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 Statistical Yearbook of Ireland 2013

 

The Statistical Yearbook of Ireland 2013 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

  • Census 2011 results show that Ireland’s population has continued to grow strongly since Census 2006, increasing by 348,404 persons to 4,588,252 persons. This represents an increase of 8.2% over the 5 year inter-censal period, an annual average increase of 1.6%.
  • The number of divorces granted by the Circuit Court and the High Court in 2012 was 2,892, an increase of 73 on the 2011 figure.
  • There were 72,225 births registered in 2012, 37,210 males and 35,015 females. This was a decrease of 2,425 from 74,650 births registered in 2011.
  • The most popular babies’ names in 2012 were Jack (unchanged from 2007) and Emily.

 

Work

  • The number of persons in employment decreased from 1.861 million in 2011 to 1.836 million in 2012.
  • The number of persons unemployed in 2012 was 323,000 compared with 317,400 in 2011, an increase of 1.8%.
  • The greatest decreases in average weekly earnings were recorded in the Education (-6.0%) and Professional, scientific and technical activities (-4.3%) sectors.
  • Annual average earnings for 2012 were €36,079 across all economic sectors, an increase of €174 over the 2011 figure of €35,905.

 

Economy and Finance

  • In 2012, GNP in constant prices increased by 1.8% compared with 2011. A General Government Deficit of €12,460 million or 7.6% of GDP was recorded in 2012, significantly lower than the 2011 GG Deficit of €21,267 million or 13.1% of GDP.
  • The annual average rate of inflation for 2012 was +1.7%, down from +2.6% in 2011.
  • The national Residential Property Price Index fell by 11.5% in 2012.
  • Exports for 2012 were €92,009m, up 1% from 2011, while Imports were €49,024m, up 1.5%. This resulted in a trade surplus of €42,985m up marginally (0.2%) from 2011.

 

Social Conditions, Health and Education

  • Social Welfare expenditure has increased from 8.9% of Gross National Product in 2002 to 15.6% in 2012.
  • The number of people killed on the roads in 2011 was 186, down by 26 (12.3%) compared with the 2010 figure of 212.
  • In 2012, 33.9% of those aged between 15-64 had a third level qualification.
  • In 2011 the deprivation rate (those experiencing two or more types of enforced deprivation) was almost 25% compared with almost 23% in 2010.

 

Building and Construction

  • The number of planning permissions granted for new dwellings decreased from 4,744 to 3,643 between 2011 and 2012, a fall of 23.2%.

 

Knowledge Economy

  • In 2012, holiday accommodation (28%), other travel arrangements (30%) and tickets for events (27%) were the most popular types of goods and services purchased using the internet.

 

Agriculture and Environment

  • The total area farmed in 2012 was 4.5 million hectares. Crops, fruit and horticulture accounted for 8% of that area, silage for 24%, hay for 4%, pasture for 53% and rough grazing for 11%.
  • In June 2012 there were 6.8 million cattle, 5.2 million sheep and 1.6 million pigs.
  • The total number of registered vehicles increased by 136.9% over the period 1990-2008, before declining by 2.9% between 2008 and 2011. Road transport related CO2 emissions followed a similar pattern,  increasing by193.3% from 1990-2007 before falling by 22.3% in the 2007-2011 period.

 

Housing and Households

  • In 2011 there were 1,994,845 permanent dwellings or housing units in the State. Of these, 1,649,408 were occupied by persons usually resident in the State. The overall vacancy rate in 2011, including holiday homes, was 14.5%.
  • The number of households in rented accommodation increased by 47% to 474,788 in 2011, up from 323,007 in 2006. Home ownership rates have fallen from 74.7% in 2006 to 69.7% in 2011.

 

Crime

  • In 2012, 47% of prison sentences ranged from 1 to 5 years.
  • In 2012 there were 13,424 Gardaí, a drop of 3.4% from 2011.

 

Tourism and Transport

  • Total expenditure on domestic trips by Irish residents in 2012 amounted to €1,345.4 million, of which almost €785 million was spent on holidays.
  • The average length of stay by overseas travellers to Ireland fell marginally between 2011 and 2012, from 7.7 nights to 7.4 nights.
  • The number of new private cars licensed for the first time fell by 12.3% in 2012 compared with 2011.
  • Irish registered goods vehicles carried 110 million tonnes of goods by road in 2011 which was 12% less than 2010.

 

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 Complete Edition (PDF 1,882KB)

 

The Statistical Yearbook may be purchased from:

 

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

 

Government Publications Sales Office, Phone 01-6476834, fax 01-6476843

 

or through any bookseller

 

For further information, contact Eamonn Dorney. Phone 021-4535036, fax 021-4535555, email information@cso.ie.

 

 

Central Statistics Office                                                              31 October 2013

 

 

 –ENDS–