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International Accounts Q3 2021

Balance of International Payments

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Current account balance of €23bn in Quarter 3 2021

Table 1.1 Balance of International Payments				€ million
	Merchandise Balance	Services and Income Balance	Current Account Balance	Current Account Balance as % of GDP
Q3 2020	37,895	-22,608	15,287	15.1
Q3 2021	45,728	-22,469	23,259	20.4

Q1-Q3 2020	109,828	-130,611	-20,782	-7.5
Q1-Q3 2021	131,666	-74,373	57,292	18.1

Open in Excel: International Accounts Q3 2021 Table 1.1 (XLS 10KB)

The Balance of Payments current account, a measure of Ireland’s economic flows with the rest of the world, showed a surplus of €23bn in the third quarter of 2021. Increased Goods for processing exports have contributed to the current account surplus.

	Current Account
Q2 2019	-39.588582343147
Q3 2019	12.465483158424
Q4 2019	-63.5161880916754
Q1 2020	-49.2835487394886
Q2 2020	11.6541962287259
Q3 2020	15.1416633507514
Q4 2020	11.5649766415266
Q1 2021	18.7554005669862
Q2 2021	14.9107252837727
Q3 2021	20.3856468139779

	Merchandise	Services	Primary Income	Secondary Income	Balance on Current Account
Q2 2019	27.129	-38.748	-21.285	-0.628	-33.532
Q3 2019	31.248	1.313	-20.094	-0.852	11.616
Q4 2019	29.188	-68.463	-18.838	-0.66	-58.773
Q1 2020	37.656	-61.58	-20.951	-1.05	-45.924
Q2 2020	34.277	-1.664	-21.784	-0.974	9.855
Q3 2020	37.895	6.842	-28.722	-0.728	15.287
Q4 2020	35.124	-5.498	-17.703	-1.034	10.89
Q1 2021	43.658	4.953	-28.305	-1.265	19.04
Q2 2021	42.28	2.945	-29.252	-0.98	14.993
Q3 2021	45.728	4.805	-26.597	-0.677	23.259

Other points of note in the Quarter 3 2021 results are:

Current account (see Table 1.3)

Merchandise exports were €72,264m in the third quarter of 2021, an increase of €10,915m compared with the third quarter of 2020. Merchandise imports were €26,536m in the third quarter of 2021, an increase of €3,082m over the same period in 2020.
Service exports at €71,418m increased by €13,600m compared to the third quarter of 2020, mainly due to higher Computer services exports (which increased by €9,948m).
Service imports at €66,613m were up €15,638m over the same period in 2020, mainly due to higher Royalty imports.
Ireland’s trade balance at €50,533m, all goods and services exports less all goods and services imports, increased by €5,796m in the third quarter of 2021 over the same period in 2020.
Investment income earned abroad at €24,624m, increased by €1,901m compared with one year earlier while investment income payable to foreign investors at €51,429m decreased by €284m. The overall income balance for the quarter at -€27,274m increased by €2,176m compared with the same period in 2020.

	Direct Investment	Portfolio Investment	Other Investment	Reserve Assets	Balance on Financial Account
Q2 2019	-53.151	-17.922	17.619	0.116	-53.339
Q3 2019	-2.461	-8.325	12.318	0.144	1.677
Q4 2019	-59.467	31.046	-30.496	0.169	-58.748
Q1 2020	-52.356	-85.894	79.837	0.139	-58.274
Q2 2020	-58.414	48.251	10.867	-0.014	0.689
Q3 2020	-6.514	0.883	16.066	0.76	11.196
Q4 2020	7.085	16.074	-11.948	0.41	11.621
Q1 2021	22.855	12.427	-23.254	0.173	12.201
Q2 2021	3.693	-0.641	17.67	0.072	20.794
Q3 2021	-11.444	-2.057	22.402	4.081	12.982

Financial account (see Tables 1.4 and 1.5)

Direct investment in Ireland decreased by €2,454m in the third quarter of 2021. This was due to decreased other capital of €12,751m and decreased equity investment of €1,811m which were offset by increased reinvested earnings of €12,108m. Direct investment abroad decreased by €13,898m in the quarter, mainly due to decreased reinvested earnings and other capital investment abroad while equity investment abroad increased by €4,012m.
Portfolio investment in foreign assets increased by €50,394m in the quarter due to increased investment in both foreign equity of €24,298m and foreign debt instruments of €26,096m. Portfolio investment in Ireland increased by €52,451m, mainly due to increased purchase of Irish equity of €43,844m. Investment in Irish debt was €8,607m.
Other investment assets and liabilities increased by €24,378m and €1,976m respectively in the third quarter of 2021.

