You are here: Home / Statistics / International Accounts Q4 2019 / Balance of International Payments

International Accounts Q4 2019

Balance of International Payments

Open in Excel:

Current account deficit of €28.4bn in Quarter 4 2019

Table 1.1 Balance of International Payments				€ million
	Merchandise Balance	Services and Income Balance	Current Account Balance	Current Account Balance as % of GDP
Q4 2018	26,877	-25,899	979	1.2
Q4 2019	29,253	-57,694	-28,441	-31.6

Q1-Q4 2018	112,960	-78,668	34,292	10.6
Q1-Q4 2019	122,768	-155,598	-32,829	-9.5

Open in Excel: International Accounts Q4 2019 Table 1.1 (XLS 11KB)

The Balance of Payments current account, a measure of Ireland’s economic flows with the rest of the world, showed a large deficit of €28.4bn in the fourth quarter of 2019. Large imports of intellectual property in the quarter, similar to Q2 2019 have put the account in deficit. This has led to a preliminary Current Account balance for 2019 of -€32.8bn, compared to €34.3bn in 2018.

	Current Account
Q3 2017	18.4851609363755
Q4 2017	15.924476157619
Q1 2018	14.3462968596149
Q2 2018	13.7409318262381
Q3 2018	13.5071542428803
Q4 2018	1.1704871990633
Q1 2019	13.0905654005477
Q2 2019	-32.1864599948528
Q3 2019	12.3080021466983
Q4 2019	-31.5526521409239

	Merchandise	Services	Primary Income	Secondary Income	Balance on Current Account
Q3 2017	28.663	0.26	-13.902	-0.626	14.395
Q4 2017	30.723	-1.571	-15.63	-0.694	12.827
Q1 2018	29.06	-0.151	-16.681	-0.902	11.325
Q2 2018	28.803	-0.986	-16.269	-0.987	10.561
Q3 2018	28.22	0.527	-16.561	-0.759	11.427
Q4 2018	26.877	-4.961	-20.22	-0.718	0.979
Q1 2019	32.151	-1.224	-18.682	-1.256	10.99
Q2 2019	28.157	-33.412	-20.708	-0.575	-26.538
Q3 2019	33.207	-0.312	-20.924	-0.811	11.16
Q4 2019	29.253	-37.905	-19.16	-0.629	-28.441

Other points of note in the Quarter 4 2019 results are:

Current account (see Table 1.3)

Merchandise exports were €57,972m in the fourth quarter of 2019, an increase of €526m compared with the fourth quarter of 2018. Merchandise imports were €28,719m in the fourth quarter of 2019, a decrease of €1,849m over the same period in 2018, mainly due to lower imports of aircraft.
Service exports at €60,300m increased by €9,624m compared to the fourth quarter of 2018, mainly due to higher computer services exports (which increased by €6,487m).
Service imports at €98,205m were up €42,568m over the same period in 2018 due to a sizeable increase in R&D related intellectual property imports.
Ireland’s trade balance at -€8,652m, all goods and services exports less all goods and services imports, decreased by €30,569m in the fourth quarter of 2019 over the same period in 2018.
Investment income earned abroad at €21,846m, increased by €3,908m compared with one year earlier while investment income payable to foreign investors at €41,317m increased by €2,853m, mainly due to increased profits in the manufacturing sector. The overall income balance for the quarter at -€19,789m increased by €1,149m compared with the same period in 2018.

	Direct Investment	Portfolio Investment	Other Investment	Reserve Assets	Balance on Financial Account
Q3 2017	6.488	0.452	6.86	0.235	14.035
Q4 2017	-31.389	-1.059	47.706	0.102	15.36
Q1 2018	11.865	9.333	-21.878	-0.022	-0.702
Q2 2018	9.67	-27.047	35.166	0.005	17.794
Q3 2018	10.784	-2.409	1.68	0.209	10.265
Q4 2018	-7.918	14.452	-47.944	0.578	-40.832
Q1 2019	2.627	-3.748	12.795	0.002	11.675
Q2 2019	-49.036	-14.059	25.315	0.121	-37.659
Q3 2019	-1.639	34.764	-35.408	0.125	-2.157
Q4 2019	-5.668	20.234	-52.979	0.181	-38.231

Financial account (see Tables 1.4 and 1.5)

Direct investment in Ireland increased by €45,287m in the fourth quarter of 2019. This change was driven by reinvested earnings of €15,298m and an increase in other capital of €36,342m. Direct investment abroad increased by €39,620m in the quarter, mainly due to increased equity of €33,098m.
Portfolio investment in foreign assets increased by €115,579m in the quarter. Investment in foreign equity increased by €42,509m while investment in foreign debt instruments increased by €73,070m. Portfolio investment in Ireland increased by €95,345m, mainly due to increased purchase of Irish equity of €89,258m.
Other investment assets decreased by €28,466m in the fourth quarter of 2019 due to a significant decrease in IFSC enterprise assets, while other investment liabilities increased by €24,513m.

