Ireland: Fastest Growing Economy in the World with Good Quality Data

Updated: April 2023


Key Insights
  • Fastest growing economy in the world over decade ending 2022.*
  • The highest GDP per capita in the world.*
  • Very high Governance ratings.
  • One of the coldest developed countries in the world.
* Of countries with believable (Data Quality Rating A or B) economic data. Read more...
 
ECONOMY SIZE

  • When measured in Purchasing Power Parity terms, including estimates for its informal economy, Ireland's GDP is currently the 41st largest in the world and 10th in the EU.
Gross Domestic Product: 2022
Ranked by GDP
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Global Rank
(1-155)
GDP PPP
(Billions)
GDP Data Quality
Grade
Share of
Global GDP
%





Romania 34 $763 B 0.4%
Belgium 35 $737 A 0.4%
Switzerland 36 $679 A 0.4%
Kazakhstan 37 $675 C 0.4%
Peru 38 $662 D 0.4%
Singapore 39 $662 A 0.4%
Sweden 40 $652 A 0.4%
Ireland 41 $649 A 0.4%
Chile 42 $606 A 0.4%
Algeria 43 $589 B 0.3%
Austria 44 $553 A 0.3%
Ukraine 45 $539 C 0.3%
Israel 46 $507 A 0.3%
Czech Republic 47 $502 A 0.3%
Hong Kong 48 $488 A 0.3%

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GDP Data Quality

Data Quality Ratings: EU
Index: 0 = Extremely poor quality, 100 = Good as it gets
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Data
Quality
Index
Data
Quality
Grade
Base
Year
SNA
Version
Informal
Economy %
Resoucres
Index
0-100
Corruption
Index
0-100





Norway 96.6 A Chained 2008 15.7 100.0 84
Ireland 96.1 A Chained 2008 12.3 100.0 77
Austria 95.9 A Chained 2008 8.7 100.0 71
United Kingdom 95.9 A Chained 2008 10.3 100.0 73
Iceland 95.1 A Chained 2008 13.9 100.0 74
France 94.9 A Chained 2008 13.1 100.0 72
Belgium 93.5 A Chained 2008 19.2 100.0 73
Czech Republic 91.5 A Chained 2008 14.5 100.0 56
Portugal 91.0 A Chained 2008 20.3 100.0 62

Access the interactive all country Data Quality Ratings table

Key:
Data Quality Index numbers shown on a scale of 0-100.
         0 = Poor, 100 = Excellent.

Resources Index numbers shown on a scale of 0-100.
         0 = Low level of resources, 100 = High level of resources.

Corruption Index numbers shown on a scale of 0-100.
         0 = High corruption, 100 = Low corruption.

Grade definitions:
         A: As good as it gets;
         B: Good;
         C: Use with caution
         D: Poor quality
         E: Extremely poor quality.


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ECONOMIC GROWTH

  • Ireland's Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) over the last 10, 5 and 3 years was 9.0%, 9.0% and 10.5% respectively.
  • On a 10-year CAGR basis Ireland ranks as the 3rd fastest growing economy in the World and fastest in the EU over the past decade.
  • Taking into account data quality, Ireland jumps up the rankings to first place to become the world's fastest growing economy over the last 10 years.
Ireland's Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) over the last 10-years (2012-2022)
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Global
Rank:
GDP Data
Quality:
Grade
CAGR
10 Year:
2012-2022
CAGR
5 Year:
2017-2022
CAGR
3 Year:
2019-2022
Global Growth
Share:
Percentage





Guyana 1 E 13.4% 25.2% 40.9% 0.1%
Bangladesh 2 D 9.1% 9.4% 8.5% 1.9%
Ireland 3 A 9.0% 9.0% 10.5% 0.8%
Vietnam 4 D 8.6% 8.1% 6.4% 1.9%
Ethiopia 5 E 8.3% 6.6% 6.0% 0.5%
Tajikistan 6 D 7.1% 7.3% 7.2% 0.1%
Cote d'Ivoire 7 D 7.0% 5.8% 5.2% 0.3%
Turkmenistan 8 C 6.9% 6.0% 5.8% 0.2%
China 9 B 6.2% 5.2% 4.4% 31.7%
Rwanda 10 C 6.1% 6.3% 4.6% 0.0%

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  • Over the past 10 years the global economy has grown by 35%. Ireland's contribution to this growth was 0.8% once any allowances are made for base year and informal economy size.