Table 1.2 Summary of Current, Capital and Financial Account Balances

Table 1.2 Summary of Current, Capital and Financial Account Balances														€ million
Period							Balance on Current Account	Balance on Capital Account	Direct Investment	Portfolio Investment	Other² Investment	Reserve Assets	Balance on Financial Account	Net errors and omissions
		Merchandise¹	services and income balance
			Services	Primary Income	Secondary Income	Total
2002	Year	36,982	-13,619	-21,910	-1,116	-36,645	337	588	-19,444	37,979	-19,425	-343	-1,233	-2,158
2003	Year	32,954	-10,903	-20,035	-1,303	-32,241	713	445	-15,270	39,977	-22,751	-1,770	186	-972
2004	Year	34,588	-12,141	-21,345	-1,255	-34,741	-153	355	23,095	-14,287	-12,170	-1,177	-4,539	-4,741
2005	Year	32,184	-13,655	-22,786	-1,769	-38,210	-6,026	340	37,660	-52,698	15,364	-1,472	-1,147	4,539
2006	Year	27,194	-12,313	-22,723	-2,063	-37,099	-9,905	299	15,841	-8,135	-16,635	-87	-9,016	590
2007	Year	28,698	-12,384	-26,630	-2,510	-41,524	-12,826	115	-1,621	7,283	-20,086	12	-14,413	-1,702
2008	Year	32,622	-16,468	-25,141	-2,729	-44,339	-11,716	119	23,288	45,749	-85,932	78	-16,817	-5,220
2009	Year	38,752	-15,823	-27,885	-2,948	-46,656	-7,904	14	-245	-22,626	19,433	-79	-3,517	4,373
2010	Year	41,288	-13,421	-27,178	-2,701	-43,300	-2,012	91	-16,318	-85,965	90,883	-5	-11,404	-9,484
2011	Year	41,257	-9,096	-32,312	-2,660	-44,067	-2,810	234	-18,698	-26,908	31,086	-329	-14,849	-12,272
2012	Year	36,896	-6,282	-33,939	-2,609	-42,830	-5,934	86	-20,497	-767	10,952	-12	-10,324	-4,476
2013	Year	34,506	-718	-28,069	-2,931	-31,718	2,787	-936	-16,137	35,737	-15,467	10	4,143	2,289
2014	Year	40,731	-5,546	-30,341	-2,750	-38,637	2,093	-6,769	-5,279	-27,862	20,506	136	-12,498	-7,824
2015	Year	113,394	-37,715	-60,785	-3,338	-101,838	11,556	-1,303	-44,510	-88,281	138,621	494	6,321	-3,930
2016	Year	106,088	-63,735	-49,912	-3,813	-117,460	-11,373	-4,331	-8,430	27,711	-29,073	1,456	-8,335	7,368
2017	Year	109,119	-43,491	-61,063	-3,106	-107,660	1,457	-25,855	-48,583	-57,643	89,127	399	-16,700	7,697
2018	Year	109,446	-16,342	-73,440	-3,656	-93,438	16,007	-52,019	14,540	37,841	-93,670	762	-40,525	-4,514
2019	Year	118,116	-105,564	-79,838	-3,486	-188,888	-70,772	-35,310	-104,826	10,153	-7,674	422	-101,925	4,156
2020	Year	144,952	-61,900	-89,160	-3,786	-154,846	-9,892	-15,526	-110,199	-20,686	94,822	1,295	-34,768	-9,349

2015	Quarter 1	26,790	-5,794	-16,013	-986	-22,793	3,998	-707	38,272	-72,519	36,581	108	2,441	-849
	Quarter 2	26,894	-8,024	-11,422	-794	-20,240	6,654	-226	-2,591	13,757	-9,476	307	1,996	-4,432
	Quarter 3	29,755	-7,431	-17,792	-593	-25,816	3,939	100	9,983	-17,663	14,477	-24	6,773	2,735
	Quarter 4	29,955	-16,466	-15,558	-965	-32,989	-3,035	-470	-90,174	-11,856	97,039	103	-4,889	-1,384
2016	Quarter 1	27,290	-14,564	-11,001	-1,020	-26,585	705	-2,670	12,279	-7,497	1,420	1,095	7,297	9,262
	Quarter 2	24,440	-16,885	-11,342	-768	-28,995	-4,555	-586	-293	2,933	-14,069	-224	-11,653	-6,513
	Quarter 3	26,315	-12,294	-14,425	-820	-27,539	-1,224	161	-10,522	10,385	-7,662	379	-7,420	-6,357
	Quarter 4	28,043	-19,992	-13,144	-1,205	-34,341	-6,299	-1,236	-9,894	21,890	-8,762	206	3,441	10,976
2017	Quarter 1	25,187	-3,437	-15,139	-616	-19,192	5,994	-8,538	-2,307	-15,609	6,190	-101	-11,827	-9,283
	Quarter 2	24,546	-38,743	-16,392	-1,170	-56,305	-31,759	-12,079	-21,375	-41,427	28,371	163	-34,268	9,570
	Quarter 3	28,663	260	-13,902	-626	-14,268	14,395	-4,640	6,488	452	6,860	235	14,035	4,279
	Quarter 4	30,723	-1,571	-15,630	-694	-17,895	12,827	-598	-31,389	-1,059	47,706	102	15,360	3,131
2018	Quarter 1	28,481	632	-18,056	-974	-18,398	10,082	-109	15,545	19,454	-34,009	4	995	-8,979
	Quarter 2	28,125	-41	-17,298	-1,060	-18,399	9,726	59	10,072	-15,921	19,446	-8	13,589	3,804
	Quarter 3	27,339	1,279	-17,611	-830	-17,162	10,177	63	11,198	8,377	-16,084	196	3,688	-6,553
	Quarter 4	25,501	-18,212	-20,475	-792	-39,479	-13,978	-52,032	-22,275	25,931	-63,023	570	-58,797	7,214
2019	Quarter 1	30,551	334	-19,621	-1,346	-20,633	9,917	-6,936	10,253	5,354	-7,115	-7	8,485	5,504
	Quarter 2	27,129	-38,748	-21,285	-628	-60,661	-33,532	-17,385	-53,151	-17,922	17,619	116	-53,339	-2,422
	Quarter 3	31,248	1,313	-20,094	-852	-19,633	11,616	-5,093	-2,461	-8,325	12,318	144	1,677	-4,847
	Quarter 4	29,188	-68,463	-18,838	-660	-87,961	-58,773	-5,896	-59,467	31,046	-30,496	169	-58,748	5,921
2020	Quarter 1	37,656	-61,580	-20,951	-1,050	-83,581	-45,924	-3,846	-52,356	-85,894	79,837	139	-58,274	-8,504
	Quarter 2	34,277	-1,664	-21,784	-974	-24,422	9,855	-7,085	-58,414	48,251	10,867	-14	689	-2,081
	Quarter 3	37,895	6,842	-28,722	-728	-22,608	15,287	-1,298	-6,514	883	16,066	760	11,196	-2,793
	Quarter 4	35,124	-5,498	-17,703	-1,034	-24,235	10,890	-3,297	7,085	16,074	-11,948	410	11,621	4,029
2021	Quarter 1	43,658	4,953	-28,305	-1,265	-24,617	19,040	-178	22,855	12,427	-23,254	173	12,201	-6,661
	Quarter 2	42,280	2,945	-29,252	-980	-27,287	14,993	-92	3,693	-641	17,670	72	20,794	5,893
	Quarter 3	45,728	4,805	-26,597	-677	-22,469	23,259	-342	-11,444	-2,057	22,402	4,081	12,982	-9,934
¹Adjusted for balance of payments purposes.
²Includes financial derivatives and also life insurance liabilities to non-residents. Occasionally includes large capital transactions which cannot be shown in the Capital Account Balance due to confidentiality constraints.

