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OECD - have a look at Ireland from an Economic Perspective

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OECD - have a look at Ireland from an Economic Perspective

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Ireland - OECD Data

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Education

Mathematics performance (PISA), Mean score, 2018
Reading performance (PISA), Mean score, 2018
Science performance (PISA), Mean score, 2018

Air and GHG emissions, Carbon dioxide (CO2), latest available year

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Mathematics performance (PISA), Mean score, 2018 Reading performance (PISA), Mean score, 2018 Science performance (PISA), Mean score, 2018 Air and GHG emissions, Carbon dioxide (CO2), latest available year

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What is the country with the largest population in the EU ?

What are the 3 countries in the world with the biggest populations?

What factors cause the population of a country to grow?

What factors cause the population of a country to decline?

What has been the trend in terms of population in Ireland over the past 20 years?

What is the population of the world (approx) as of 2021?

What are the consequences for you if the world population continues to grow?

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Young Population (defined as less than 15yrs)

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Young Population (defined as less than 15yrs)

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In 2020 - what % of the Irish population were aged <15 yrs?

In 2020 - what % of the OECD population were aged <15 yrs?

In 1970 - approx 30% of the Irish Population were aged <15 yrs - what factors do you think have caused this to trend to fall consistently in Ireland since then?

Do you think it is a good thing for the economy that there is a fall in the % of young people below aged 15 yrs in Ireland? Give reasons for your answer?

In 2020 - Japan had less than 12% of their population aged below 15 yrs -Look at the Elderly population charts - find Japan and see what % of their population in 2020 was over 65 yrs? What do you think this means for Japan? Given this ...would you like to be a worker in Japan over the next few years? What might these population trends mean for workers?

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1. What % of our population were over 65 yrs in 2020?
b. What % of our population were over 65 yrs in 2007?
c. What is the trend showing for Ireland in relation to the % of our population who are aged over 65 yrs?
d. Why do you think this is the case?
e. What are the likely consequences or impacts of this for you if you continue to live and work in Ireland? (pos & neg)
2. What was the OECD average % of the population over 65 yrs in 2020?
3. Is Ireland's % over or under the OECD average?
4. What country has the lowest % of over 65's in its population? Why do you think this is the case? Research their average age of death?
5. What country has the highest % of over 65's in its population? Why do you think this is the case?
6. Combine the % of Ireland's population that are under 15 yrs with the % of the population aged above 65 yrs....what do you think are the consequences of this for you as a young adult shortly to go out into the work force?

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1. What do these statistics measure?
2. What is the trend for most countries in relation to fertility rates and why do you think this is the case?
3. What country experienced the greatest fall in fertility rates? Why do you think this is the case?
4.

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1. Contrast the old age dependence situation of Korea to that of Ireland

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Consider this CSO report - what are the projections for population dependency for the future in Ireland? How will these impact on you? 

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Consider this CSO report - what are the projections for population dependency for the future in Ireland? How will these impact on you? 

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Ageing Population - CSO - Central Statistics Office

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Ageing Population

Population ageing is a phenomenon that affects almost every developed country in the world, including Ireland. The number and the proportion of persons aged 65 years and over is increasing and is projected to continue an upward trend over the next three decades. Population ageing has resulted primarily from a long-term fall in fertility rates and an increased life expectancy.

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Ageing Population - CSO - Central Statistics Office

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Ageing Population Population ageing is a phenomenon that affects almost every developed country in the world, including Ireland. The number and the proportion of persons aged 65 years and over is increasing and is projected to continue an upward trend over the next three decades.

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Human Population Through Time - YouTube

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Human Population Through Time #datavisualization

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Population of Ireland: current, historical, and projected population, growth rate, immigration, median age, total fertility rate (TFR), population density, urbanization, urban population, country’s share of world population, and global rank. Data tables, maps, charts, and live population clock

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World Population Growth - Our World in Data

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Population growth is one of the most important topics we cover at Our World in Data.

For most of human history, the global population wasa tiny fraction of what it is today. Over the last few centuries, the human population has gone through an extraordinary change. In 1800, there were one billion people. Today there are more than 8 billion of us.

But after a period of very fast population growth, demographers expect the world population to peak by the end of this century.

On this page, you will find all of our data, charts, and writing on changes in population growth. This includes how populations are distributed worldwide, how this has changed, and what demographers expect for the future.