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	Other²Investment	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	112,960	-5,571	-69,731	-3,366	-78,668	34,292	-53,038	24,401	-5,671	-32,976	770	-13,475	5,270
2019	Year	122,768	-72,853	-79,474	-3,271	-155,598	-32,829	-34,474	-53,716	37,191	-50,277	429	-66,372	932

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	29,060	-151	-16,681	-902	-17,734	11,325	-436	11,865	9,333	-21,878	-22	-702	-11,591
	Quarter 2	28,803	-986	-16,269	-987	-18,242	10,561	-377	9,670	-27,047	35,166	5	17,794	7,610
	Quarter 3	28,220	527	-16,561	-759	-16,793	11,427	-44	10,784	-2,409	1,680	209	10,265	-1,119
	Quarter 4	26,877	-4,961	-20,220	-718	-25,899	979	-52,181	-7,918	14,452	-47,944	578	-40,832	10,370
2019	Quarter 1	32,151	-1,224	-18,682	-1,256	-21,162	10,990	-6,743	2,627	-3,748	12,795	2	11,675	7,428
	Quarter 2	28,157	-33,412	-20,708	-575	-54,695	-26,538	-17,220	-49,036	-14,059	25,315	121	-37,659	6,100
	Quarter 3	33,207	-312	-20,924	-811	-22,047	11,160	-4,838	-1,639	34,764	-35,408	125	-2,157	-8,478
	Quarter 4	29,253	-37,905	-19,160	-629	-57,694	-28,441	-5,673	-5,668	20,234	-52,979	181	-38,231	-4,118
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 Q4 2019 Table 1.2 (XLS 16KB)

Visit Table BPQ15 on PxStat

Table 1.3 Current and Capital Accounts

Table 1.3 Current and Capital Accounts											€ million
		2018	2019	2018				2019
Item		Year		Quarter 1	Quarter 2	Quarter 3	Quarter 4	Quarter 1	Quarter 2	Quarter 3	Quarter 4
Current Account
Merchandise¹	Exports	216,307	227,122	51,390	53,698	53,773	57,446	57,145	54,971	57,034	57,972
	Imports	103,346	104,353	22,331	24,894	25,553	30,568	24,994	26,814	23,826	28,719

International trade	Exports	140,626	152,821	33,837	35,564	34,090	37,135	38,018	38,562	37,458	38,783
	Imports	88,611	84,239	19,490	21,245	22,304	25,572	19,803	21,313	19,500	23,623
Goods for processing	Exports	68,196	68,855	15,979	15,884	17,932	18,401	17,500	14,622	18,392	18,341
	Imports	11,514	16,090	2,300	2,831	2,322	4,061	4,308	4,317	3,087	4,378
Other conceptual adjustments	Exports	-1,002	-6,053	-375	333	-200	-760	-1	-387	-2,168	-3,497
	Imports	3,222	4,024	541	818	928	935	882	1,184	1,240	718
Merchanting (net export)	Exports	8,488	11,499	1,950	1,916	1,952	2,670	1,628	2,174	3,352	4,345