Open in Excel: International Accounts Q3 2021 Table 1.2 (XLS 17KB)

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Table 1.3 Current and Capital Accounts

Table 1.3 Current and Capital Accounts										€ million
		2019	2020	2020				2021
Item		Year	Year	Quarter 1	Quarter 2	Quarter 3	Quarter 4	Quarter 1	Quarter 2	Quarter 3
Current Account
Merchandise¹	Exports	225,944	244,809	62,528	57,033	61,349	63,899	68,821	69,057	72,264
	Imports	107,828	99,856	24,872	22,756	23,454	28,774	25,164	26,777	26,536

International trade	Exports	152,535	161,894	44,206	37,848	40,540	39,300	40,454	40,366	40,516
	Imports	87,486	83,022	20,894	17,714	19,659	24,755	20,583	25,091	22,779
Goods for processing	Exports	66,264	73,945	14,737	16,728	18,535	23,945	25,257	21,162	27,410
	Imports	16,394	14,851	3,230	4,722	3,322	3,577	4,114	1,854	4,228
Other conceptual adjustments	Exports	-6,813	-5,901	-83	-884	-1,316	-3,618	-2290	-1986	-2805
	Imports	3,948	1,983	747	320	474	442	466	-168	-472
Merchanting (net export)	Exports	13,960	14,873	3,668	3,342	3,591	4,272	5,400	9,516	7,143

Services	Exports	230,152	244,069	55,756	55,356	57,818	75,139	62,212	68,818	71,418
	Imports	335,716	305,968	117,336	57,021	50,975	80,636	57,259	65,873	66,613
Repairs and Processing	Exports	2,049	2,707	609	695	696	707	560	379	411
	Imports	6,261	7,377	1,530	1,874	1,586	2,387	1,963	1,849	1,953
Transport	Exports	8,041	2,535	1,088	298	806	343	162	278	1,188
	Imports	4,236	3,914	987	956	901	1,070	1,053	1,099	1,128
Tourism and Travel ²	Exports	5,786	1,645	769	277	313	286	125	144	226
	Imports	7,374	2,072	1,227	193	299	353	114	160	311
Insurance	Exports	10,271	11,284	2,767	2,658	2,731	3,128	3,145	3,144	3,328
	Imports	8,361	9,282	2,479	2,299	2,056	2,448	2,499	2,608	2,467
Financial services	Exports	17,620	19,129	3,936	4,350	4,973	5,870	5,491	5,631	5,568
	Imports	15,686	16,943	3,691	4,009	4,281	4,962	4,537	4,764	4,742
Royalties/Licences	Exports	10,482	13,085	2,723	2,847	3,004	4,511	2,761	3,568	3,720
	Imports	85,851	84,421	18,935	18,468	16,200	30,818	22,461	26,283	27,641
of which: Pharmaceutical products and preparations	Exports	140	118	20	30	23	45	25	44	36
	Imports	21,940	14,391	2,936	3,726	2,936	4,793	3,201	4,795	3,731
Information and communication	Exports	4,784	8,107	1,714	1,672	1,717	3,004	1,685	2,275	2,246
	Imports	50,680	56,855	*	*	*	*	*	*	*
Communications	Exports	484	259	71	63	63	62	60	61	61
	Imports	568	442	108	115	107	112	110	118	122
Computer services³	Exports	118,459	134,182	30,633	30,566	31,858	41,125	36,747	41,289	41,806
	Imports	6,161	6,306	1,471	1,644	1,541	1,650	1,623	1,949	1,954
Business services	Exports	48,106	48,214	11,681	10,682	10,798	15,053	10,298	10,938	12,133
	Imports	199,717	173,741	86,528	27,143	23,628	36,442	22,560	26,660	25,796
Research and development	Exports	5,487	9,198	1,411	1,228	1,137	5,422	1,001	1,053	1,407
	Imports	137,006	104,183	*	10,809	6,705	*	6,625	7,053	7,489
of which: IP related	Exports	933	4,710	*	*	121	*	*	123	*
	Imports	116,004	79,374	*	3,983	699	*	*	*	197
Operational leasing	Exports	19,425	18,122	4,971	4,715	4,261	4,175	4,162	4,161	4,091
	Imports	1,185	1,183	291	291	297	304	311	322	351
Misc. business services⁴	Exports	23,194	20,897	5,299	4,740	5,401	5,457	5,134	5,725	6,636
	Imports	61,525	68,376	*	16,043	16,626	*	15,624	19,285	17,956
Other services n.e.s.	Exports	8,854	11,033	1,479	2,922	2,576	4,056	2,863	3,386	2,979
	Imports	1,500	1,472	381	319	378	394	339	381	498

Merchandise and Services - Total	Exports	456,097	488,878	118,284	112,390	119,167	139,037	131,033	137,875	143,682
	Imports	443,544	405,825	142,207	79,777	74,430	109,411	82,422	92,650	93,149

Trade Balance	Net	12,553	83,054	-23,923	32,613	44,737	29,627	48,611	45,225	50,533