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WEALTH

  • Ireland's GDP per Capita has grown at the fastest rate among countries with believable (Data Quality Rating A or B) economic data. Read more....
  • In GDP per Capita terms, Ireland ranks 1st in the Global rankings.
Ireland's GDP Per Capita Growth: 10 Years
Index: 1996 = 100

GDP Per Capita: Europe
Ranked by GDP per Capita
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GDP Per Capita
PPP
(Int$)
GDP per Capita
Data Quality
Grade





Ireland $129,262 A
Luxembourg $128,595 A
Switzerland $77,374 A
Norway $76,973 A
Malta $71,168 B
Iceland $70,046 A
Denmark $69,480 A
Netherlands $66,317 A
EU Average $56,719 -
Europe Average $50,882 -

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INEQUALITY

  • Inequality is measured using an Indexed version of the Gini scale (read more). For Ireland the data relates to 2017.
  • Ireland is shown to be a relatively egalitarian society, ranking 31st globally, 21th for Europe and 15th in the EU.
Inequality Rankings: Europe
Index: 0-100, 0 = High Inequality; 100 = High Equality
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Regional
Rank
Inequality
Index
Poverty
% of Population




Norway 10 90.0 0.0%
Netherlands 11 89.5 0.0%
Armenia 12 89.2 0.4%
Hungary 13 88.3 0.0%
Sweden 14 86.4 0.0%
Croatia 15 86.1 0.0%
Iceland 16 85.0 0.0%
Ireland 17 84.2 0.0%
Austria 18 84.1 0.0%
Estonia 19 82.6 0.0%
Malta 20 81.5 0.0%
Cyprus 21 81.0 0.0%
Serbia 22 80.8 2.3%
North Macedonia 23 80.3 3.4%
Poland 24 80.1 0.0%

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DEBT

  • World Economics produces GDP data in Purchasing Power Parity terms with added estimates for the size of the informal economy.
  • The World Economics database estimates the Irish Debt to GDP at a modest 41.9%.
  • This is lower than the IMF's estimate of 47.0%, due to the inclusion of informal economy estimates in the World Economics GDP data.
Debt-to-GDP Ratio for Emerging Market Countries
Ranked by % of GDP
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Global
Rank
Debt-to-GDP
Ratio




Malta 70 44.6%
Korea, Rep. 71 44.1%
Netherlands 72 43.9%
Dominican Republic 73 43.6%
Philippines 74 42.3%
Thailand 75 42.0%
Mexico 76 41.9%
Ireland 77 41.9%
North Macedonia 78 40.3%
Romania 79 40.1%
Ecuador 80 39.9%
Poland 81 39.8%
Burkina Faso 82 39.7%
Myanmar 83 39.6%
Trinidad and Tobago 84 39.5%
EU Average   57.7%
Europe Average   50.8%


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POPULATION

  • Ireland's population data is graded A quality (read more)
  • Age profile is in line with other western democracies.
Ireland's Population Breakdown
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Population
Size
(Millions)
Median
Age
(Years)
Age
Dependency
(Young)
Age
Dependency
(Old)
Age
Dependency
(Total)





Congo, Rep. 5.8 18.2 74.0% 4.8% 78.8%
Finland 5.6 42.4 25.0% 37.1% 62.1%
Norway 5.5 39.3 26.1% 27.9% 54.0%
Slovak Republic 5.5 40.6 23.7% 25.8% 49.5%
Oman 5.3 28.8 38.0% 4.0% 42.0%
Liberia 5.3 17.9 73.7% 6.0% 79.7%
Costa Rica 5.2 32.9 29.8% 15.3% 45.1%
Ireland 5.0 37.6 30.5% 22.7% 53.2%
Central African Republic 5.0 14.7 97.7% 5.1% 102.8%
Mauritania 4.9 17.6 76.8% 6.0% 82.7%
New Zealand 4.9 36.5 29.0% 24.4% 53.4%
Panama 4.4 28.8 40.6% 13.2% 53.8%
Kuwait 4.4 38.3 28.4% 6.0% 34.4%
Croatia 4.1 43.7 22.1% 34.4% 56.5%
Moldova 4.0 36.1 29.7% 20.4% 50.2%

Access the interactive all country Population table

  • Ireland has a young population profile of 30.5% an old population profile of 22.7%. The average age is 38.2 years old.

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ENVIRONMENT

  • Ireland's per capita emissions are in-line in relation to other developed countries.
Environmental Factors
Index: 0 = High Emissions, 100 = Low Emissions
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Emissions
Index
0-100
Carbon
Emissions
Total
Carbon
Emissions
Per Capita
Methane
Emissions
Total
Methane
Emissions
Per Capita
Air
Quality
PM2.5
Water
Access
per capita





