Irish economy

Economy of Ireland
Statistics
Liberty Hall, Spire of Dublin
Currency	1 Euro = 100-cent(s)= 1.17$
Fiscal year	Calendar year
Trade organisations	EU, WTO and OECD
GDP	$0.3 trillion (nominal, 2017) $0.34 trillion (PPP, 2017)
GDP rank	41st (nominal, 2016)
GDP growth	26.3% (2015)
GDP per capita	$72,630 (PPP, 2017), $68,600 (nominal, 2017)
GDP by sector	Services (70.4%), industry (28%), agriculture (1.6%) (2013 est.)
Inflation (CPI)	+0.2% (CPI, September 2017)
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	6.0% (October 2017)
Average gross salary	€3,133 / $3,592, monthly (2017-Q1)
Average net salary	€2,479 / $2,842, monthly (2017-Q1)
Main industries	Pharmaceuticals chemicals computer hardware software food products beverages and brewing medical devices
Ease-of-doing-business rank	17th (2018)
External
Exports	$123 billion (2015)
Export goods	Machinery and equipment, computers, chemicals, medical devices, pharmaceuticals; foodstuffs, animal products
Main export partners	United States 22.2% United Kingdom (excluding Northern Ireland) 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	Data processing equipment, other machinery and equipment, chemicals, petroleum and petroleum products, textiles, clothing
Main import partners	United Kingdom (excluding Northern Ireland) 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	$0.23 trillion (70% of GDP in 2017)
Revenues	€78.73($91.3) billion (31% of GDP in 2018)
Expenses	€79.265($91.9) billion (31.2% of GDP in 2018)
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: A2 Outlook: Stable Fitch: A Outlook: Stable
Foreign reserves	€3.6(~$4.15) billion (September 2017)
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, 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.

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