Primary Income	Inflows	110,428	96,204	26,331	22,167	23,161	24,545	29,096	28,679	25,067
	Outflows	190,265	185,365	47,282	43,952	51,883	42,248	57,401	57,932	51,664
Compensation of Employees	Inflows	524	245	131	38	38	38	38	38	38
	Outflows	676	538	181	114	115	128	127	95	112
Investment Income	Inflows	108,314	94,447	25,823	21,765	22,723	24,136	28,681	28,271	24,624
	Outflows	189,116	184,388	47,019	43,639	51,713	42,017	57,149	57,497	51,429
Direct investment income	Inflows	22,562	20,945	5,931	2,520	5,165	7,329	10,211	7,818	4,562
	Outflows	91,727	98,970	24,411	21,441	30,895	22,223	36,614	34,791	29,063

of which: Manufacturing	Outflows	51,990	60,584	14,854	13,064	18,753	13,913	25,413	21,205	20,110
Information and communication	Outflows	21,185	25,759	5,530	5,897	8,505	5,827	8,201	8,313	4,550

Income on equity	Inflows	17,540	18,104	5,026	1,778	4,535	6,765	9,679	7,349	4,094
	Outflows	80,815	87,854	21,654	18,582	27,957	19,661	33,954	32,326	26,593
Dividends & distributed	Inflows	4,217	1,723	271	202	558	692	1,781	801	*
branch profits	Outflows	20,739	24,304	12,235	2,444	4,198	5,427	30,710	9,175	14,485
Reinvested earnings	Inflows	13,323	16,383	4,756	1,576	3,977	6,074	7,898	6,549	*
	Outflows	60,074	63,551	9,420	16,138	23,759	14,234	3,244	23,151	12,108
Income on debt	Inflows	5,022	2,841	905	742	630	564	533	469	468
	Outflows	10,915	11,117	2,757	2,859	2,938	2,563	2,660	2,465	2,470
Portfolio investment income	Inflows	64,862	57,853	15,431	14,914	14,161	13,347	14,876	16,879	16,393
	Outflows	81,164	71,839	19,219	18,454	17,674	16,492	17,187	19,146	19,423
Income on equity	Inflows	20,904	17,447	4,288	4,894	4,528	3,737	5,080	6,999	6,271
	Outflows	63,596	55,018	14,854	14,255	13,563	12,346	13,016	15,050	15,283
Income on debt	Inflows	43,958	40,406	11,143	10,020	9,633	9,610	9,797	9,879	10,122
	Outflows	17,568	16,821	4,365	4,199	4,111	4,146	4,171	4,097	4,140
Other investment income	Inflows	20,890	15,647	4,460	4,331	3,397	3,459	3,594	3,574	3,669
	Outflows	16,224	13,579	3,389	3,744	3,144	3,302	3,348	3,560	2,943
Other primary income	Inflows	1,588	1,512	377	364	400	371	376	370	405
	Outflows	474	438	82	198	55	103	124	340	123

Secondary Income	Inflows	5,182	5,867	1,535	1,407	1,437	1,488	1,254	1,325	1,804
	Outflows	8,668	9,651	2,584	2,381	2,164	2,522	2,519	2,305	2,481

Income Balance	Net	-83,323	-92,946	-22,001	-22,758	-29,450	-18,737	-29,570	-30,233	-27,274

Current Account - Total	Inflows	571,707	590,947	146,149	135,964	143,764	165,070	161,382	167,879	170,553
	Outflows	642,477	600,839	192,073	126,109	128,477	154,180	142,342	152,887	147,294

Current Account Balance	Net	-70,772	-9,892	-45,924	9,855	15,287	10,890	19,040	14,993	23,259

Capital Account Balance	Net	-35,310	-15,526	-3,846	-7,085	-1,298	-3,297	-178	-92	-342

Memorandum Item:
Government Income	Inflows	101	61	14	16	15	16	10	10	13
	Outflows	3,362	2,304	639	584	530	551	791	656	526
¹Adjusted for balance of payments purposes.
²Under the credit item, passenger fare receipts of resident carriers from foreign visitors are excluded; such receipts are included under transport credits - see Background Notes.
³Covers exports and imports of software that were not incorporated as part of computer hardware or physical media but separately transmitted by electronic means. The value of sales and purchases of additional software licences is also included.
⁴Covers mainly advertising and inter-affiliate management charges.

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Table 1.4 Financial Account

Table 1.4 Financial Account¹										€ million
		2019	2020	2020				2021
Item		Year		Quarter 1	Quarter 2	Quarter 3	Quarter 4	Quarter 1	Quarter 2	Quarter 3

Direct Investment	Abroad	28,659	-39,395	-19,929	-9,038	-26,157	15,729	15,414	9,910	-13,898
	In Ireland	133,485	70,803	32,426	49,377	-19,643	8,643	-7,441	6,217	-2,454

Equity	Abroad	110,305	1,195	9,219	306	-21,242	12,912	9,725	1,707	4,012
	In Ireland	11,151	57,027	412	72,518	-4,676	-11,227	166	5,176	-1,811
Reinvested Earnings	Abroad	13,323	16,383	4,756	1,576	3,977	6,074	7,898	6,549	*
	In Ireland	60,074	63,551	9,420	16,138	23,759	14,234	3,244	23,151	12,108
Other Capital	Abroad	-94,970	-56,973	-33,904	-10,920	-8,892	-3,257	-2,209	1,655	*
	In Ireland	62,259	-49,775	22,594	-39,280	-38,726	5,637	-10,852	-22,110	-12,751

Portfolio Investment	Assets	337,400	232,073	-111,058	150,484	47,018	145,629	71,379	89,118	50,394
	Liabilities	327,248	252,758	-25,164	102,233	46,135	129,554	58,952	89,759	52,451

