Economy of the Republic of Ireland

Economy of Ireland

Dublin
Currency	1 Euro = 100-cent(s)= 1.07USD
Fiscal year	Calendar year
Trade organisations	EU, WTO and OECD
Statistics
GDP	$0.31 trillion (nominal, 2016) $0.32 trillion (PPP, 2016)
GDP rank	41st (nominal, 2016)
GDP growth	26.3% (2015)
GDP per capita	$70,000 (PPP, 2016), $66,000 (nominal, 2016)
GDP by sector	Services (70.4%), industry (28%), agriculture (1.6%) (2013 est.)
Inflation (CPI)	−0.1% (CPI, Nov 2016)
Population below poverty line	8.0% (consistent poverty in 2014) Poverty line in 2015: €10,926/year or ~$950/month
Gini coefficient	30.0 (2014)
Labour force	2.22 million (Q3 2016)
Labour force by occupation	services (78%), industry (19%), agriculture (5%) (2011 est.)
Unemployment	6.6% (Feb 2017)
Average gross salary	€3,050 / $3,300, month (2016-Q2)
Average net salary	€2,440 / $2,600, month (2016-Q2)
Main industries	List pharmaceuticals chemicals computer hardware and software food products beverages and brewing medical devices
Ease-of-doing-business rank	18th (2017)
External
Exports	$123 billion (2015)
Export goods	List machinery and equipment computers chemicals medical devices pharmaceuticals food products animal products
Main export partners	United States 22.2%  United Kingdom 15.1%  Belgium 13.2%  Germany 6.6%   Switzerland 5.9%  France 5.2%  Netherlands 3.8%  Spain 2.8% (2014)
Imports	$74 billion (2015)
Import goods	List data processing equipment other machinery and equipment chemicals petroleum and petroleum products textiles clothing
Main import partners	United Kingdom 32.2%  United States 10.8%  Germany 7.9%  China 6.5%  Netherlands 4.9%  France 4.7%  Japan 3.2%   Switzerland 2.3% (2014)
Current account	€44.02 billion (2015)
Gross external debt	€2 trillion (Sep 2016)
Net international investment position	−€465 billion (Sept 2016)
Public finances
Public debt	$0.22 trillion (94% of GDP in 2015)
Budget deficit	€7 billion (−3.8% of GDP in 2014)
Revenues	€64($85) billion (34.7% of GDP in 2014)
Expenses	€71($95) billion (38.5% of GDP in 2014)
Economic aid	Donor of ODA: €651 million Recipient of agricultural aid: $895 million (2010)
Credit rating	Standard & Poor's: A+ (Domestic) A+ (Foreign) AAA (T&C Assessment) Outlook: Stable Moody's: A3 Outlook: Positive Fitch: A Outlook: Positive
Foreign reserves	€1.7(~$2) billion (Mar 2015)
Main data source: CIA World Fact Book All values, unless otherwise stated, are in US dollars.

The economy of Ireland is a modern knowledge economy, focusing on services and high-tech industries and dependent on trade, industry and investment. In terms of GDP per capita, Ireland is ranked as one of the wealthiest countries in the OECD and the EU-27 at 5th in the OECD-28 rankings as of 2008. In terms of GNP per capita, a better measure of national income, Ireland ranks only slightly above the OECD average, despite significant growth in recent years, at 10th in the OECD-28 rankings. GDP (national output) is significantly greater than GNP (national income) due to the repatriation of profits and royalty payments by multinational firms based in Ireland.

A 2005 study by The Economist found Ireland to have the best quality of life in the world. The 1995 to 2007 period of very high economic growth, with a record of posting the highest growth rates in Europe, led many to call the country the Celtic Tiger. One of the keys to this economic growth was a low corporation tax, currently at 12.5% standard rate.

The Irish financial crisis severely affected the economy, compounding domestic economic problems related to the collapse of the Irish property bubble. After 24 years of continuous growth at an annual level during 1984–2007, Ireland first experienced a short technical recession from Q2-Q3 2007, followed by a long 2-year recession from Q1 2008 – Q4 2009. In March 2008, Ireland had the highest level of household debt relative to disposable income in the developed world at 190%, causing a further slow down in private consumption, and thus also being one of the reasons for the long lasting recession. The hard economic climate was reported in April 2010, even to have led to a resumed emigration.

After a year with stagnant economic activity in 2010, Irish real GDP rose by 2.2% in 2011 and 0.2% in 2012, which was mainly driven by strong improvements in the export sector – while private consumption remained subdued. The economic challenges continued, however, as the prolonged European sovereign-debt crisis caused a new Irish recession starting in Q3 2012, which was still ongoing as of Q2 2013. In May 2013 the European Commission's economic forecast for Ireland predicted its growth rates would return to a positive 1.1% in 2013 and 2.2% in 2014. The Irish economy grew by 4.8% in 2014 and an unexpected 26.3% in 2015.