Press Release Statistical Yearbook of Ireland 2012

The Statistical Yearbook of Ireland 2012 is being published today by the Central Statistics Office (CSO). The Yearbook presents a comprehensive picture of Ireland today. It provides detailed information, tables and graphs across a wide range of topics. These include the population, labour force, education, crime, the economy, agriculture, industry, services, prices, housing, knowledge economy and the environment.

People

• The total for the population enumerated on census night 10 April 2011 was 4,588,252 persons, compared with 4,239,848 persons in April 2006, representing an increase of 8.2% in five years.

• The number of divorced persons increased from 59,534 to 87,770 between 2006 and 2011, a rise of 47.4%.

• There were 74,650 births registered in 2011, a decrease of 326 from 2010.

• The most popular babies’ names in 2011 were Jack (unchanged from 2007) and Emily.

Work

• The number of persons in employment decreased from 1.859 million in 2010 to 1.821 million in 2011.

• The number of persons unemployed in 2011 was 304,500 compared with 293,600 in 2010, an increase of 3.7%.

• The greatest decreases in average weekly earnings were recorded in the Construction (-13.4%) and the Arts, entertainment, recreation and other service activities (-12.7%) sectors.

• Annual average earnings for 2011 were €35,924 across all economic sectors, a decrease of €193 over the 2010 figure of €36,117.

Economy and Finance

• In 2011, GNP in constant prices decreased by 2.5% compared with 2010. The General Government Balance was a deficit of €20,158m in 2011 compared with a record deficit of €48,426m in 2010.

• The average rate of inflation for 2011 was +2.6%, up from -1.0% in 2010.

• The national Residential Property Price Index fell by 13.2% in 2011.

• Exports for 2011 were €92,936m, up 4% from 2010, while imports were €48,238m, up 5%. This resulted in a trade surplus of €44,697m (+3%), the highest annual surplus on record.

Social Conditions, Health and Education

• The number of recipients of Jobseeker’s Supports increased by 161.4% between 2003 and 2011, while the number receiving Illness, Disability and Caring payments rose by 37.1% during the same period.

• The number of people killed on the roads in 2010 was 212, down by 26 (10.9%) compared with the 2009 figure of 238.

• In 2011, 32.6% of those aged between 15-64 had a third level qualification.

• In 2010 the deprivation rate (those experiencing two or more types of enforced deprivation) was almost 23% compared with just over 17% in 2009.

Building and Construction

• The number of planning permissions granted for new dwellings decreased from 6,347 to 4,744 between 2010 and 2011, a fall of 25.3%.

Knowledge Economy

• In 2011 there were 5.5 million mobile phone subscriptions in Ireland. The average revenue per user dropped from €34 per month to €30 over the period 2010 to 2011.

Agriculture and Environment

• Between 2005 and 2011 agricultural output prices rose by 27.8%, while input prices rose by 29.2%.

• In June 2011 there were 6.5 million cattle, 4.8 million sheep and 1.5 million pigs.

• The total number of registered vehicles increased by 136.9% over the period 1990-2008, before declining by 3.3% between 2008 and 2010. Road transport related CO2 emissions followed a similar pattern, increasing by 193.3% from 1990-2007 before falling by 20.4% in the 2007-2010 period.

Crime

• In 2010 over 40% of burglaries were recorded in the Dublin Metropolitan Region.

• In 2011 there were 13,894 Gardaí, down from 14,377 in 2010.

Tourism and Transport

• Overseas visits made by Irish residents fell by 5.1% in 2010 to 6,660,000 compared with 2009.

• Expenditure in Ireland (excluding fares) by overseas visitors declined by 12.7% between 2009 and 2010, from €3,410 million to €2,976 million.

• Driving tests conducted in 2010 totalled 116,825 - an overall pass rate of 51% was achieved.

• Of the 86,932 new private cars licensed for the first time in 2011, 23,246 (27%) were petrol and 61,730 (71%) were diesel.

The CSO wishes to thank all the departments, agencies and individuals who have helped in supplying data for the Yearbook, including those in Northern Ireland who have provided material for the Appendix.

The full text of the Statistical Yearbook is available free of charge on the CSO website at:

Statistical Yearbook of Ireland 2012 Edition

The Statistical Yearbook may be purchased from:

The Central Statistics Office, Information Section, Skehard Road, Cork

Government Publications Sales Office, Sun Alliance House, Molesworth Street, Dublin 2 or through any bookseller.

For further information, contact: Eamonn Dorney 021 453 5036. Fax 021 453 5555. e-mail: information@cso.ie

Central Statistics Office                                                                    31 October 2012

– ENDS –