Equity	Assets	84,467	96,234	-12,040	20,852	30,650	56,772	68,971	40,732	24,298
	Liabilities	255,808	180,664	-33,558	68,806	34,378	111,038	44,991	73,571	43,844
Debt Instruments	Assets	252,932	135,838	-99,018	129,632	16,368	88,856	2,407	48,387	26,096
	Liabilities	71,440	72,093	8,393	33,427	11,757	18,516	13,961	16,188	8,607
Bonds and notes	Assets	215,708	87,513	-35,191	27,808	30,251	64,645	21,058	31,619	34,220
	Liabilities	68,519	64,901	5,390	22,242	13,625	23,644	13,050	19,378	9,326
Money market instruments	Assets	37,224	48,325	-63,828	101,824	-13,883	24,212	-18,651	16,768	-8,124
	Liabilities	2,919	7,192	3,003	11,185	-1,868	-5,128	910	-3,190	-719

Other Investment	Assets	122,455	219,368	188,038	-40,302	33,205	38,427	11,227	-16,259	24,378
	Liabilities	130,130	124,547	108,201	-51,169	17,139	50,376	34,482	-33,928	1,976

Loans, currency and deposits	Assets	137,435	181,537	116,539	-22,176	35,923	51,251	1,001	32,442	20,892
	Liabilities	71,378	61,032	59,429	-26,653	-4,219	32,475	39,821	2,264	-5,102
Other²	Assets	-14,980	37,832	71,499	-18,126	-2,718	-12,823	10,226	-48,700	3,486
	Liabilities	58,750	63,514	48,772	-24,516	21,358	17,900	-5,340	-36,193	7,077

Reserve Assets		422	1,295	139	-14	760	410	173	72	4081

Monetary gold		0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	49
Special drawing rights		13	14	2	12	0	0	0	0	4003
Reserve position in the IMF		0	-7	0	-7	0	0	0	0	0
Foreign exchange		66	118	-148	-10	110	166	370	-199	-127
Other		343	1,169	285	-9	650	243	-197	271	156
									0	0
Balance on Financial Account		-101,925	-34,768	-58,274	689	11,196	11,621	12,201	20,794	12,982

Net errors and omissions		4,156	-9,349	-8,504	-2,081	-2,793	4,029	-6,661	5,893	-9,934
Memorandum Item:
Government financial	Assets	-1,895	-130	-1,247	136	-163	1,144	-1,808	-83	-178
transactions	Liabilities	234	237	5,631	9,564	-2,987	-11,971	5,947	-110	-1,414
¹Financial account transactions are categorised under two headings 'Assets' and 'Liabilities' for Portfolio Investment, Other Investment and Reserve Assets. 'For Direct Investment, a 'directional' categorisation is used: 'Abroad' 'indicates direct investment by Irish investors in foreign companies; 'Direct investment into Ireland is indicated by the heading 'In Ireland'.
²Includes financial derivatives; in the case of liabilities this category also includes life insurance liabilities to non-residents. Occasionally includes large capital transactions which cannot be shown in the Capital Account Balance due to confidentiality constraints.

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Table 1.5 – Current, Capital and Financial Account activity classified by Institutional Sector

Table 1.5 – Current, Capital and Financial Account activity classified by Institutional Sector¹										€ million
		2019	2020	2020				2021
Item		Year		Quarter 1	Quarter 2	Quarter 3	Quarter 4	Quarter 1	Quarter 2	Quarter 3
Current Account - Total	Inflows	571,707	590,947	146,149	135,964	143,764	165,070	161,382	167,879	170,553
	Outflows	642,477	600,839	192,073	126,109	128,477	154,180	142,342	152,887	147,294

Merchandise²	Exports	225,944	244,809	62,528	57,033	61,349	63,899	68,821	69,057	72,264
	Imports	107,828	99,856	24,872	22,756	23,454	28,774	25,164	26,777	26,536

Services	Exports	230,152	244,069	55,756	55,356	57,818	75,139	62,212	68,818	71,418
	Imports	335,716	305,968	117,336	57,021	50,975	80,636	57,259	65,873	66,613

General Government	Exports	461	449	114	112	109	114	117	107	118
	Imports	30	26	7	6	6	7	7	7	7
Monetary Authority ³	Exports	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
	Imports	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Monetary Financial Institutions⁴	Exports	4,169	4,947	1,125	1,066	1,311	1,445	1,480	1,438	1,433
	Imports	3,062	3,160	836	783	765	776	713	697	676
Other Sectors⁵	Exports	225,523	238,672	54,517	54,178	56,397	73,580	60,615	67,273	69,868
	Imports	332,624	302,781	116,492	56,231	50,204	79,854	56,538	65,169	65,930
of which:
Other Financial Intermediaries	Exports	28,889	30,750	7,194	7,239	7,606	8,711	8,735	8,890	8,977
	Imports	28,762	30,633	7,311	7,302	7,477	8,543	8,434	8,769	8,482
Non-Financial Companies⁶	Exports	196,633	207,921	47,323	46,938	48,791	64,869	51,880	58,384	60,891
	Imports	303,862	272,149	109,181	48,930	42,727	71,311	48,104	56,400	57,448

Primary Income	Inflows	110,428	96,204	26,331	22,167	23,161	24,545	29,096	28,679	25,067
	Outflows	190,265	185,365	47,282	43,952	51,883	42,248	57,401	57,932	51,664

General Government	Inflows	101	61	14	16	15	16	10	10	13
	Outflows	3,362	2,304	639	584	530	551	791	656	526
Monetary Authority ³	Inflows	417	361	96	92	89	84	81	74	67
	Outflows	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Monetary Financial Institutions⁴	Inflows	10,113	2,981	1,548	1,260	465	-292	487	323	295
	Outflows	9,647	3,811	1,972	1,013	502	324	228	381	229
Other Sectors⁵	Inflows	99,795	92,802	24,673	20,800	22,593	24,736	28,518	28,273	24,692
	Outflows	177,255	179,249	44,670	42,354	50,851	41,374	56,382	56,894	50,909
of which:
Other Financial Intermediaries	Inflows	77,210	70,077	18,427	17,923	16,940	16,787	19,456	21,277	20,615
	Outflows	78,524	69,856	18,086	17,610	17,406	16,754	18,902	21,983	21,063
Non-Financial Companies⁶	Inflows	22,585	22,724	6,246	2,877	5,652	7,949	9,062	6,996	4,077
	Outflows	98,732	109,394	26,585	24,744	33,445	24,620	37,480	34,911	29,846

