Einar H. Dyvik
Research expert covering Nordics and global data for society, economy, and politics
The Irish economy - Statistics & Facts
In 2024, the gross domestic product of the Republic of Ireland was estimated to be 577.22 billion U.S. dollars. Compared with 2023, the economy is expected to have grown by approximately 1.2 percent. Quarterly estimates for the first quarter of 2025 put Ireland's GDP at 144.6 billion Euros, an increase of 9.7 percent when compared with the previous quarter. Among European countries Ireland was the twelfth-biggest economy in 2023, slightly bigger than Austria but smaller than Sweden. Ireland's strong economic performance in recent years is largely due to its attractive business climate, with one of the lowest corporation tax rates in Europe, and a well-educated, English speaking population that is part of the European Single Market. The high number of multinational corporations in Ireland does, however, inflate the size of the Irish economy substantially. Due to this, a modified Gross National Income indicator is produced which put the value of the Irish economy at 290 billion euros in 2023.
Inflation remains low in 2025
Ireland, along with many other countries, recently experienced a wave of significantly high inflation. Between October 2020 and October 2022, the consumer price index for Ireland increased from a rate of -1.5 percent, to a peak of 9.2 percent. Inflation did, however, fall throughout 2023, and by August 2024, had fallen to below two percent, and as of May 2025 was just 1.7 percent. This bout of high inflation was driven by a huge increase in the prices of food and housing costs, such as energy. Even though the upward-pressure on food and energy prices eased somewhat in 2023, core inflation (which excludes food and energy prices) remained elevated well into 2024, with inflation high in many other sectors of the economy. Although wage growth has been consistent in Ireland, the period of high inflation likely meant that living standards have fallen recently. In late 2024, for example, 39 percent of people surveyed in Ireland thought that inflation and the cost of living was an important issue facing the country.The Irish labor market
In early 2025, there were around 2.8 million people employed in the Republic of Ireland, corresponding to an employment rate of 74.7 percent. Although unemployment rose in the immediate aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been a clear trend of falling unemployment since 2021. As of May 2025, 118,600 people were unemployed, resulting in an unemployment rate of just four percent. Job vacancies in Ireland also remain quite high, at 29,700 vacancies in early 2025, which although down from a peak of 35,300 in 2022, is high relative to previous years, with concerns about unemployment remaining quite low for Irish adults.