Services	Exports	180,077	213,132	39,696	43,701	46,004	50,676	46,484	52,678	53,670	60,300
	Imports	185,647	285,986	39,847	44,687	45,476	55,637	47,708	86,090	53,983	98,205
Repairs and Processing	Exports	1,899	2,012	439	463	430	567	488	498	471	555
	Imports	5,452	6,255	976	1,093	1,281	2,102	1,561	1,305	1,381	2,008
Transport	Exports	7,746	7,867	1,238	2,112	2,832	1,564	1,150	2,134	2,903	1,680
	Imports	3,109	3,154	681	733	753	942	767	811	731	845
Tourism and Travel²	Exports	5,237	5,206	817	1,500	1,847	1,073	774	1,536	1,849	1,047
	Imports	6,270	7,155	1,195	1,566	2,091	1,418	1,403	1,831	2,398	1,523
Insurance	Exports	9,664	10,138	2,547	2,433	2,307	2,377	2,531	2,457	2,469	2,681
	Imports	8,040	8,292	2,139	2,027	1,926	1,948	2,211	2,045	2,138	1,898
Financial services	Exports	15,354	16,071	3,921	3,819	3,805	3,809	3,845	3,896	3,910	4,420
	Imports	12,851	14,240	3,286	3,202	3,166	3,197	3,452	3,344	3,460	3,984
Royalties/Licences	Exports	11,777	9,915	2,540	3,299	3,025	2,913	2,040	2,560	2,599	2,716
	Imports	72,180	84,895	16,458	17,940	18,076	19,706	18,798	20,591	21,454	24,052
of which: Pharmaceutical products and preparations	Exports	84	60	32	16	18	18	17	14	15	14
	Imports	15,369	18,481	3,545	4,152	3,656	4,016	3,877	5,195	4,723	4,686
Information and communication	Exports	4,135	1,553	1,111	1,407	1,010	607	355	468	398	332
	Imports	40,608	50,654	8,858	9,768	10,234	11,748	11,105	11,671	*	*
Communications	Exports	415	329	112	107	103	93	88	88	81	72
	Imports	570	510	139	139	144	148	140	126	131	113
Computer services³	Exports	86,222	110,594	18,723	20,295	21,357	25,847	24,463	27,173	26,624	32,334
	Imports	4,331	4,642	809	1,090	1,088	1,344	1,091	1,083	1,225	1,243
Business services	Exports	38,025	46,269	8,490	8,799	9,305	11,431	10,802	11,158	11,504	12,805
	Imports	72,155	156,100	13,993	16,725	16,779	24,658	18,103	54,769	20,880	62,348
Research and development	Exports	2,988	3,315	607	588	573	1,220	787	637	740	1,151
	Imports	22,901	96,355	3,569	4,391	4,875	10,066	4,370	*	6,812	*
of which: IP related	Exports	692	635	82	*	35	*	185	18	89	343
	Imports	5,353	75,696	124	*	143	*	146	*	1,074	*
Operational leasing	Exports	12,910	14,210	3,015	3,111	3,312	3,472	3,380	3,535	3,593	3,702
	Imports	728	1,105	168	171	197	192	274	270	275	286
Misc. business services⁴	Exports	22,126	28,743	4,868	5,100	5,420	6,738	6,635	6,986	7,171	7,951
	Imports	48,526	58,637	10,256	12,163	11,707	14,400	13,458	*	13,793	*
Other services n.e.s.	Exports	3,741	4,732	869	877	993	1,002	303	1,176	1,262	1,991
	Imports	687	744	169	171	172	175	181	186	186	191

Merchandise and Services - Total	Exports	396,384	440,253	91,086	97,399	99,777	108,122	103,629	107,648	110,704	118,272
	Imports	288,994	390,338	62,178	69,581	71,030	86,205	72,701	112,904	77,809	126,924

Trade Balance	Net	107,390	49,915	28,909	27,817	28,747	21,917	30,928	-5,256	32,895	-8,652

Primary Income	Inflows	83,098	94,097	18,528	23,148	22,926	18,496	22,849	24,389	24,371	22,488
	Outflows	152,828	173,573	35,209	39,417	39,487	38,715	41,531	45,098	45,295	41,649
Compensation of Employees	Inflows	528	524	131	131	135	131	131	131	131	131
	Outflows	626	725	155	156	156	159	162	169	171	223
Investment Income	Inflows	81,003	91,984	18,027	22,643	22,395	17,938	22,367	23,909	23,862	21,846
	Outflows	151,894	172,375	34,977	39,196	39,257	38,464	41,289	44,731	45,038	41,317
Direct investment income	Inflows	17,715	17,438	3,952	5,234	5,736	2,793	4,682	3,851	4,689	4,216
	Outflows	76,992	87,926	19,017	18,032	20,505	19,438	21,721	21,544	23,397	21,264

of which: Manufacturing	Outflows	24,545	43,830	7,337	7,764	6,438	3,006	10,434	8,811	13,803	10,782
Information and communication	Outflows	11,498	14,344	3,195	2,298	2,962	3,043	3,036	5,414	2,313	3,581

Income on equity	Inflows	15,434	16,159	3,680	4,623	5,035	2,096	4,194	3,357	4,453	4,155
	Outflows	71,316	82,488	17,877	16,650	19,007	17,782	20,568	20,312	21,909	19,699
Dividends & distributed	Inflows	2,174	983	36	*	240	*	12	193	666	112
branch profits	Outflows	14,797	10,803	3,473	3,001	4,470	3,853	2,727	980	2,695	4,401
Reinvested earnings	Inflows	13,259	15,175	3,644	*	4,794	*	4,181	3,164	3,787	4,043
	Outflows	56,519	71,686	14,404	13,649	14,537	13,929	17,841	19,332	19,215	15,298
Income on debt	Inflows	2,280	1,281	272	610	702	696	489	495	236	61
	Outflows	5,677	5,436	1,140	1,383	1,498	1,656	1,153	1,232	1,487	1,564
Portfolio investment income	Inflows	51,429	58,799	11,531	14,524	13,323	12,051	13,800	16,039	15,053	13,907
	Outflows	63,763	70,874	13,575	18,361	15,810	16,017	15,870	20,055	18,143	16,806
Income on equity	Inflows	16,683	19,434	3,441	5,801	4,403	3,038	4,396	6,392	4,962	3,684
	Outflows	55,247	62,696	11,527	16,242	13,733	13,745	13,907	17,957	16,142	14,690
Income on debt	Inflows	34,745	39,365	8,090	8,723	8,920	9,012	9,404	9,647	10,091	10,223
	Outflows	8,516	8,178	2,048	2,119	2,077	2,272	1,963	2,098	2,001	2,116
Other investment income	Inflows	11,859	15,747	2,544	2,885	3,336	3,094	3,885	4,019	4,119	3,724
	Outflows	11,140	13,577	2,385	2,803	2,943	3,009	3,699	3,132	3,499	3,247
Other primary income	Inflows	1,566	1,588	370	374	395	427	351	349	378	510
	Outflows	309	470	77	66	74	92	80	197	85	108