Secondary Income	Inflows	5,182	5,867	1,535	1,407	1,437	1,488	1,254	1,325	1,804
	Outflows	8,668	9,651	2,584	2,381	2,164	2,522	2,519	2,305	2,481

General Government	Inflows	168	63	5	24	5	29	5	26	181
	Outflows	2,971	3,148	882	822	557	887	1,110	841	693
Monetary Authority ³	Inflows	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
	Outflows	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Monetary Financial Institutions⁴	Inflows	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
	Outflows	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Other Sectors⁵	Inflows	5,013	5,804	1,530	1,383	1,432	1,459	1,249	1,298	1,623
	Outflows	5,697	6,502	1,702	1,558	1,608	1,634	1,410	1,464	1,788
of which:
Other Financial Intermediaries	Inflows	3,856	4,697	1,240	1,111	1,160	1,186	962	1,008	1,332
	Outflows	3,856	4,697	1,240	1,111	1,160	1,186	962	1,008	1,332
Non-Financial Companies⁶	Inflows	1,160	1,109	290	273	273	273	287	291	291
	Outflows	1,842	1,806	462	448	448	448	448	456	456

Balance on Current Account		-70,772	-9,892	-45,924	9,855	15,287	10,890	19,040	14,993	23,259

Balance on Capital Account		-35,310	-15,526	-3,846	-7,085	-1,298	-3,297	-178	-92	-342

Financial Account⁷
Direct investment	Abroad	28,659	-39,395	-19,929	-9,038	-26,157	15,729	15,414	9,910	-13,898
	In Ireland	133,485	70,803	32,426	49,377	-19,643	8,643	-7,441	6,217	-2,454

General Government	Abroad	-3	2	-1	*	*	1	-1	*	*
	In Ireland	*	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Monetary Authority ³	Abroad	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
	In Ireland	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Monetary Financial Institutions⁴	Abroad	-383	-1,963	-264	*	*	573	-41	*	*
	In Ireland	*	2,413	126	-173	780	1,680	-202	96	601
Other Sectors⁵	Abroad	29,044	-37,435	-19,665	-6,794	-26,131	15,155	15,455	10,144	-14,005
	In Ireland	130,028	68,390	32,300	49,550	-20,423	6,963	-7,240	6,122	-3,055
of which:
Other Financial Intermediaries	Abroad	3,041	-1,101	219	1,767	-701	-2,386	3,220	882	1,525
	In Ireland	13,265	-3,199	-4,303	-5,178	5,737	545	5,328	4,941	11,287
Non-Financial Companies⁶	Abroad	26,004	-36,334	-19,884	-8,561	-25,430	17,541	12,235	9,261	-15,530
	In Ireland	116,763	71,589	36,603	54,728	-26,160	6,418	-12,567	1,180	-14,342

Portfolio investment	Assets	337,400	232,073	-111,058	150,484	47,018	145,629	71,379	89,118	50,394
	Liabilities	327,248	252,758	-25,164	102,233	46,135	129,554	58,952	89,759	52,451

General Government	Assets	-1,269	-291	-103	-1	-177	-10	-657	-62	-254
	Liabilities	1,597	1,888	5,965	10,233	-2,672	-11,638	3,983	251	-1,394
Monetary Authority ³	Assets	-569	-3,042	-552	-772	-821	-897	-845	-1,185	-1,112
	Liabilities	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Monetary Financial Institutions⁴	Assets	43,296	38,615	-45,458	85,305	-24,874	23,642	-16,464	6,848	-23,903
	Liabilities	58,438	83,112	-1,135	47,516	-978	37,709	-51,167	2,622	-12,367
Other Sectors⁵	Assets	295,944	196,792	-64,945	65,952	72,891	122,894	89,344	83,517	75,663
	Liabilities	267,211	167,759	-29,994	44,484	49,786	103,483	106,135	86,886	66,212
of which:
Other Financial Intermediaries	Assets	297,316	196,817	-64,945	*	72,891	*	89,343	*	*
	Liabilities	268,021	206,584	-31,231	89,001	49,512	99,302	109,223	86,298	66,750
Non-Financial Companies⁶	Assets	-1,373	-24	0	*	0	*	2	*	*
	Liabilities	-810	-38,825	1,237	-44,516	273	4,181	-3,088	588	-538

Other investment	Assets	122,455	219,368	188,038	-40,302	33,205	38,427	11,227	-16,259	24,378
	Liabilities	130,130	124,547	108,201	-51,169	17,139	50,376	34,482	-33,928	1,976

General Government	Assets	-768	-182	-1,176	158	-128	964	-1,217	-18	67
	Liabilities	-1,362	-1,650	-334	-668	-315	-333	1,963	-361	*
Monetary Authority ³	Assets	21,399	9,126	785	13,856	807	-6,322	13,680	11,121	2,631
	Liabilities	422	-1,004	-1,627	-44	505	162	-247	118	*
Monetary Financial Institutions⁴	Assets	75,634	108,552	91,057	-50,939	22,588	45,846	-27,705	-10,148	8,098
	Liabilities	43,469	46,983	36,990	-16,435	-2,200	28,628	7,162	-7,562	-4,277
Other Sectors⁵	Assets	26,189	101,872	97,372	-3,377	9,938	-2,061	26,469	-17,213	13,583
	Liabilities	87,599	80,218	73,172	-34,022	19,150	21,918	25,604	-26,123	2,103
of which:
Other Financial Intermediaries	Assets	24,953	80,322	93,995	-7,939	6,652	-12,386	37,247	-19,078	10,011
	Liabilities	75,648	60,863	70,032	-34,301	17,738	7,394	34,493	-32,167	-1,662
Non-Financial Companies⁶	Assets	1,237	21,550	3,377	4,562	3,286	10,325	-10,777	1,864	3,571
	Liabilities	11,951	19,355	3,140	279	1,412	14,524	-8,889	6,044	3,765