Key insights on Population Growth

Population cartograms show us where the world's people are

Geographical maps show us where the world's landmasses are; not where people are. That means they don't always give us an accurate picture of how global living standards are changing.

One way to understand the distribution of people worldwide is to redraw the world map - not based on the area but according to population.

This is shown here as a population cartogram: a geographical presentation of the world where the size of countries is not drawn according to the distribution of land but by the distribution of people. It's shown for the year 2018.

As the population size rather than the territory is shown in this map, you can see some significant differences when you compare it to the standard geographical map we're most familiar with.

Small countries with a high population density increase in size in this cartogram relative to the world maps we are used to - look at Bangladesh, Taiwan, or the Netherlands. Large countries with a small population shrink in size - look for Canada, Mongolia, Australia, or Russia.

You can find more details on this cartogram in our article about it:

What you should know about this data

This map is based on the United Nation's 2017 World Population Prospects report. Our interactive charts show population data from the most recent UN revision. This means there may be minor differences between the figures shown on the map and the latest estimates in our other charts.

The world population has increased rapidly over the last few centuries

The speed of global population growth over the last few centuries has been staggering. For most of human history, the world population was well under one million.¹

As recently as 12,000 years ago, there were only 4 million people worldwide.

The chart shows the rapid increase in the global population since 1700.

The one-billion mark wasn't broken until the early 1800s. It was only a century ago that there were 2 billion people.

Since then, the global population has quadrupled to eight billion.

Around 108 billion people have ever lived on our planet. This means that today's population size makes up 6.5% of the total number of people ever born.²

This increase has been the result of advances in living conditions and health that reduced death rates - especially in children - and increases in life expectancy.

What you should know about this data

This data comes from a combination of sources, all detailed in our sources article for our long-term population dataset.

Population growth is no longer exponential - it peaked decades ago

There's a popular misconception that the global population is growing exponentially. But it's not.

While the global population is still increasing in absolute numbers, population growth peaked decades ago.

In the chart, we see the global population growth rate per year. This is based on historical UN estimates and its medium projection to 2100.

Global population growth peaked in the 1960s at over 2% per year. Since then, rates have more than halved, falling to less than 1%.

The UN expects rates to continue to fall until the end of the century. In fact, towards the end of the century, it projects negative growth, meaning the global population will shrink instead of grow.

Global population growth, in absolute terms - which is the number of births minus the number of deaths - has also peaked. You can see this in our interactive chart:

The world has passed "peak child"

Hans Rosling famously coined the term " peak child " for the moment in global demographic history when the number of children stopped increasing.

According to the UN data, the world has passed "peak child", which is defined as the number of children under the age of five.

The chart shows the UN's historical estimates and projections of the number of children under five.

It estimates that the number of children in the world peaked in 2017. For the coming decades, demographers expect a decades-long plateau before the number will decline more rapidly in the second half of the century.

What you should know about this data

These projections are sensitive to the assumptions made about future fertility rates worldwide. Find out more from the UN World Population Division.

Other sources and scenarios in the UN's projections suggest that the peak was reached slightly earlier or later. However, most indicate that the world is close to "peak child" and the number of children will not increase in the coming decades.

The 'ups and downs' in this chart reflect generational effects and 'baby booms' when there are large cohorts of women of reproductive age, and high fertility rates. The timing of these transitions varies across the world.

The UN expects the global population to peak by the end of the century

When will population growth come to an end?

The UN's historical estimates and latest projections for the global population are shown in the chart.

The UN projects that the global population will peak before the end of the century - in 2086, at just over 10.4 billion people.

What you should know about this data

These projections are sensitive to the assumptions made about future fertility and mortality rates worldwide. Find out more from the UN World Population Division.

Other sources and scenarios in the UN's projections can produce a slightly earlier or later peak. Most demographers, however, expect that by the end of the century, the global population will have peaked or slowed so much that population growth will be small.

Explore data on Population Growth

Research & Writing

More Key articles on Population Growth

Hannah Ritchie and Edouard Mathieu

Hannah Ritchie, Edouard Mathieu and Lucas Rodés-Guirao

Hannah Ritchie and Edouard Mathieu

Demographic change

Definitions and sources

Other articles related to population growth

Interactive charts on Population Growth

Endnotes

1. See, for example, Kremer (1993) - Population growth and technological change: one million BC to 1990. In the Quarterly Journal of Economics, Vol. 108, No. 3, 681-716.

