Tá leagan Gaeilge den leathanch seo ar fáil. Féach Preasráiteas - Éire san AE le 50 Bliain - An tAthrú Geilleagrach agus Sóisialta in Éirinn 1973-2023.
The Central Statistics Office (CSO) has today (17 October 2023) released.
Ireland joined the European Economic Community (ECC) on 01 January 1973 alongside the United Kingdom and Denmark, bringing the total membership at that time to nine. Over the last 50 years, Ireland has been transformed from an island on the periphery of Europe to a valued and prosperous member of the EU, which now has 27 member states.
This release charts some of the changes in Ireland’s economic and social history to mark this 50-year milestone ahead of European Statistics Day on 20 October. Although not all changes can be attributed to our membership of the EU, it has been a significant factor when looking at economic and social progress in Ireland.
Using data to chart some of these changes, we can see that Agriculture accounted for 24% of the workforce in 1973, compared with just 4% in 2022. The Services sector made up 45% of the workforce in 1973, which had grown to 77% in 2022. The amount of money people earned has also changed significantly, with nominal average weekly earnings of industrial workers at IR£30.12 (€38.25) in 1973 and were €825.01 in 2022.
The average cost of a residential property in 1973 was IR£7,095 (€9,009) compared with €318,000 as of June 2023. The chapter on residential property prices charts the changing prices throughout each of the decades and we can see that average prices remained below €90,000 even up until the 1990s, then climbed to €267,589 in the 2000s linked to the Celtic Tiger economy, but fell to €244,917 in the 2010s before starting to rise again.
The Consumer Price Index (CPI) and the basket of goods selected tells its own story. In the 1970s, the CSO collected data on the price of a gin and tonic and vodka and white lemonade as a lounge bar sale, most likely due to the fact that many pubs would only allow women to drink in the lounge section of their bar. Now the CSO only collects the price of a measure of the spirit as sold in a bar. It is interesting to note that the price of a bottle of wine was only collected in 1975 as a restaurant-only sale.
Looking at the area of communications, the basket of goods for the CPI in 1975 collected the price of a telephone call and sending a telegram, while now it collects the costs of mobile phones and broadband services.
Social changes can likewise be charted through the choice of baby names. In 1973 John and Mary were the most popular names for girls and boys and remained at the top until the 1980s. By 2022 there were 36 boys named John, and Jack had become the most popular choice, while there were 87 girls called Mary in 2022 and Emily had claimed the top spot. The diversity in the choice of names has increased significantly over that time, with more than 2,500 unique names in 1972 registered and almost 9,000 in 2022.
It is interesting to note that Ford was the most popular car make licensed in 1972 but no longer features in the top 5, having been replaced by Toyota and Hyundai. In 1972, only one Toyota was licensed that year, while in 2022 more than 15,000 were licensed. Two Porsches were registered and licensed for the first time in 1972, while in 2022, there were 376.
Our economic fortunes have also changed dramatically as evidenced by the dramatic change in the Balance of Trade in Goods which went from -IR£268 million (-€340 million) in 1973 to +€67.6 billion in 2022. Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in real terms in the year 2022 was more than 10 times that of 1973.
Part of our economic success can be attributed to our educated workforce. There were 181,039 persons in full-time third level education in 2016-2017, up 583% on the 1972-1973 academic year when 26,490 students attended college. The most recent figures indicate that Ireland is now joint second highest in Europe in terms of third level educational attainment.
For more on social and economic change in Ireland from 1973-2023 and a snapshot graphic of some of those changes, please see the full publication.
The Press Statement was updated on Tuesday 17 October 2023 to reflect that Ford is still among the top 10 most popular car brands in Ireland in 2022.
| Colette Keane | (+353) 21 453 5564 |
|---|---|
| Moira Buckley | (+353) 21 453 5028 |
| pressoffice@cso.ie |
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Editor's Note
Comparing the data over this time period has been an interesting project. Some of the data dating back to the 1970s and 1980s was accessed in the CSO’s archive of annuals. The chapter choices in this publication reflect the availability of data dating back 50 years.
Methodology, collection methods, and terminology have continually evolved which means we may not be able to make some direct comparisons or instead use a time series which falls outside the strict remit of this 50-year look back. For example, while alcohol, cigarettes, and fuel were recorded in the 1973 basket of goods, national average prices for these items were only published from 1983 onwards and therefore it is difficult to compare actual prices from 1973 with now.