Secondary Income	Inflows	4,996	4,903	1,372	1,221	1,157	1,246	1,196	999	1,168	1,540
	Outflows	8,361	8,173	2,274	2,208	1,916	1,963	2,452	1,574	1,979	2,168

Income Balance	Net	-73,097	-82,745	-17,583	-17,256	-17,320	-20,938	-19,938	-21,283	-21,735	-19,789

Current Account - Total	Inflows	484,477	539,254	110,986	121,768	123,860	127,863	127,674	133,037	136,243	142,300
	Outflows	450,185	572,083	99,661	111,207	112,433	126,884	116,684	159,575	125,083	170,741

Current Account Balance	Net	34,292	-32,829	11,325	10,561	11,427	979	10,990	-26,538	11,160	-28,441

Capital Account Balance	Net	-53,038	-34,474	-436	-377	-44	-52,181	-6,743	-17,220	-4,838	-5,673

Memorandum Item:
Government Income	Inflows	1,667	1,689	396	399	418	454	371	390	398	530
	Outflows	3,711	3,358	944	941	939	887	887	870	845	756
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.

Open in Excel: International Accounts Q4 2019 Table 1.3 (XLS 19KB)

Visit Table BPQ19 on PxStat

Table 1.4 Financial Account

Table 1.4 Financial Account¹											€ million
		2018	2019	2018				2019
Item		Year		Quarter 1	Quarter 2	Quarter 3	Quarter 4	Quarter 1	Quarter 2	Quarter 3	Quarter 4

Direct Investment	Abroad	616	16,171	-2,142	-35,017	1,331	36,444	10,051	-61,740	28,240	39,620
	In Ireland	-23,785	69,885	-14,007	-44,687	-9,453	44,362	7,424	-12,705	29,879	45,287

Equity	Abroad	-21,769	65,634	-6,248	*	-1,569	*	38,185	-866	-4,783	33,098
	In Ireland	-48,381	-40,070	-11,449	-49,778	-1,042	13,888	18,682	-49,135	-3,264	-6,353
Reinvested Earnings	Abroad	13,259	15,175	3,644	*	4,794	*	4,181	3,164	3,787	4,043
	In Ireland	56,519	71,686	14,404	13,649	14,537	13,929	17,841	19,332	19,215	15,298
Other Capital	Abroad	9,123	-64,640	462	25,029	-1,895	-14,473	-32,316	-64,038	29,236	2,478
	In Ireland	-31,924	38,270	-16,962	-8,558	-22,948	16,544	-29,098	17,098	13,928	36,342

Portfolio Investment	Assets	125,948	341,716	77,374	10,612	25,415	12,547	36,887	30,773	158,477	115,579
	Liabilities	131,618	304,526	68,041	37,659	27,823	-1,905	40,636	44,832	123,713	95,345

Equity	Assets	47,815	86,760	28,260	13,591	11,343	-5,379	16,704	9,254	18,293	42,509
	Liabilities	125,309	284,524	62,489	37,260	24,985	575	36,911	45,099	113,256	89,258
Debt Instruments	Assets	78,134	254,956	49,115	-2,979	14,072	17,926	20,183	21,519	140,184	73,070
	Liabilities	6,310	20,002	5,552	399	2,838	-2,479	3,725	-267	10,458	6,086
Bonds and notes	Assets	70,425	225,559	31,672	9,994	22,489	6,270	43,631	31,918	92,399	57,611
	Liabilities	11,663	18,359	2,685	919	7,863	196	4,773	-2,351	8,789	7,148
Money market instruments	Assets	7,708	29,397	17,443	-12,973	-8,418	11,656	-23,448	-10,400	47,786	15,459
	Liabilities	-5,353	1,642	2,867	-520	-5,025	-2,675	-1,048	2,083	1,669	-1,062

Other Investment	Assets	123,517	104,241	25,716	89,920	39,796	-31,915	55,162	44,181	33,364	-28,466
	Liabilities	156,493	154,519	47,594	54,754	38,116	16,029	42,368	18,866	68,772	24,513