2. As per 2011 estimates from Carl Haub (2011), " How Many People Have Ever Lived on Earth? " Population Reference Bureau.

Cite this work

Our articles and data visualizations rely on work from many different people and organizations. When citing this topic page, please also cite the underlying data sources. This topic page can be cited as:

Hannah Ritchie, Lucas Rodés-Guirao, Edouard Mathieu, Marcel Gerber, Esteban Ortiz-Ospina, Joe Hasell and Max Roser (2023) - "Population Growth". Published online at OurWorldInData.org. Retrieved from: 'https://ourworldindata.org/population-growth' [Online Resource]

BibTeX citation

@article{owidpopulationgrowth, author = {Hannah Ritchie and Lucas Rodés-Guirao and Edouard Mathieu and Marcel Gerber and Esteban Ortiz-Ospina and Joe Hasell and Max Roser}, title = {Population Growth}, journal = {Our World in Data}, year = {2023}, note = {https://ourworldindata.org/population-growth} }

Reuse this work freely

All visualizations, data, and code produced by Our World in Data are completely open access under the Creative Commons BY license. You have the permission to use, distribute, and reproduce these in any medium, provided the source and authors are credited.

The data produced by third parties and made available by Our World in Data is subject to the license terms from the original third-party authors. We will always indicate the original source of the data in our documentation, so you should always check the license of any such third-party data before use and redistribution.

All of our charts can be embedded in any site.

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Explore global and country data on population growth, demography, and how this is changing.

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So will population just continue to rise? 

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So will population just continue to rise? 

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How Did The World Population Change? | Gapminder

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ABOUT THIS VIDEO

In this short video Professor Hans Rosling shows how the size of the world population has changed over time. From the beginning of agriculture to the industrial revolution the population growth was very slow. Then the population started to grow rapidly because fewer died young. Today, most women have fewer children and therefore the rapid growth will soon be slowing down. World population will most likely stabilize around 11 billion towards the end of the century.
You can download this video here!
ABOUT THIS SLIDESHOW

This presentation gives a quick overview of 20 thousand years of human population history. From the beginnings of agriculture all the way to the industrial revolution, the number of people increased slowly. Then the population started to grow rapidly because more children survived to become parents. Today, most women have fewer children and therefore the UN experts predict the fast growth will slow down in the second half of this century, somewhere around 11 billion people.

DATA SOURCES

Biraben 1980; McEvedy & Jones 1978; UN World Pop. Prosp. 2012; combined by Gapminder.

DOWNLOAD THIS SLIDESHOW
Download slideshow "How did the world population change?"

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In this short video Professor Hans Rosling shows how the size of the world population has changed over time. From the beginning of agriculture to the industrial revolution the population growth was very slow. Then the population started to grow rapidly because fewer died young.

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ABOUT THIS VIDEO

In this short video Professor Hans Rosling shows that people living in poverty have many children. The poor families suffer from high child mortality, and the largest population growth occurs where people are poor. Parents in richer communities expect their children to survive, which is one of the reasons they decide to have fewer babies.

Saving poor children is an important factor in ending both poverty and population growth. The death of children is not holding back population growth. It is one of the reason poor people still have many children.
You can download this video here! http://amara.org/v/DxtA/
DATA SOURCES
United Nations World Population Prospects 2012
LICENSE

Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Please copy and redistribute this film in any medium or format You must include the following attribution to Gapminder: "Free material from WWW.GAPMINDER.ORG"

Full license text: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

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Will saving poor children lead to overpopulation? | Gapminder

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Ireland Population 1950-2023 | MacroTrends

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Chart and table of Ireland population from 1950 to 2023. United Nations projections are also included through the year 2100.

The current population of Ireland in 2023 is 5,056,935, a 0.67% increase from 2022.

The population of Ireland in 2022 was 5,023,109, a 0.73% increase from 2021.

The population of Ireland in 2021 was 4,986,526, a 0.82% increase from 2020.

The population of Ireland in 2020 was 4,946,119, a 1.02% increase from 2019.

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Chart and table of Ireland population from 1950 to 2023. United Nations projections are also included through the year 2100. The current population of Ireland in 2023 is 5,056,935, a 0.67% increase from 2022. The population of Ireland in 2022 was 5,023,109, a 0.73% increase from 2021.

