely on for each indicator. This means you avoid the risk of relying on out of date, biased or outlier forecasts. Our Consensus Forecasts can be visualized in whichever way best suits your needs, including via interactive online dashboards , direct data delivery and executive-style reports which combine analysts' projections with timely written analysis from our in-house team of economists on the latest developments in the Ireland economy. To download a sample report on the Ireland's economy, click here. To get in touch with our team for more information, fill in the form at the bottom of this page.

Ireland Economic Data

2019 2020 2021 2022 2023
Population (million) 5.0 5.1 5.1 5.2 5.3
GDP (EUR bn) 364 382 449 521 510
GDP per capita (EUR) 72,793 75,624 87,686 99,377 95,658
Economic Growth (Nominal GDP, ann. var. %) 8.6 5.1 17.5 16.0 -2.1
Economic Growth (GDP, ann. var. %) 5.0 7.2 16.3 8.6 -5.5
Domestic Demand (ann. var. %) 42.3 -10.4 -16.6 8.0 6.0
Private Consumption (ann. var. %) 2.9 -9.5 8.9 10.7 4.8
Government Consumption (ann. var. %) 6.5 11.7 6.3 3.0 4.3
Fixed Investment (ann. var. %) 99.7 -16.5 -39.4 3.7 2.8
Exports (G&S, ann. var. %) 10.5 13.8 14.1 13.5 -5.8
Imports (G&S, ann. var. %) 40.6 0.0 -8.7 16.0 1.2
Industrial Production (ann. var. %) 6.4 15.7 28.2 17.4 -6.4
Retail Sales (ann. var. %) 2.1 -2.5 9.3 7.2 4.6
Disposable Income (ann. var. %) 7.1 4.6 5.2 9.0 11.0
Unemployment (% of active population, aop) 5.0 5.8 6.3 4.5 4.3
Fiscal Balance (% of GDP) 0.4 -4.9 -1.4 1.7 1.5
Public Debt (% of GDP) 55.9 57.0 52.6 43.1 43.3
Inflation (HICP, ann. var. %, eop) 1.1 -1.0 5.7 8.2 3.2
Inflation (HICP, ann. var. %, aop) 0.9 -0.5 2.4 8.1 5.2
Inflation (Core, ann. var. %, aop) 0.9 -0.4 2.3 7.8 5.3
Inflation (WPI, ann. var. %, aop) -1.0 -8.7 -5.2 5.1 0.0
ECB Refinancing Rate (%, eop) 0.00 0.00 0.00 2.50 4.50
ECB Overnight Deposit Rate (%, eop) -0.50 -0.50 -0.50 2.00 4.00
3-Month EURIBOR (%, eop) -0.38 -0.55 -0.57 2.13 3.91
10-Year Bond Yield (%, eop) 0.11 -0.32 0.25 3.06 2.39
Stock Market (var. of ISEQ %) 31.1 2.7 14.5 -15.8 23.2
Exchange Rate (USD per EUR, eop) 1.12 1.22 1.14 1.07 1.10
Exchange Rate (USD per EUR, aop) 1.12 1.14 1.18 1.05 1.08
Current Account Balance (EUR bn) -75.4 -27.0 54.6 45.6 41.3
Current Account Balance (% of GDP) -20.7 -7.1 12.2 8.8 8.1
Merchandise Trade Balance (EUR bn) 117 142 168 205 156
Foreign Direct Investment (EUR bn) 133.1 83.8 -3.5 -23.5 -8.3

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