Loans, currency and deposits	Assets	48,425	95,190	19,502	36,168	14,479	-21,724	50,193	21,373	21,157	2,467
	Liabilities	112,823	84,310	30,760	24,305	17,724	40,034	27,542	5,242	29,621	21,905
Other²	Assets	75,090	9,053	6,214	53,752	25,316	-10,192	4,969	22,808	12,208	-30,932
	Liabilities	43,668	70,209	16,834	30,448	20,391	-24,005	14,826	13,624	39,151	2,608

Reserve Assets		770	429	-22	5	209	578	2	121	125	181

Monetary gold		0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Special drawing rights		14	28	-16	5	15	10	10	8	-19	29
Reserve position in the IMF		-1	-7	-11	10	0	0	0	0	2	-9
Foreign exchange		250	66	-14	1	-36	299	127	-102	82	-41
Other		508	343	19	-11	231	269	-136	216	60	203

Balance on Financial Account		-13,475	-66,372	-702	17,794	10,265	-40,832	11,675	-37,659	-2,157	-38,231

Net errors and omissions		5,270	932	-11,591	7,610	-1,119	10,370	7,428	6,100	-8,478	-4,118
Memorandum Item:
Government financial	Assets	426	14,211	-1,095	4,367	9,886	1,053	-1,871	-399	-251	566
transactions	Liabilities	1,377	17,084	5,771	7,549	9,749	-5,985	5,025	-874	51	-3,980
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.

Open in Excel: International Accounts Q4 2019 Table 1.4 (XLS 16KB)

Visit Table BPQ17 on PxStat

Visit Table BPQ16 on PxStat

Table 1.5 Current, Capital and Financial Accounts showing IFSC and non-IFSC activity

Table 1.5 Current, Capital and Financial Accounts showing IFSC¹ and Non–IFSC activity											€ million
		2018	2019	2018				2019
Item		Year		Quarter 1	Quarter 2	Quarter 3	Quarter 4	Quarter 1	Quarter 2	Quarter 3	Quarter 4
Current Account - Total	Inflows	484,477	539,254	110,986	121,768	123,860	127,863	127,674	133,037	136,243	142,300
	Outflows	450,185	572,083	99,661	111,207	112,433	126,884	116,684	159,575	125,083	170,741

Merchandise²	Exports	216,307	227,122	51,390	53,698	53,773	57,446	57,145	54,971	57,034	57,972
	Imports	103,346	104,353	22,331	24,894	25,553	30,568	24,994	26,814	23,826	28,719

Services	Exports	180,077	213,132	39,696	43,701	46,004	50,676	46,484	52,678	53,670	60,300
	Imports	185,647	285,986	39,847	44,687	45,476	55,637	47,708	86,090	53,983	98,205

IFSC	Exports	38,808	43,073	9,617	9,670	9,554	9,967	10,254	10,689	10,628	11,502
	Imports	25,451	28,220	6,517	6,525	6,131	6,278	6,960	6,842	7,068	7,350
Non-IFSC	Exports	141,267	170,058	30,078	34,031	36,448	40,710	36,229	41,989	43,042	48,798
	Imports	160,194	257,764	33,329	38,162	39,345	49,358	40,747	79,248	46,914	90,855

Primary Income	Inflows	83,098	94,097	18,528	23,148	22,926	18,496	22,849	24,389	24,371	22,488
	Outflows	152,828	173,573	35,209	39,417	39,487	38,715	41,531	45,098	45,295	41,649

IFSC	Inflows	64,579	74,393	14,147	17,634	17,141	15,657	17,878	20,115	19,058	17,342
	Outflows	72,801	81,910	15,800	19,762	18,855	18,384	19,127	22,185	21,076	19,522
Non-IFSC	Inflows	18,519	19,705	4,381	5,514	5,785	2,839	4,972	4,274	5,313	5,146
	Outflows	80,026	91,661	19,410	19,654	20,631	20,331	22,404	22,912	24,219	22,126

Secondary Income	Inflows	4,996	4,903	1,372	1,221	1,157	1,246	1,196	999	1,168	1,540
	Outflows	8,361	8,173	2,274	2,208	1,916	1,963	2,452	1,574	1,979	2,168

IFSC³	Inflows	4,063	4,188	1,168	1,011	965	919	1,009	870	970	1,339
	Outflows	4,063	4,188	1,168	1,011	965	919	1,009	870	970	1,339
Non-IFSC	Inflows	934	716	204	211	192	327	187	130	198	201
	Outflows	4,300	3,985	1,106	1,198	951	1,045	1,443	704	1,009	829

Balance on Current Account		34,292	-32,829	11,325	10,561	11,427	979	10,990	-26,538	11,160	-28,441

