Business in Ireland 2021 – Detailed Results

Multinationals play an important role in the economy of many countries. Increasingly, multinationals create a physical presence in several countries around the world to maximise their global earnings.

This chapter presents statistics on the activities of the affiliates of Irish multinationals abroad and the contribution made by the affiliates of foreign-owned multinationals in Ireland. For detailed information on Irish Multinationals Abroad please visit the Outward Foreign Affiliates Statistics 2021 release.

Foreign-owned Multinationals in Ireland

In 2021, there were 12,436 foreign-owned multinational enterprises in Ireland, which represented just 3.4% of total enterprises in the Irish Business Economy, but they generated 72% of both total turnover (€798.8bn) and total GVA (€266.7bn). They employed 28.2% of the total number of persons employed in the Business Economy. These foreign-owned multinationals were 26.1% EU owned and 73.9% non-EU owned.

Industry was dominated by foreign-owned enterprises in 2021, producing 89.9% of GVA and 89.0% of turnover, the bulk of which came from enterprises that were owned outside the EU. There were 1,135 foreign-owned multinationals, which represented 5.5% of all Industrial enterprises and accounted for almost half (49.0%) of persons employed.

Foreign-owned Construction enterprises represented just 1.1% of enterprises, 8.1% of persons employed, 18.6% of turnover, and 19.5% of GVA in the sector.

In the Distribution sector, which includes Retail & Wholesale Trade, 1,924 (3.7%) of enterprises were foreign-owned in 2021. These enterprises employed 29.7% of all persons employed and contributed 57.6% of turnover and 47.2% of GVA in the sector.

Just 3.7% of all Service sector enterprises in Ireland in 2021 were foreign-owned but they employed 25.8% of persons employed in the sector. These foreign-owned enterprises in the Services sector accounted for 68.6% of turnover and 62.4% of GVA.

Irish Multinationals Abroad

For detailed information on Irish Multinationals Abroad please visit the Outward Foreign Affiliates Statistics 2021 release.

In 2021 Irish multinationals abroad generated turnover of €263.0 billion. Affiliates in the United States (€96.9bn) and the United Kingdom (€38.5bn) combined, accounted for 51.5% of total turnover in Irish multinationals abroad. Germany, France, and the Netherlands accounted for 10.9% (€28.7bn) of total turnover.

There were more than 1.24 million persons employed in Irish multinationals abroad in 2021, with almost a third (31.5%) employed in the United States and the United Kingdom combined. There were more than 38,300 people employed in Irish affiliates in China, followed by 37,900 in Germany, 32,700 in Brazil, and 28,400 in Italy.

In 2021, Manufacturing accounted for 32.9% of turnover In Irish multinationals abroad, followed by Services (30.2%), Distribution (29.6%), and Other sectors (7.3%).

Services dominated employment in Irish multinationals abroad, accounting for 59.4% of persons employed. Manufacturing accounted for 22.9% of persons employed, while Distribution and Other sectors employed 15.3% and 2.4% respectively.