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Ireland Unemployment Rate 1991-2023 | MacroTrends

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Unemployment refers to the share of the labor force that is without work but available for and seeking employment.

Ireland unemployment rate for 2021 was 6.63%, a 1.01% increase from 2020.

Ireland unemployment rate for 2020 was 5.62%, a 0.67% increase from 2019.

Ireland unemployment rate for 2019 was 4.95%, a 0.79% decline from 2018.

Ireland unemployment rate for 2018 was 5.74%, a 0.97% decline from 2017.

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Unemployment refers to the share of the labor force that is without work but available for and seeking employment.

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This page displays a table with actual values, consensus figures, forecasts, statistics and historical data charts for - Unemployment Rate. This page provides values for Unemployment Rate reported in several countries part of Europe. The table has current values for Unemployment Rate, previous releases, historical highs and record lows, release frequency, reported unit and currency plus links to historical data charts.

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What is the unemployment rate in Ireland?

What does it mean if someone is unemployed?

What people are not included in the unemployment rate?

What 3 countries have the highest unemployment rate in Europe?

What 3 countries have the lowest unemployment rate in Europe?

What do you think the reasons are for the top 3 countries in Europe having a high unemployment rate?

What do you think are the reasons for the top 3 countries in Europe that have a low unemployment rate?

What is the retirement age in Ireland?

If the retirement age in Ireland was reduced to 60 what impact do you think this might have?

Describe the unemployment trend in Ireland from 1995 to 2021

What factors cause the unemployment rate to increase?

What do you think are the consequences for a government for a high unemployment rate

What age category do we mean when we say 'the Working age population'

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Employment - Employment rate - OECD Data

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Employment rates are defined as a measure of the extent to which available labour resources (people available to work) are being used. They are calculated as the ratio of the employed to the working age population. Employment rates are sensitive to the economic cycle, but in the longer term they are significantly affected by governments' higher education and income support policies and by policies that facilitate employment of women and disadvantaged groups. Employed people are those aged 15 or over who report that they have worked in gainful employment for at least one hour in the previous week or who had a job but were absent from work during the reference week. The working age population refers to people aged 15 to 64. This indicator is seasonally adjusted and it is measured in terms of thousand persons aged 15 and over; and in numbers of employed persons aged 15 to 64 as a percentage of working age population.

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employment; employment rate; labour; jobs

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Employment - Employment rate - OECD Data

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Employment rates are defined as a measure of the extent to which available labour resources (people available to work) are being used. They are calculated as the ratio of the employed to the working age population.

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Describe the youth unemployment trend from 1995 to 2021

What is the trend of the unemployment rate for young people from 1995 to 2021?

How much did the unemployment rate in Ireland raise by from 2020 to 2021?

What is the participation rate of young people from the ages of 15-24 in the labor force in Ireland as of 2021?

Between 1995 and 2021 which year was the highest participation rate of young people in Ireland?

Why do you think that the participation rate of young people (15-24) in the labor force took a rapid decline from 2008 to 2015?

Why do you think young peoples participation in the labor force declined from 2019 to 2020?

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What is the employment rate of people aged 55-64 in Ireland as of 2023?

How much did this figure increase from the previous year?

What are the top 3 countries in Europe with the highest employment rate of older people between the ages of 55-64?

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Ireland - Employment rate of older workers, age group 55-64 - 2023 Data 2024 Forecast 2009-2020 Historical

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Ireland - Employment rate of older workers, age group 55-64 was 60.70% in December of 2020, according to the EUROSTAT. Trading Economics provides the current actual value, an historical data chart and related indicators for Ireland - Employment rate of older workers, age group 55-64 - last updated f…

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RTÉ Prime Time Report on Irish Unemployment

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Finish classwork questions, 'unemployment rate in Ireland'

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Finish classwork questions, 'unemployment rate in Ireland'

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Worldometer - real time world statistics (worldometers.info)

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World Population:

reached 8 billion on November 15, 2022 according to the latest United Nations estimates.

is projected to reach 9 billion in 2037, and 10 billion in 2058.

has doubled in 40 years from 1959 (3 billion) to 1999 (6 billion).

is currently (2023) growing at a rate of around 0.88% per year, adding around 70 million people per year to the total.

growth rate reached its peak in the late 1960s, when it was at 2.09%.

growth rate is currently declining and is projected to continue to decline in the coming years (reaching below 0.50% by 2048, reach 0 in 2086, and decline by -0.11% in 2100) .

a tremendous change occurred with the industrial revolution: whereas it had taken all of human history up to the year 1800 for world population to reach 1 billion, the second billion was achieved in only 130 years (1930), the third billion in 30 years (1960), the fourth billion in 15 years (1974), the fifth billion in 13 years (1987), the sixth billion in 11 years (1998), the seventh billion and eighth billion in 12 years each (2010 and 2022). During the 20th century alone, the population in the world has grown from 1.65 billion to 6 billion.

Sources for the world population counter: For more detailed information:

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Worldometer - real time world statistics

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Live world statistics on population, government and economics, society and media, environment, food, water, energy and health. Interesting statistics with world population clock, forest loss this year, carbon dioxide co2 emission, world hunger data, energy consumed, and a lot more

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OEC - The Observatory of Economic Complexity

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Ireland (IRL) Exports, Imports, and Trade Partners | OEC

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Find the latest trade statistics and economic complexity data for Ireland.

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A distinct entity from Northern Ireland since it is part of the United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland has sold US$146.4 billion in export products via international markets after 8 months into 2022 (from January to August).

That dollar metric suggests that the annualized export sales for Ireland will be an estimated $219.6 billion for 2022, up about 15.6% year over year.

The remainder of this analysis will drill down on the latest published annual statistics for the Republic of Ireland during 2021.

In 2021, Ireland shipped $190.2 billion worth of goods around the globe in 2021. That dollar amount reflects a 37.7% increase since 2017 and a 3.3% gain from 2020 to 2021.

Based on the average exchange rate for 2021, the euro appreciated by 5% against the US dollar since 2017 and strengthened by 3.9% from 2020 to 2021. The stronger European Union currency in 2021 made Ireland's exports paid for in weaker US dollars relatively more expensive for international buyers.

Ireland's biggest export products by value in 2021 were blood fractions including antisera, medication mixes in dosage, organic chemicals specifically heterocyclics, electronic integrated circuits or microassemblies, then electro-medical equipment such as xrays. In aggregate, those major exports accounted for 58.3% of overall exports sales from Ireland. That percentage-and the products themselves-suggest a relatively concentrated range of exported goods.

Ireland places among world-leaders for exporting blood fractions including antisera, while ranking among the top exporters for drugs and medicines in general. The European nation is also a major competitor selling medical, surgical or veterinarian instruments on international markets.

Key Geographic Insights about Ireland's Exports

The latest available country-specific data shows that 86.1% of products exported from Ireland were bought by importers in: the United States of America (30.8% of the global total), United Kingdom (11.1%), Germany (11%), Belgium (8.4%), mainland China (6.8%), Netherlands (5.8%), France (3.4%), Italy (2.7%), Switzerland (1.8%), Japan (1.7%), Spain (1.4%) and Mexico (1.1%).

From a continental perspective, 52.1% of Ireland exports by value were delivered to fellow European countries while 32.9% were sold to importers in North America. Ireland shipped another 12.7% worth of goods to Asia.

Smaller percentages went to Africa (1%), Latin America (0.6%) excluding Mexico but including the Caribbean, then Oceania (0.58%) led by Australia and New Zealand.

Given Ireland's population of 5.04 million people, its total $190.2 billion in 2021 exported goods translates to an impressive $37,700 for every resident in the island country. That per-capita amount compares to an average $35,700 in 2020.

The following export product groups represent the highest dollar value in Irish global shipments during 2021. Also shown is the percentage share each export category represents in terms of overall exports from Ireland.

1. Pharmaceuticals: US$67.5 billion (35.5% of total exports)

2. Organic chemicals: $37.3 billion (19.6%)

3. Optical, technical, medical apparatus: $16.9 billion (8.9%)

4. Electrical machinery, equipment: $15.4 billion (8.1%)

5. Machinery including computers: $9.6 billion (5%)

6. Perfumes, cosmetics: $5.4 billion (2.9%)

7. Dairy, eggs, honey: $3.91 billion (2.1%)

8. Other chemical goods: $3.9 billion (2.1%)

9. Meat: $3.86 billion (2%)

10. Aircraft, spacecraft: $3.4 billion (1.8%)

Ireland's top 10 exports accounted for 87.9% of the overall value of its global shipments.

Optical, technical and medical apparatus was the fastest grower among the top 10 export categories, up by 22.9% from 2020 to 2021.

In second place for improving export sales was electrical machinery and equipment thanks to its 21.8% gain.

Ireland's shipments of miscellaneous chemical goods posted the third-fastest gain in value, up by 18.1% year over year.

The leading decliner among Ireland's top 10 export categories was perfumes and cosmetics which fell -37.9%.

Note that the results listed above are at the categorized two-digit Harmonized Tariff System (HTS) code level. For a more granular view of exported goods at the four-digit HTS code level, see the section Searchable List of Ireland's Most Valuable Export Products further down below.

Products Generating the Greatest Trade Surpluses for Ireland

Ireland posted an overall $71.5 billion trade surplus during 2021, down by -16.6% from $85.7 billion in black ink one year earlier in 2020.

The following types of Irish product shipments represent positive net exports or a trade balance surplus. Investopedia defines net exports as the value of a country's total exports minus the value of its total imports.

In a nutshell, net exports represent the amount by which foreign spending on a home country's goods or services exceeds or lags the home country's spending on foreign goods or services.

1. Pharmaceuticals: US$56.2 billion (Down by -0.2% since 2020)

2. Organic chemicals: $25.1 billion (Down by -19.5%)

3. Optical, technical, medical apparatus: $12.9 billion (Up by 30.3%)

4. Electrical machinery, equipment: $4.1 billion (Down by -31.4%)

5. Perfumes, cosmetics: $4 billion (Down by -48%)

6. Meat: $3.2 billion (Up by 7.3%)

7. Dairy, eggs, honey: $3.1 billion (Up by 27.3%)

8. Other chemical goods: $2.6 billion (Up by 17.2%)

9. Cereal/milk preparations: $1.2 billion (Down by -16.4%)

10. Beverages, spirits, vinegar: $781.3 million (Up by 73.8%)

Ireland has highly positive net exports in the international trade of pharmaceuticals, a relatively recession-proof industry albeit it can be subject to product development cycles. The above cashflows indicate Ireland's strong competitive advantages under the global pharmaceuticals product category.

Products Causing the Greatest Trade Deficits for Ireland

Below are exports from Ireland that result in negative net exports or product trade balance deficits. These negative net exports reveal product categories where foreign spending on home country Ireland's goods trail Irish importer spending on foreign products.

1. Aircraft, spacecraft: -US$13.2 billion (Up by 15.2% since 2020)

2. Mineral fuels including oil: -$6 billion (Up by 95.7%)

3. Vehicles: -$4.5 billion (Up by 33%)

4. Machinery including computers: -$3.2 billion (Up by 6%)

5. Plastics, plastic articles: -$1.7 billion (Up by 16.5%)

6. Knit or crochet clothing, accessories: -$1.3 billion (Up by 32.8%)

7. Articles of iron or steel: -$1.1 billion (Up by 80.3%)

8. Clothing, accessories (not knit or crochet): -$1.1 billion (Up by 2.2%)

9. Furniture, bedding, lighting, signs, prefabricated buildings: -$1 billion (Up by 71.6%)

10. Paper, paper items: -$851.9 million (Up by 2.2%)

Ireland has highly negative net exports and therefore deep international trade deficits for aircraft and spacecraft.

These cashflow deficiencies clearly indicate Ireland's competitive disadvantages in the aeronautical products market, but also represent key opportunities for Ireland to improve its position in the global economy through focused technological innovations.

Major Irish Export Companies

Ireland placed 19 companies on the Forbes Global 2000 rankings. The following selected corporations are examples of world-leading Irish companies.

Accenture (computer services)

Actavis (pharmaceuticals)

Covidien (medical equipment, supplies)

CRH (construction materials)

Ingersoll-Rand (conglomerates)

Kerry Group (food processing)

Perrigo (pharmaceuticals)

Seagate Technology (computer storage devices)

Shire (pharmaceuticals)

Smurfit Kappa Group (paper products)

According to global trade intelligence firm Zepol, the following companies are examples of entrepreneurial Irish exporters.

Armstrong Medical (mercury, inorganic bases, calcium)

Bolger Engineering (iron/non-alloy steel products, electric motor parts, generators)

Carlow Brewing (malt beer, acyclic polyhydric alcohols)

Tratech Ireland (machine tool parts and accessories)

Searchable List of Ireland's Most Valuable Export Products

The following searchable table displays 100 of the most in-demand goods shipped from Ireland during 2021. Shown beside each product label is its total export value then the percentage increase or decrease since 2020.

These 100 exported goods were worth a subtotal of US$177.6 billion or 93.4% by value for all products exported from Ireland during 2021.

In macroeconomic terms, Ireland's total exported goods represent 33.9% of its overall Gross Domestic Product for 2021 ($561.5 billion valued in Purchasing Power Parity US dollars). That 33.9% for exports to overall GDP in PPP for 2021 compares to 39.9% in 2020. Those percentages suggest a relatively decreasing reliance on products sold on international markets for Ireland's total economic performance, albeit based on a short timeframe.

Ireland's unemployment rate was 7.76% at October 2021, up from an average 5.833% for 2020 according to the International Monetary Fund.

Ireland's capital city is Dublin.

See also Ireland's Top 10 Major Export Companies, Ireland's Top 10 Imports and Ireland's Top Trading Partners

Research Sources:
Central Intelligence Agency, The World Factbook Country Profiles. Accessed on November 11, 2022

Forbes 2017 Global 2000 rankings, The World's Biggest Public Companies. Accessed on November 11, 2022

International Monetary Fund, World Economic Outlook Database (GDP based on Purchasing Power Parity). Accessed on November 11, 2022

International Trade Centre, Trade Map. Accessed on November 11, 2022

Investopedia, Net Exports Definition. Accessed on November 11, 2022

Richest Country Reports, Key Statistics Powering Global Wealth. Accessed on November 11, 2022

The Irish Times, Unemployment jumps to over 20% in wake of new restrictions. Accessed on November 11, 2022

Wikipedia, Gross domestic product. Accessed on November 11, 2022

Wikipedia, List of Companies of Ireland. Accessed on November 11, 2022

Wikipedia, Purchasing power parity. Accessed on November 11, 2022

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A distinct entity from Northern Ireland since it is part of the United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland has sold US$146.4 billion in export products via international markets after 8 months into 2022 (from January to August). That dollar metric suggests that the annualized export sales for Ireland will be an estimated $219.6 billion for 2022, up about 15.6% year over year.

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Irish Export by Country in the Last 20 Years

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1. What were the most popular imports to Ireland in 2022?

2. Who did Ireland mostly import from in 2022?

3. How much did the goods imported from the United Kingdom cost in total in 2022?

4. In 2020, where in the world did Ireland rank in terms of imports?

5. What do you think Ireland imports the most?

6. In your opinion, based on the data researched above, do you think Ireland is performing highly in terms of the import market?

Exports
1. What were the most popular exports out of Ireland in 2022?

2. Who did Ireland export the most to in 2022?

3. How much goods/services did Ireland export to the USA in 2022?

4. In 2020, where in the world did Ireland rank in terms of exports?

5. What are Irelands top 3 exports as of 2021?

6. In your opinion, based on the data researched above, do you think Ireland is performing highly in terms of the export market?

Brexit
1. In what year did Brexit officially happen?

2. What new opportunities does Brexit allow for Ireland?

3. In Europe who do Ireland trade with the most?

4. What reasons do Ireland have to trade with Belgium?

5. Why would Ireland not continue the majority of their trading with the UK?

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The UK was the biggest source of imports in 2020, with imports of €20 billion.

Imports of mineral fuels, petroleum and related materials were €1.8 billion. Imports of food and beverages from the UK were €4.3 billion in value, and imports of machinery and transport equipment were €4.5 billion.

There were €13.5 billion of imports from the USA in 2020, including imports of chemicals and related goods of €3.7 billion, and imports of machinery and transport equipment to the value of €6.6 billion.

France, Germany and China made up the remaining top 5 import partners.

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Top Trading Partners - CSO - Central Statistics Office

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The UK was the biggest source of imports in 2020, with imports of €20 billion. Imports of mineral fuels, petroleum and related materials were €1.8 billion. Imports of food and beverages from the UK were €4.3 billion in value, and imports of machinery and transport equipment were €4.5 billion.