Balance on Capital Account		-53,038	-34,474	-436	-377	-44	-52,181	-6,743	-17,220	-4,838	-5,673

Financial Account⁴
Direct investment	Abroad	616	16,171	-2,142	-35,017	1,331	36,444	10,051	-61,740	28,240	39,620
	In Ireland	-23,785	69,885	-14,007	-44,687	-9,453	44,362	7,424	-12,705	29,879	45,287

IFSC	Abroad	-2,856	1,162	-3,382	592	-508	442	1,118	-2,711	-106	2,861
	In Ireland	-17,427	363	-14,885	-3,169	6,263	-5,636	-20,526	499	2,088	18,302
Non-IFSC	Abroad	3,471	15,009	1,240	-35,610	1,839	36,002	8,933	-59,029	28,346	36,759
	In Ireland	-6,359	69,522	878	-41,518	-15,717	49,998	27,950	-13,204	27,791	26,985

Portfolio investment	Assets	125,948	341,716	77,374	10,612	25,415	12,547	36,887	30,773	158,477	115,579
	Liabilities	131,618	304,526	68,041	37,659	27,823	-1,905	40,636	44,832	123,713	95,345

IFSC	Assets	122,935	335,398	76,457	9,270	24,701	12,507	34,615	30,717	155,719	114,347
	Liabilities	128,467	300,983	60,923	32,199	29,465	5,880	37,556	49,465	124,159	89,803
Non-IFSC	Assets	3,013	6,320	917	1,342	714	40	2,273	56	2,759	1,232
	Liabilities	3,152	3,541	7,118	5,460	-1,641	-7,785	3,079	-4,633	-446	5,541

Other investment⁵	Assets	123,517	104,241	25,716	89,920	39,796	-31,915	55,162	44,181	33,364	-28,466
	Liabilities	156,493	154,519	47,594	54,754	38,116	16,029	42,368	18,866	68,772	24,513

IFSC	Assets	98,326	82,008	28,692	69,283	29,339	-28,988	51,318	40,870	18,080	-28,260
	Liabilities	137,690	141,985	54,675	48,444	16,438	18,133	49,327	20,312	59,571	12,775
Non-IFSC	Assets	25,191	22,235	-2,976	20,637	10,457	-2,927	3,844	3,311	15,285	-205
	Liabilities	18,803	12,532	-7,081	6,310	21,678	-2,104	-6,960	-1,446	9,200	11,738

Reserve Assets		770	429	-22	5	209	578	2	121	125	181

Balance on Financial Account		-13,475	-66,372	-702	17,794	10,265	-40,832	11,675	-37,659	-2,157	-38,231
Net errors and omissions		5,270	932	-11,591	7,610	-1,119	10,370	7,428	6,100	-8,478	-4,118
¹From the start of 2000, new international financial service projects are no longer subject to the earlier certification and licensing procedures in operation for location in the IFSC and such projects can, therefore, locate anywhere in Ireland. Additions to existing IFSC projects, however, are still subject to the formal procedures. For statistical analysis purposes this table still shows the 'IFSC/non-IFSC' breakdown and the activities of all international financial service enterprises are covered under the IFSC heading.
²Adjusted for balance of payments purposes.
³Secondary income flows to and from IFSC enterprises relate solely to non-life insurance transactions - see Background Notes.
⁴See footnote 1 on Table 1.4.
⁵Includes 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 Q4 2019 Table 1.5 (XLS 17KB)

Visit Table BPQ33 on PxStat

Table 1.6 Current and Capital Accounts showing geographical detail

Table 1.6 Current and Capital Accounts showing geographical¹ detail											€ million
		2018	2019	2018				2019
Item		Year		Quarter 1	Quarter 2	Quarter 3	Quarter 4	Quarter 1	Quarter 2	Quarter 3	Quarter 4

Current Account - Total	Inflows	484,477	539,254	110,986	121,768	123,860	127,863	127,674	133,037	136,243	142,300
	Outflows	450,185	572,083	99,661	111,207	112,433	126,884	116,684	159,575	125,083	170,741

Merchandise²	Exports	216,307	227,122	51,390	53,698	53,773	57,446	57,145	54,971	57,034	57,972
	Imports	103,346	104,353	22,331	24,894	25,553	30,568	24,994	26,814	23,826	28,719
EMU	Exports	56,060	64,821	13,786	15,164	14,330	12,780	18,576	16,750	14,923	14,572
	Imports	33,383	31,833	7,029	8,767	8,817	8,770	7,255	8,343	6,751	9,484
Non-EMU	Exports	160,247	162,300	37,605	38,534	39,443	44,665	38,569	38,221	42,110	43,400
	Imports	69,963	72,519	15,301	16,128	16,736	21,798	17,738	18,471	17,075	19,235
EU	Exports	85,953	93,985	20,770	22,318	21,783	21,082	25,864	23,727	22,056	22,338
	Imports	60,806	60,739	13,423	15,349	15,602	16,432	14,540	15,296	13,548	17,355
Non-EU	Exports	130,355	133,136	30,621	31,380	31,990	36,364	31,281	31,244	34,977	35,634
	Imports	42,541	43,615	8,907	9,546	9,952	14,136	10,453	11,519	10,279	11,364