Reserve Assets		422	1,295	139	-14	760	410	173	72	4,081

Balance on Financial Account		-101,925	-34,768	-58,274	689	11,196	11,621	12,201	20,794	12,982
Net errors and omissions		4,156	-9,349	-8,504	-2,081	-2,793	4,029	-6,661	5,893	-9,934
¹Includes transactions which cannot be shown due to confidentiality constraints.
²Adjusted for balance of payments purposes.
³Central Bank of Ireland.
⁴Covering licensed credit institutions and money market funds.
⁵Other sectors includes financial corporations other than the Monetary Authority and Monetary Financial Institutions, non-financial service and manufacturing companies and other industrial enterprises as well as (implicitly) households (see Background Notes). The gross liabilities to non-residents of financial corporations covered in other sectors tend to be very significant.
⁶Including households.
⁷See footnote 1 on Table 1.4.

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Table 1.6 Current and Capital Accounts showing geographical detail

Table 1.6 Current and Capital Accounts showing geographical¹ detail										€ million
		2019	2020	2020				2021
Item		Year		Quarter 1	Quarter 2	Quarter 3	Quarter 4	Quarter 1	Quarter 2	Quarter 3

Current Account - Total	Inflows	571,707	590,947	146,149	135,964	143,764	165,070	161,382	167,879	170,553
	Outflows	642,477	600,839	192,073	126,109	128,477	154,180	142,342	152,887	147,294

Merchandise²	Exports	225,944	244,809	62,528	57,033	61,349	63,899	68,821	69,057	72,264
	Imports	107,828	99,856	24,872	22,756	23,454	28,774	25,164	26,777	26,536
EMU	Exports	61,973	71,481	17,246	16,424	18,010	19,801	19,632	22,751	22,562
	Imports	33,667	31,037	8,333	6,117	7,260	9,327	7,639	10,840	8,802
Non-EMU	Exports	163,972	173,328	45,282	40,609	43,339	44,098	49,190	46,308	49,702
	Imports	74,161	68,820	16,539	16,639	16,194	19,448	17,524	15,938	17,734
EU	Exports	69,066	78,343	18,879	18,077	19,609	21,778	21,663	24,620	24,349
	Imports	36,804	34,327	9,176	6,893	8,019	10,239	8,575	11,825	9,709
Non-EU	Exports	156,879	166,465	43,649	38,956	41,740	42,120	47,159	44,439	47,914
	Imports	71,025	65,530	15,696	15,863	15,436	18,535	16,588	14,952	16,827

Services	Exports	230,152	244,069	55,756	55,356	57,818	75,139	62,212	68,818	71,418
	Imports	335,716	305,968	117,336	57,021	50,975	80,636	57,259	65,873	66,613
EMU	Exports	54,661	60,689	14,029	14,029	14,579	18,052	15,764	17,743	18,309
	Imports	56,628	32,406	7,336	8,842	6,816	9,412	6,933	9,189	8,473
Non-EMU	Exports	175,492	183,383	41,728	41,329	43,239	57,087	46,448	51,075	53,109
	Imports	279,088	273,564	110,000	48,178	44,161	71,225	50,327	56,684	58,140
EU	Exports	66,985	74,714	17,289	17,067	17,862	22,496	19,520	21,849	22,777
	Imports	59,974	35,791	8,162	9,604	7,636	10,389	7,745	10,159	9,357
Non-EU	Exports	163,166	169,357	38,468	38,291	39,956	52,642	42,692	46,969	48,642
	Imports	275,742	270,180	109,174	47,417	43,341	70,248	49,515	55,714	57,257

Primary Income	Inflows	110,428	96,204	26,331	22,167	23,161	24,545	29,096	28,679	25,067
	Outflows	190,265	185,365	47,282	43,952	51,883	42,248	57,401	57,932	51,664
EMU	Inflows	38,951	32,522	9,172	6,770	8,011	8,569	8,829	9,299	9,331
	Outflows	58,256	49,140	14,145	11,596	13,210	10,189	14,697	16,044	16,837
Non-EMU	Inflows	71,477	63,681	17,159	15,397	15,150	15,975	20,267	19,381	15,736
	Outflows	132,010	136,225	33,137	32,356	38,673	32,059	42,704	41,888	34,827
EU	Inflows	42,272	35,571	10,001	7,556	8,786	9,228	9,596	10,080	10,175
	Outflows	60,632	50,708	14,549	11,986	13,598	10,575	15,375	16,937	17,363
Non-EU	Inflows	68,156	60,633	16,330	14,612	14,375	15,316	19,499	18,599	14,892
	Outflows	129,636	134,657	32,733	31,966	38,285	31,673	42,025	40,995	34,301

Secondary Income	Inflows	5,182	5,867	1,535	1,407	1,437	1,488	1,254	1,325	1,804
	Outflows	8,668	9,651	2,584	2,381	2,164	2,522	2,519	2,305	2,481
EMU	Inflows	2,094	2,698	565	724	627	782	628	610	902
	Outflows	2,747	3,335	722	881	794	938	784	765	1,058
Non-EMU	Inflows	3,088	3,168	969	683	810	706	626	715	902
	Outflows	5,921	6,316	1,862	1,500	1,370	1,584	1,736	1,539	1,423
EU	Inflows	2,508	3,002	634	808	706	854	662	682	1,134
	Outflows	5,482	6,272	1,598	1,599	1,310	1,765	1,838	1,501	1,700
Non-EU	Inflows	2,674	2,865	901	599	731	634	592	643	670
	Outflows	3,184	3,379	986	782	854	757	682	804	781

Balance on Current Account		-70,772	-9,892	-45,924	9,855	15,287	10,890	19,040	14,993	23,259

Balance on Capital Account		-35,310	-15,526	-3,846	-7,085	-1,298	-3,297	-178	-92	-342
¹The term ‘EMU’ means the area represented by the 19 Member States participating in Monetary Union since the enlargement of the Euro area on 1 January 2015 to include Lithuania (EMU-19). For years 2018 and 2019, the term ‘EU’ relates to transactions between residents of Ireland and other residents of the EU-28 area. From Q12020, the term ‘EU’ relates to transactions between residents of Ireland and other residents of the EU-27 area, which excludes the United Kingdom following their withdrawal from the European Union on 1 February 2020.
²Adjusted for balance of payments purposes.

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Table 1.7 Financial Account showing geographical detail

Table 1.7 Financial Account¹ showing geographical² detail										€ million
		2019	2020	2020				2021
Item		Year		Quarter 1	Quarter 2	Quarter 3	Quarter 4	Quarter 1	Quarter 2	Quarter 3

Direct Investment	Abroad	28,659	-39,395	-19,929	-9,038	-26,157	15,729	15,414	9,910	-13,898
	In Ireland	133,485	70,803	32,426	49,377	-19,643	8,643	-7,441	6,217	-2,454

EMU	Abroad	29,216	-118,662	598	-98,008	-8,433	-12,819	2,735	4,817	18,279
	In Ireland	56,873	8,299	-7,530	-5,716	6,830	14,715	668	-1,163	26,174
Non-EMU	Abroad	-555	79,265	-20,528	88,970	-17,724	28,547	12,679	5,093	-32,177
	In Ireland	76,613	62,505	39,956	55,093	-26,473	-6,071	-8,109	7,380	-28,628
EU	Abroad	21,357	-117,751	520	-97,912	-8,493	-11,866	2,127	5,491	18,287
	In Ireland	53,379	10,557	-7,375	-4,880	7,221	15,591	1,426	-1,191	26,563
Non-EU	Abroad	7,303	78,356	-20,449	88,874	-17,664	27,595	13,286	4,419	-32,185
	In Ireland	80,107	60,247	39,801	54,257	-26,864	-6,947	-8,867	7,409	-29,017

Portfolio Investment	Assets	337,400	232,073	-111,058	150,484	47,018	145,629	71,379	89,118	50,394
	Liabilities	327,248	252,758	-25,164	102,233	46,135	129,554	58,952	89,759	52,451

EMU	Assets	119,848	34,340	-39,733	34,254	19,509	20,310	-1,317	23,209	11,879
	Liabilities	133,971	112,814	-9,168	40,220	32,724	49,038	26,051	46,663	25,026
Non-EMU	Assets	217,551	197,732	-71,325	116,230	27,509	125,318	72,696	65,909	38,515
	Liabilities	193,276	139,945	-15,996	62,013	13,412	80,516	32,901	43,097	27,425
EU	Assets	119,582	41,719	-41,969	38,804	18,610	26,274	3,202	24,759	20,786
	Liabilities	139,385	119,596	-9,983	43,483	32,534	53,562	27,437	48,773	26,690
Non-EU	Assets	217,818	190,355	-69,089	111,680	28,409	119,355	68,177	64,360	29,607
	Liabilities	187,863	133,163	-15,181	58,750	13,601	75,993	31,515	40,987	25,761

Other Investment³	Assets	122,455	219,368	188,038	-40,302	33,205	38,427	11,227	-16,259	24,378
	Liabilities	130,130	124,547	108,201	-51,169	17,139	50,376	34,482	-33,928	1,976

EMU	Assets	110,914	94,040	55,996	6,897	24,612	6,535	29,040	11,124	12,784
	Liabilities	54,123	40,939	19,381	-810	2,978	19,390	13,034	3,887	-2,423
Non-EMU	Assets	11,539	125,328	132,042	-47,199	8,593	31,892	-17,813	-27,383	11,594
	Liabilities	76,005	83,608	88,821	-50,359	14,160	30,986	21,448	-37,815	4,399
EU	Assets	113,488	97,818	57,525	8,989	23,651	7,653	32,843	12,197	12,086
	Liabilities	60,445	40,993	19,345	330	2,459	18,859	18,145	4,984	-1,964
Non-EU	Assets	8,968	121,550	130,513	-49,291	9,554	30,774	-21,616	-28,456	12,292
	Liabilities	69,683	83,553	88,856	-51,499	14,680	31,516	16,336	-38,913	3,940

Reserve Assets		422	1,295	139	-14	760	410	173	72	4,081

Balance on Financial Account		-101,925	-34,768	-58,274	689	11,196	11,621	12,201	20,794	12,982

Net errors and omissions		4,156	-9,349	-8,504	-2,081	-2,793	4,029	-6,661	5,893	-9,934
¹See footnote 1 on Table 1.4.
²The term ‘EMU’ means the area represented by the 19 Member States participating in Monetary Union since the enlargement of the Euro area on 1 January 2015 to include Lithuania (EMU-19). For years 2018 and 2019, the term ‘EU’ relates to transactions between residents of Ireland and other residents of the EU-28 area. From Q12020, the term ‘EU’ relates to transactions between residents of Ireland and other residents of the EU-27 area, which excludes the United Kingdom following their withdrawal from the European Union on 1 February 2020.
³Includes financial derivatives; in the case of liabilities this category also includes life insurance liabilities to non-residents. Occasionally includes large capital transactions which cannot be shown in the Capital Account Balance due to confidentiality constraints.

Open in Excel: International Accounts Q3 2021 Table 1.7 (XLS 14KB)

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International Accounts Q3 2021

Balance of International Payments

Balance of International Payments

Current account balance of €23bn in Quarter 3 2021

Current account (see Table 1.3)

Financial account (see Tables 1.4 and 1.5)

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