Belarus 99.0 59.6 6.3 17.1 1.8 15.5 96.5%
Mongolia 99.0 50.3 15.1 19.4 5.8 41.3 85.5%
Chile 99.1 85.4 4.5 11.9 0.6 20.5 100.0%
Cambodia 99.1 19.0 1.1 20.0 1.2 17.8 71.2%
Czech Republic 99.1 97.1 9.1 12.5 1.2 14.3 99.9%
Uruguay 99.1 6.7 1.9 20.9 6.0 8.5 99.5%
Bahrain 99.1 39.0 22.3 18.5 10.6 51.8 100.0%
Ireland 99.2 37.6 7.5 15.6 3.1 8.2 97.4%
Afghanistan 99.2 11.9 0.3 17.1 0.4 62.5 75.1%
Azerbaijan 99.2 38.5 3.8 14.9 1.5 24.6 96.0%
Morocco 99.2 70.6 1.9 12.3 0.3 13.4 90.4%
Guinea 99.3 4.8 0.4 17.1 1.3 37.6 64.0%
Madagascar 99.3 4.3 0.2 17.1 0.6 16.0 53.4%
Belgium 99.3 95.7 8.2 8.1 0.7 11.3 100.0%
Serbia 99.3 30.9 3.6 14.4 1.7 21.7 95.3%

See: Access the interactive all country Environmental data table

Key:
Emissions Index numbers shown on a scale of 0-100.
         0 = Bad, 100 = Good.

Notes:
Format: Carbon data in Million MtCO2e and Methane data in MtCO2e, Air Quality: PM2.5

Methodology: Total Carbon and Total Methane data for each country has been indexed on a scale of 0-100 by using the standard deviation from the mean for each country. The implied Indexes are averaged to calculate a total Emissions Index which focuses on each countries emissions.

  • Ireland is a relatively low average temperature, so far little impacted by global warming.
Average Annual Temperature by Year: Ireland

Source: CCKP. World Bank Group, Climate Change Knowledge Portal


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SOCIAL

  • Ireland has a very high level rank for its social metrics, 6th in Europe, 3rd in the EU and 14th out of 155 countries globally.
  • Each pupil in education receives 12.7 years of schooling (on average) - approximately four years more than the global average.
Social Factors: Europe
Index: 0 = Poor metrics, 100 = Excellent metrics
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Social
Factors
Index
Life
Expectancy
Years
Median
Age
Years
Mean Years
Schooling
Years
Population
in Work
Population %
Population
in Poverty
%





Slovenia 91.9 80.7 43.2 12.9 55.4% 0.0%
Belgium 91.6 81.9 40.9 12.4 50.8% 0.0%
Cyprus 91.1 81.2 37.6 12.4 58.8% 0.0%
Austria 91.0 81.6 42.8 12.3 57.0% 0.0%
France 90.1 82.5 41.6 11.6 51.1% 0.0%
Estonia 90.0 77.1 41.5 13.5 59.4% 0.0%
Spain 89.9 83.0 43.9 11.4 49.0% 0.0%
Ireland 89.5 82.0 37.6 11.6 58.3% 0.0%
Czech Republic 88.7 77.7 42.6 12.9 58.0% 0.0%
Italy 88.0 82.9 46.8 10.7 43.7% 0.0%
Greece 87.1 80.1 44.7 11.4 43.0% 0.0%
Croatia 86.7 77.6 43.7 12.2 47.5% 0.0%
Lithuania 86.4 73.7 43.7 13.5 57.2% 0.0%
Latvia 85.6 73.6 43.6 13.3 55.5% 0.0%
Sweden 85.5 83.0 39.5 9.8 59.2% 0.0%

Access the interactive all country Social data table

Key:
Social Factors Index numbers shown on a scale of 0-100
         0 = Poor social metrics, 100 = Excellent social metrics.


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GOVERNANCE

  • Ireland ranks 6th globally, 5th in Europe and 4th in the EU for Governance.
Governance Factors Index
Index: 0 = Poor, 100 = Good
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Governance
Index
(0-100 Index)
Rule of Law
Index
(0-100 Index)
Press Freedom
(0-100 Index)
Political Rights
(0-100 Index)
Corruption
Perceptions
(0-100 Index)




Finland 99.2 100 4.6 100.0 96.7
Norway 98.8 97.5 0.0 100.0 93.3
New Zealand 95.9 94.5 9.8 100.0 96.7
Sweden 95.7 92.6 4.1 100.0 92.2
Switzerland 93.1 94.3 10.7 97.7 91.1
Ireland 91.3 87.9 4.7 97.7 85.6
Germany 90.5 89.7 11.5 97.7 87.8
Netherlands 90.4 92.7 15.9 97.7 88.9
Luxembourg 89.6 93.8 13.9 95.3 85.6
Canada 89.5 90.1 11.8 100.0 82.2
Estonia 89.0 85.5 4.1 95.3 82.2
Iceland 88.6 93 10.8 93.0 82.2
Australia 86.8 91.2 20.4 97.7 83.3

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Key:
The World Economics Governance Index gives equal weight to all four criteria.

Index numbers shown on a scale of 0-100.

Governance: 0 = Poor governance, 100 = As good as it gets.
Corruption Perceptions: 0 = Bad, 100 = Good.
Rule of Law: 0 = low rule of law, 100 = High rule of law.
Press Freedom: 0 = Low press freedom, 100 = High press freedom.
Political Rights: 0 = Low political rights, 100 = High political rights.



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