Services	Exports	180,077	213,132	39,696	43,701	46,004	50,676	46,484	52,678	53,670	60,300
	Imports	185,647	285,986	39,847	44,687	45,476	55,637	47,708	86,090	53,983	98,205
EMU	Exports	42,811	49,983	9,268	10,405	11,236	11,902	10,868	12,685	12,226	14,204
	Imports	47,202	55,422	10,398	11,790	11,856	13,158	12,220	12,348	14,479	16,375
Non-EMU	Exports	137,266	163,149	30,428	33,296	34,768	38,774	35,616	39,992	41,444	46,097
	Imports	138,444	230,562	29,449	32,896	33,620	42,479	35,487	73,742	39,503	81,830
EU	Exports	81,175	93,933	17,955	19,760	21,243	22,217	20,559	23,210	23,180	26,984
	Imports	67,501	78,837	15,241	16,709	16,980	18,571	17,654	18,086	20,363	22,734
Non-EU	Exports	98,902	119,198	21,741	23,941	24,760	28,460	25,925	29,467	30,490	33,316
	Imports	118,146	207,147	24,606	27,978	28,496	37,066	30,054	68,003	33,619	75,471

Primary Income	Inflows	83,098	94,097	18,528	23,148	22,926	18,496	22,849	24,389	24,371	22,488
	Outflows	152,828	173,573	35,209	39,417	39,487	38,715	41,531	45,098	45,295	41,649
EMU	Inflows	31,194	33,584	7,556	8,099	8,851	6,688	9,186	7,965	8,216	8,217
	Outflows	48,238	55,013	10,900	12,310	12,770	12,258	12,811	14,382	14,896	12,924
Non-EMU	Inflows	51,904	60,513	10,972	15,049	14,075	11,808	13,664	16,424	16,154	14,271
	Outflows	104,591	118,557	24,309	27,107	26,717	26,458	28,721	30,716	30,397	28,723
EU	Inflows	53,402	59,696	12,780	14,011	14,901	11,710	15,201	14,564	14,803	15,128
	Outflows	83,336	93,093	18,234	22,156	21,892	21,054	21,355	25,233	25,110	21,395
Non-EU	Inflows	29,695	34,404	5,748	9,136	8,025	6,786	7,649	9,826	9,568	7,361
	Outflows	69,492	80,478	16,975	17,261	17,595	17,661	20,177	19,865	20,184	20,252

Secondary Income	Inflows	4,996	4,903	1,372	1,221	1,157	1,246	1,196	999	1,168	1,540
	Outflows	8,361	8,173	2,274	2,208	1,916	1,963	2,452	1,574	1,979	2,168
EMU	Inflows	1,629	1,766	453	362	435	379	337	397	370	662
	Outflows	1,736	1,919	466	385	474	411	361	439	412	707
Non-EMU	Inflows	3,368	3,136	919	860	722	867	859	602	798	877
	Outflows	6,626	6,253	1,808	1,824	1,442	1,552	2,090	1,135	1,567	1,461
EU	Inflows	3,872	3,462	1,032	918	900	1,022	874	722	795	1,071
	Outflows	6,643	6,106	1,824	1,754	1,523	1,542	1,995	1,153	1,449	1,509
Non-EU	Inflows	1,126	1,440	341	303	258	224	322	277	373	468
	Outflows	1,718	2,067	450	454	393	421	457	421	530	659

Balance on Current Account		34,292	-32,829	11,325	10,561	11,427	979	10,990	-26,538	11,160	-28,441

Balance on Capital Account		-53,038	-34,474	-436	-377	-44	-52,181	-6,743	-17,220	-4,838	-5,673

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. The term ‘EU’ relates to transactions between residents of Ireland and other residents of the EU-28 area. All data shown on this table relates to EMU-19 and EU-28.
²Adjusted for balance of payments purposes.

Open in Excel: International Accounts Q4 2019 Table 1.6 (XLS 16KB)

Visit Table BPQ27 on PxStat

Table 1.7 Financial Account showing geographical detail

Table 1.7 Financial Account¹ showing geographical² detail											€ million
		2018	2019	2018				2019
Item		Year		Quarter 1	Quarter 2	Quarter 3	Quarter 4	Quarter 1	Quarter 2	Quarter 3	Quarter 4

Direct Investment	Abroad	616	16,171	-2,142	-35,017	1,331	36,444	10,051	-61,740	28,240	39,620
	In Ireland	-23,785	69,885	-14,007	-44,687	-9,453	44,362	7,424	-12,705	29,879	45,287

EMU	Abroad	-48,533	-10,529	-36,626	-34,618	-2,733	25,444	19,330	-31,915	-9,675	11,731
	In Ireland	-132,508	63,803	-67,585	-54,799	179	-10,303	56,029	-34,825	29,684	12,915
Non-EMU	Abroad	49,149	26,699	34,485	-399	4,063	11,000	-9,279	-29,826	37,915	27,889
	In Ireland	108,722	6,082	53,578	10,111	-9,632	54,665	-48,605	22,120	195	32,372
EU	Abroad	-52,656	-978	-37,192	-33,279	-1,865	19,680	26,111	-30,550	-9,622	13,083
	In Ireland	-170,667	50,429	-92,771	-53,018	-107	-24,771	58,011	-32,215	22,897	1,736
Non-EU	Abroad	53,272	17,149	35,051	-1,738	3,195	16,764	-16,060	-31,190	37,862	26,537
	In Ireland	146,881	19,457	78,764	8,330	-9,346	69,133	-50,587	19,511	6,982	43,551

Portfolio Investment	Assets	125,948	341,716	77,374	10,612	25,415	12,547	36,887	30,773	158,477	115,579
	Liabilities	131,618	304,526	68,041	37,659	27,823	-1,905	40,636	44,832	123,713	95,345

EMU	Assets	25,274	139,727	10,961	-4,610	6,542	12,381	16,981	14,689	65,726	42,331
	Liabilities	60,368	97,578	24,316	15,374	12,185	8,493	-662	24,671	38,775	34,794
Non-EMU	Assets	100,673	201,990	66,414	15,221	18,872	166	19,907	16,084	92,751	73,248
	Liabilities	71,252	206,947	43,725	22,285	15,639	-10,397	41,298	20,160	84,938	60,551
EU	Assets	6,496	196,490	12,344	844	21,932	-28,624	28,417	18,230	96,126	53,717
	Liabilities	108,093	263,652	52,060	25,145	19,529	11,359	37,403	43,031	111,337	71,881
Non-EU	Assets	119,452	145,226	65,030	9,768	3,483	41,171	8,470	12,543	62,351	61,862
	Liabilities	23,526	40,875	15,981	12,514	8,295	-13,264	3,233	1,801	12,377	23,464

Other Investment³	Assets	123,517	104,241	25,716	89,920	39,796	-31,915	55,162	44,181	33,364	-28,466
	Liabilities	156,493	154,519	47,594	54,754	38,116	16,029	42,368	18,866	68,772	24,513

EMU	Assets	12,768	90,210	15,703	18,018	-9,399	-11,554	52,899	17,535	20,658	-882
	Liabilities	11,654	81,641	5,792	10,640	3,510	-8,288	30,601	6,522	42,819	1,699
Non-EMU	Assets	110,748	14,030	10,013	71,902	49,195	-20,362	2,263	26,645	12,706	-27,584
	Liabilities	144,839	72,878	41,802	44,114	34,606	24,317	11,767	12,344	25,953	22,814
EU	Assets	130,766	107,318	30,582	63,875	21,548	14,761	60,071	22,631	24,331	285
	Liabilities	86,273	106,401	31,826	38,969	9,219	6,259	36,433	10,423	42,974	16,571
Non-EU	Assets	-7,251	-3,078	-4,867	26,045	18,248	-46,677	-4,909	21,549	9,033	-28,751
	Liabilities	70,219	48,117	15,768	15,785	28,896	9,770	5,934	8,443	25,798	7,942

Reserve Assets		770	429	-22	5	209	578	2	121	125	181

Balance on Financial Account		-13,475	-66,372	-702	17,794	10,265	-40,832	11,675	-37,659	-2,157	-38,231

Net errors and omissions		5,270	932	-11,591	7,610	-1,119	10,370	7,428	6,100	-8,478	-4,118
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. The term ‘EU’ relates to transactions between residents of Ireland and other residents of the EU-28 area. All data shown on this table relates to EMU-19 and EU-28.
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 Q4 2019 Table 1.7 (XLS 16KB)

Visit Table BPQ30 on PxStat

Next Chapter >> Goods and Services

Why you can Trust the CSO

Learn about our data and confidentiality safeguards, and the steps we take to produce statistics that can be trusted by all.

go to trust & transparency

International Accounts Q4 2019

Balance of International Payments

Balance of International Payments

Current account deficit of €28.4bn in Quarter 4 2019

Current account (see Table 1.3)

Financial account (see Tables 1.4 and 1.5)

Contents

Why you can Trust the CSO

Contact:

Links:

Careers

Follow: