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International Accounts Q4 2022

Balance of International Payments

Current account balance of €15.8bn in Quarter 4 2022

Online ISSN: 2565-6384

CSO statistical publication, 03 March 2023, 11am

Table 1.1 Balance of International Payments				€ million
	Merchandise Balance	Services and Income Balance	Current Account Balance	Current Account Balance as % of GDP
Q4 2021	40,291	-35,712	4,580	4.2
Q4 2022	53,965	-38,140	15,825	12.2

Q1-Q4 2021	167,308	-106,649	60,659	14.2
Q1-Q4 2022	204,376	-160,143	44,236	8.8

Open in Excel: International Accounts Q4 2022 Table 1.1 (XLS 10KB)

Current account balance of €15.8bn in quarter 4 2022

The Balance of Payments current account, a measure of Ireland’s economic flows with the rest of the world, showed a surplus of €15.8bn in the fourth quarter of 2022. Increased reinvested earnings inflows and computer services exports along with reduced R&D related IP imports have contributed to the current account surplus.

	Current Account
Q3 2020	9.87812279310573
Q4 2020	0.808201291059934
Q1 2021	16.8480902885159
Q2 2021	16.1198977086449
Q3 2021	19.7322326507056
Q4 2021	4.21303948476478
Q1 2022	14.4474627498572
Q2 2022	13.110471936425
Q3 2022	-3.34419201460527
Q4 2022	12.1942440678879

	Merchandise	Services	Primary Income	Secondary Income	Balance on Current Account
Q3 2020	37.465	2.502	-29.253	-0.727	9.987
Q4 2020	34.343	-14.731	-17.819	-1.034	0.76
Q1 2021	42.057	5.491	-29.221	-1.273	17.054
Q2 2021	40.137	5.203	-27.987	-0.994	16.359
Q3 2021	44.823	5.146	-26.622	-0.68	22.666
Q4 2021	40.291	-15.263	-19.019	-1.43	4.58
Q1 2022	47.784	5.442	-34.986	-1.198	17.043
Q2 2022	49.081	2.974	-35.022	-1.186	15.848
Q3 2022	53.546	-18.491	-38.401	-1.135	-4.48
Q4 2022	53.965	-6.693	-30.129	-1.318	15.825

Current account (see Table 1.3)

Merchandise exports were €94,768m in the fourth quarter of 2022, an increase of €22,425m compared with the fourth quarter of 2021. Merchandise imports were €40,803m in the fourth quarter of 2022, an increase of €8,752m over the same period in 2021.
Service exports at €91,728m increased by €6,320m compared to the fourth quarter of 2021, mainly due to higher Computer services exports (which increased by €2,357m) and higher Business services exports (which increased by €2,299m).
Service imports at €98,422m were down €2,249m over the same period in 2021, mainly due to a reduction in R&D related IP imports of €15,337m .
Ireland’s trade balance at €47,272m, all goods and services exports less all goods and services imports, increased by €22,244m in the fourth quarter of 2022 over the same period in 2021.
Investment income earned abroad at €45,141m, increased by €11,694m compared with one year earlier while investment income payable to foreign investors at €75,340m increased by €22,755m. The overall income balance for the quarter at -€31,447m decreased by €10,999m compared with the same period in 2021.

International Accounts Q4 2022 Figure 1.3 (XLS 1KB)

Financial account (see Tables 1.4 and 1.5)

Direct investment in Ireland decreased by €978m in the fourth quarter of 2022. This was due to decreased equity and other capital of €5,642m and €1,403m which were offset by increased reinvestment of earnings of €6,067m. Direct investment abroad increased by €17,532m in the quarter, mainly due to increased reinvestment of earnings and other capital investment.
Portfolio investment in foreign assets increased by €63,230m in the quarter due to an increase in investment in foreign debt instruments of €64,683m. Portfolio investment in Ireland increased by €83,920m due to increased investment in equity instruments of €94,751m which was offset by a decrease in investment in debt instruments of €10,831m.
Other investment assets and liabilities decreased by €94,739m and €120,727m respectively in the fourth quarter of 2022.

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
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	142,213	-71,715	-92,225	-3,785	-167,725	-25,510	-11,877	-112,980	-23,028	99,894	1,282	-34,832	2,555
2021	Year	167,308	577	-102,849	-4,377	-106,649	60,659	3,712	53,246	-6,081	8,731	4,980	60,876	-3,495
2022	Year	204,376	-16,768	-138,538	-4,837	-160,143	44,236	-8,142	3,657	-137,276	155,311	485	22,176	-13,918

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	36,139	-59,876	-22,710	-1,050	-83,636	-47,496	-3,061	-53,140	-86,105	81,100	139	-58,007	-7,450
	Quarter 2	34,266	390	-22,443	-974	-23,027	11,239	-7,552	-51,183	49,413	12,891	-14	11,107	7,420
	Quarter 3	37,465	2,502	-29,253	-727	-27,478	9,987	-2,080	-12,829	-2,917	16,683	761	1,697	-6,210
	Quarter 4	34,343	-14,731	-17,819	-1,034	-33,584	760	816	4,172	16,581	-10,780	396	10,371	8,795
2021	Quarter 1	42,057	5,491	-29,221	-1,273	-25,003	17,054	3,016	17,099	8,338	-14,651	173	10,959	-9,111
	Quarter 2	40,137	5,203	-27,987	-994	-23,778	16,359	989	4,815	-4,667	22,982	72	23,203	5,855
	Quarter 3	44,823	5,146	-26,622	-680	-22,156	22,666	-257	7,198	-10,624	13,610	4,081	14,264	-8,145
	Quarter 4	40,291	-15,263	-19,019	-1,430	-35,712	4,580	-36	24,134	872	-13,210	654	12,450	7,906
2022	Quarter 1	47,784	5,442	-34,986	-1,198	-30,742	17,043	217	9,800	-36,091	37,620	-129	11,200	-6,060
	Quarter 2	49,081	2,974	-35,022	-1,186	-33,234	15,848	-251	24,456	-32,643	14,707	33	6,553	-9,044
	Quarter 3	53,546	-18,491	-38,401	-1,135	-58,027	-4,480	-6,029	-49,110	-47,852	76,996	603	-19,364	-8,855
	Quarter 4	53,965	-6,693	-30,129	-1,318	-38,140	15,825	-2,079	18,511	-20,690	25,988	-22	23,787	10,041
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 2022 Table 1.2 (XLS 16KB)

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Table 1.3 Current and Capital Accounts

Table 1.3 Current and Capital Accounts											€ million
		2021	2022	2021				2022
Item		Year	Year	Quarter 1	Quarter 2	Quarter 3	Quarter 4	Quarter 1	Quarter 2	Quarter 3	Quarter 4
Current Account
Merchandise¹	Exports	279,360	351,012	67,641	67,679	71,697	72,343	78,473	85,130	92,641	94,768
	Imports	112,050	146,634	25,583	27,542	26,874	32,051	30,688	36,048	39,095	40,803

International trade	Exports	165,254	208,314	40,353	40,586	41,079	43,236	52,257	52,953	53,861	49,243
	Imports	98,674	132,786	21,397	25,839	22,962	28,476	27,941	35,669	34,723	34,453
Goods for processing	Exports	100,928	134,711	23,144	22,174	25,080	30,530	18,619	32,894	38,520	44,678
	Imports	9,597	9,064	2,205	1,777	3,116	2,499	1,703	-998	2,632	5,727
Other conceptual adjustments	Exports	-10,293	-9,691	-235	-2652	-1591	-5815	-1276	-2254	-2409	-3752
	Imports	3,778	4,785	1981	-75	796	1076	1045	1378	1740	622
Merchanting (net export)	Exports	23,472	17,678	4,380	7,571	7,129	4,392	8,874	1,536	2,669	4,599

Services	Exports	293,629	337,282	63,385	70,835	74,001	85,408	77,956	81,710	85,888	91,728
	Imports	293,053	354,051	57,895	65,632	68,855	100,671	72,514	78,736	104,379	98,422
Repairs and Processing	Exports	1,718	2,439	364	373	404	577	534	487	718	700
	Imports	8,189	10,619	1,978	1,824	1,836	2,551	2,158	2,363	2,457	3,641
Transport	Exports	2,656	7,733	167	305	1,234	950	810	1,932	3,206	1,785
	Imports	4,756	5,788	1,090	1,098	1,180	1,388	1,235	1,468	1,565	1,520
Tourism and Travel ²	Exports	2,272	5,878	350	297	715	910	806	1,212	1,932	1,928
	Imports	2,166	7,323	131	182	860	993	1,001	1,492	2,362	2,468
Insurance	Exports	13,681	14,370	3,251	3,261	3,439	3,730	3,558	3,603	3,475	3,734
	Imports	10,568	13,409	2,593	2,797	2,526	2,652	3,375	3,355	3,333	3,346
Financial services	Exports	22,153	21,676	5,507	5,713	5,681	5,252	4,981	5,714	5,708	5,273
	Imports	19,040	18,831	4,620	4,853	4,816	4,751	4,647	4,608	4,783	4,793
Royalties/Licences	Exports	15,444	14,210	3,223	3,515	3,677	5,029	3,882	3,378	2,942	4,008
	Imports	112,818	130,367	22,529	26,420	27,664	36,205	28,857	30,589	29,501	41,420
of which: Pharmaceutical products and preparations	Exports	157	204	32	38	30	57	36	71	39	58
	Imports	18,252	26,439	2,919	4,824	3,654	6,855	4,008	6,580	4,545	11,306
Information and communication	Exports	9,655	*	1,980	2,227	2,244	3,204	2,351	1,876	1,087	*
	Imports	80,386	88,621	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*
Communications	Exports	237	235	58	60	60	59	59	60	59	57
	Imports	750	792	179	188	193	190	196	197	203	196
Computer services³	Exports	172,856	195,946	37,464	42,044	42,611	50,737	45,818	48,823	48,211	53,094
	Imports	8,342	10,752	1,788	2,113	2,118	2,323	2,387	2,718	2,933	2,714
Business services	Exports	49,858	60,051	10,404	12,071	13,304	14,079	14,719	12,686	16,268	16,378
	Imports	124,506	153,866	22,571	25,691	27,169	49,075	28,167	31,322	56,685	37,692
Research and development	Exports	6,300	6,721	1,157	1,435	1,695	2,013	1,166	1,336	1,813	2,406
	Imports	45,993	66,661	6,419	7,167	8,099	24,308	8,392	10,502	34,006	13,761
of which: IP related	Exports	1,297	1,089	216	337	535	209	101	103	373	512
	Imports	18,286	28,691	758	644	*	*	881	*	*	802
Operational leasing	Exports	16,888	17,452	4,056	4,206	4,285	4,341	4,360	4,148	4,375	4,569
	Imports	1,687	1,838	375	410	419	483	429	439	480	490
Misc. business services⁴	Exports	26,670	35,877	5,191	6,429	7,325	7,725	9,193	7,202	10,079	9,403
	Imports	76,826	85,367	15,777	18,114	18,650	24,285	19,346	20,381	22,199	23,441
Other services n.e.s.	Exports	12,754	14,744	2,597	3,196	2,875	4,086	2,789	3,815	3,369	4,771
	Imports	1,919	2,305	416	466	493	544	491	624	559	631

Merchandise and Services - Total	Exports	572,988	688,294	131,026	138,514	145,697	157,751	156,429	166,840	178,529	186,496
	Imports	405,102	500,685	83,478	93,173	95,729	132,722	103,202	114,784	143,474	139,225

Trade Balance	Net	167,884	187,609	47,548	45,340	49,968	25,028	53,227	52,055	35,055	47,272

Primary Income	Inflows	121,332	146,327	30,406	30,614	26,449	33,863	31,664	35,857	33,218	45,588
	Outflows	224,180	284,865	59,627	58,601	53,071	52,881	66,649	70,879	71,619	75,718
Compensation of Employees	Inflows	152	413	38	38	38	38	105	112	98	98
	Outflows	460	661	130	96	115	119	153	157	170	181
Investment Income	Inflows	119,648	144,419	29,991	30,206	26,004	33,447	31,182	35,380	32,716	45,141
	Outflows	222,936	283,289	59,376	58,143	52,832	52,585	66,337	70,314	71,298	75,340
Direct investment income	Inflows	34,786	38,222	9,972	8,172	4,306	12,336	8,655	9,680	5,634	14,253
	Outflows	128,904	166,251	36,746	34,090	28,748	29,320	42,320	40,993	41,626	41,312

of which: Manufacturing	Outflows	85,405	113,639	25,697	20,957	19,673	19,078	31,050	26,473	30,471	25,645
Information and communication	Outflows	26,694	32,714	7,856	7,857	4,474	6,507	7,078	8,870	6,313	10,453

Income on equity	Inflows	33,012	34,541	9,534	7,814	3,838	11,826	8,105	9,058	4,736	12,642
	Outflows	119,571	154,248	34,177	31,774	26,395	27,225	39,819	38,327	38,545	37,557
Dividends & distributed	Inflows	14,151	8,731	8,008	1,111	*	*	1,171	*	*	1,263
branch profits	Outflows	72,543	83,121	35,860	6,409	13,661	16,613	28,791	5,805	17,162	31,363
Reinvested earnings	Inflows	18,861	25,811	1,526	6,703	*	*	6,934	*	*	11,379
	Outflows	47,029	71,128	-1,683	25,365	12,734	10,613	11,028	32,522	21,383	6,195
Income on debt	Inflows	1,774	3,681	437	358	468	511	550	622	898	1,611
	Outflows	9,333	12,001	2,569	2,316	2,353	2,095	2,500	2,666	3,081	3,754
Portfolio investment income	Inflows	68,461	81,261	16,117	18,004	17,711	16,629	17,361	21,682	20,302	21,916
	Outflows	80,915	100,656	19,338	20,462	21,080	20,035	20,840	25,939	25,724	28,153
Income on equity	Inflows	28,082	31,574	6,208	8,007	7,476	6,391	7,087	10,576	7,015	6,896
	Outflows	63,967	82,862	15,215	16,343	16,838	15,571	16,707	21,876	21,059	23,220
Income on debt	Inflows	40,379	49,689	9,909	9,997	10,235	10,238	10,274	11,107	13,287	15,021
	Outflows	16,948	17,793	4,122	4,119	4,242	4,465	4,133	4,062	4,665	4,933
Other investment income	Inflows	16,403	24,935	3,903	4,030	3,988	4,482	5,166	4,017	6,780	8,972
	Outflows	13,118	16,384	3,293	3,591	3,004	3,230	3,178	3,382	3,948	5,876
Other primary income	Inflows	1,529	1,496	376	370	406	377	377	366	404	349
	Outflows	783	915	121	362	123	177	159	408	151	197

Secondary Income	Inflows	6,632	7,457	1,311	1,399	1,924	1,998	1,807	1,803	2,154	1,693
	Outflows	11,009	12,294	2,584	2,393	2,604	3,428	3,005	2,989	3,289	3,011

Income Balance	Net	-107,225	-143,374	-30,494	-28,981	-27,302	-20,448	-36,184	-36,207	-39,536	-31,447

Current Account - Total	Inflows	700,951	842,076	162,743	170,527	174,070	193,611	189,899	204,500	213,900	233,777
	Outflows	640,292	797,842	145,689	154,168	151,404	189,031	172,856	188,652	218,381	217,953

Current Account Balance	Net	60,659	44,236	17,054	16,359	22,666	4,580	17,043	15,848	-4,480	15,825

Capital Account Balance	Net	3,712	-8,142	3,016	989	-257	-36	217	-251	-6,029	-2,079

Memorandum Item:
Government Income	Inflows	39	35	10	10	13	6	6	14	14	1
	Outflows	2,565	2,455	789	653	526	597	814	481	552	608
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 2022 Table 1.3 (XLS 25KB)

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Table 1.4 Financial Account

Table 1.4 Financial Account¹											€ million
		2021	2022	2021				2022
Item		Year		Quarter 1	Quarter 2	Quarter 3	Quarter 4	Quarter 1	Quarter 2	Quarter 3	Quarter 4

Direct Investment	Abroad	49,077	5,071	-34	11,833	-1,233	38,511	9,335	-9,494	-12,302	17,532
	In Ireland	-4,168	1,415	-17,134	7,019	-8,431	14,378	-465	-33,949	36,807	-978

Equity	Abroad	47,180	-62,410	2,899	2,774	13,143	28,364	3,668	-56,561	-6,475	-3,042
	In Ireland	-17,847	-34,763	223	3,962	-12,296	-9,736	-26,304	-24,390	21,573	-5,642
Reinvested Earnings	Abroad	19,304	26,251	1,637	6,814	*	*	7,044	*	*	11,489
	In Ireland	47,604	70,822	-1,610	25,459	12,900	10,855	11,065	32,508	21,182	6,067
Other Capital	Abroad	-17,407	41,229	-4,570	2,245	*	*	-1,377	*	*	9,086
	In Ireland	-33,923	-34,642	-15,745	-22,403	-9,035	13,260	14,774	-42,067	-5,946	-1,403

Portfolio Investment	Assets	353,036	-56,049	68,715	89,870	48,775	145,676	-51,325	-22,273	-45,681	63,230
	Liabilities	359,117	81,227	60,377	94,537	59,399	144,804	-15,234	10,370	2,171	83,920

Equity	Assets	197,349	-6,332	68,248	40,779	24,322	64,000	10,948	1,134	-16,961	-1,453
	Liabilities	282,525	92,690	45,431	73,872	50,760	112,462	-13,521	2,631	8,829	94,751
Debt Instruments	Assets	155,686	-49,718	467	49,091	24,453	81,675	-62,274	-23,407	-28,720	64,683
	Liabilities	76,592	-11,462	14,946	20,665	8,639	32,342	-1,713	7,739	-6,657	-10,831
Bonds and notes	Assets	113,436	-30,209	18,369	31,799	32,062	31,206	-7,535	-14,391	-16,163	7,880
	Liabilities	82,158	-8,412	13,879	24,493	9,358	34,428	-1,132	8,665	-2,605	-13,340
Money market instruments	Assets	42,250	-19,509	-17,902	17,293	-7,610	50,469	-54,738	-9,016	-12,558	56,803
	Liabilities	-5,567	-3,051	1,067	-3,828	-719	-2,087	-581	-927	-4,052	2,509

Other Investment	Assets	-8,242	59,570	17,920	-16,940	15,365	-24,587	83,939	-18,350	88,720	-94,739
	Liabilities	-16,973	-95,741	32,571	-39,922	1,755	-11,377	46,319	-33,057	11,724	-120,727

Loans, currency and deposits	Assets	49,563	114,858	1,416	30,327	10,227	7,593	29,240	40,206	66,952	-21,540
	Liabilities	45,666	-56,061	37,224	-4,842	-5,967	19,251	8,058	12,831	-8,300	-68,650
Other²	Assets	-57,806	-55,287	16,502	-47,266	5,138	-32,180	54,700	-58,556	21,768	-73,199
	Liabilities	-62,637	-39,681	-4,653	-35,080	7,723	-30,627	38,260	-45,887	20,023	-52,077

Reserve Assets		4,980	485	173	72	4081	654	-129	33	603	-22

Monetary gold		176	135	0	0	49	127	135	0	0	0
Special drawing rights		4,082	164	0	0	4003	79	0	1	171	-8
Reserve position in the IMF		0	151	0	0	0	0	0	56	44	51
Foreign exchange		564	-100	370	-199	-127	520	-333	12	217	4
Other		156	135	-198	271	156	-73	69	-36	171	-69

Balance on Financial Account		60,876	22,176	10,959	23,203	14,264	12,450	11,200	6,553	-19,364	23,787

Net errors and omissions		-3,495	-13,918	-9,111	5,855	-8,145	7,906	-6,060	-9,044	-8,855	10,041
Memorandum Item:
Government financial	Assets	-1,821	172	-1,808	-85	-171	243	-474	508	-266	404
transactions	Liabilities	2,978	-9,735	6,728	-110	-1,415	-2,225	369	-126	-1,932	-8,046
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
		2021	2022	2021				2022
Item		Year		Quarter 1	Quarter 2	Quarter 3	Quarter 4	Quarter 1	Quarter 2	Quarter 3	Quarter 4
Current Account - Total	Inflows	700,951	842,076	162,743	170,527	174,070	193,611	189,899	204,500	213,900	233,777
	Outflows	640,292	797,842	145,689	154,168	151,404	189,031	172,856	188,652	218,381	217,953

Merchandise²	Exports	279,360	351,012	67,641	67,679	71,697	72,343	78,473	85,130	92,641	94,768
	Imports	112,050	146,634	25,583	27,542	26,874	32,051	30,688	36,048	39,095	40,803

Services	Exports	293,629	337,282	63,385	70,835	74,001	85,408	77,956	81,710	85,888	91,728
	Imports	293,053	354,051	57,895	65,632	68,855	100,671	72,514	78,736	104,379	98,422

General Government	Exports	448	464	110	111	111	116	115	114	115	120
	Imports	29	98	7	7	7	8	19	20	21	38
Monetary Authority ³	Exports	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
	Imports	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Monetary Financial Institutions⁴	Exports	5,352	6,932	1,480	1,438	1,432	1,002	1,077	1,966	1,984	1,905
	Imports	2,784	3,244	713	698	676	697	691	855	788	910
Other Sectors⁵	Exports	287,831	329,889	61,796	69,286	72,458	84,291	76,765	79,630	83,790	89,704
	Imports	290,239	350,707	57,174	64,927	68,172	99,966	71,803	77,861	103,570	97,473
of which:
Other Financial Intermediaries	Exports	36,124	36,491	8,825	8,908	9,004	9,387	8,664	9,156	9,011	9,660
	Imports	49,319	37,763	8,529	7,818	8,494	24,478	9,084	9,471	9,718	9,490
Non-Financial Companies⁶	Exports	251,707	293,398	52,971	60,379	63,453	74,904	68,100	70,475	74,779	80,044
	Imports	240,922	312,944	48,646	57,110	59,678	75,488	62,719	68,390	93,852	87,983

Primary Income	Inflows	121,332	146,327	30,406	30,614	26,449	33,863	31,664	35,857	33,218	45,588
	Outflows	224,180	284,865	59,627	58,601	53,071	52,881	66,649	70,879	71,619	75,718

General Government	Inflows	39	35	10	10	13	6	6	14	14	1
	Outflows	2,565	2,455	789	653	526	597	814	481	552	608
Monetary Authority ³	Inflows	277	168	81	74	67	55	47	41	40	40
	Outflows	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Monetary Financial Institutions⁴	Inflows	1,868	10,634	487	323	295	763	898	1,078	2,999	5,659
	Outflows	1,018	10,414	222	413	166	217	347	1,480	3,101	5,486
Other Sectors⁵	Inflows	119,149	135,491	29,828	30,208	26,074	33,039	30,713	34,724	30,165	39,889
	Outflows	220,597	271,995	58,616	57,536	52,378	52,067	65,488	68,918	67,965	69,624
of which:
Other Financial Intermediaries	Inflows	88,316	98,979	20,958	22,852	22,469	22,037	22,869	25,408	24,361	26,341
	Outflows	90,026	100,001	21,202	23,994	23,000	21,830	22,534	26,189	24,297	26,981
Non-Financial Companies⁶	Inflows	30,833	36,511	8,870	7,356	3,605	11,002	7,844	9,316	5,804	13,547
	Outflows	130,571	171,994	37,414	33,542	29,378	30,237	42,954	42,729	43,669	42,642

Secondary Income	Inflows	6,632	7,457	1,311	1,399	1,924	1,998	1,807	1,803	2,154	1,693
	Outflows	11,009	12,294	2,584	2,393	2,604	3,428	3,005	2,989	3,289	3,011

General Government	Inflows	227	88	5	26	181	15	6	28	9	45
	Outflows	3,930	3,917	1,109	852	693	1,276	993	1,017	935	972
Monetary Authority ³	Inflows	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
	Outflows	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Monetary Financial Institutions⁴	Inflows	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
	Outflows	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Other Sectors⁵	Inflows	6,406	7,370	1,306	1,373	1,743	1,984	1,801	1,776	2,145	1,648
	Outflows	7,081	8,376	1,475	1,542	1,912	2,152	2,012	1,972	2,353	2,039
of which:
Other Financial Intermediaries	Inflows	5,202	6,390	1,005	1,072	1,442	1,683	1,501	1,476	1,846	1,567
	Outflows	5,202	6,390	1,005	1,072	1,442	1,683	1,501	1,476	1,846	1,567
Non-Financial Companies⁶	Inflows	1,204	978	301	301	301	301	299	299	299	81
	Outflows	1,876	1,986	469	469	469	469	511	496	507	472

Balance on Current Account		60,659	44,236	17,054	16,359	22,666	4,580	17,043	15,848	-4,480	15,825

Balance on Capital Account		3,712	-8,142	3,016	989	-257	-36	217	-251	-6,029	-2,079

Financial Account⁷
Direct investment	Abroad	49,077	5,071	-34	11,833	-1,233	38,511	9,335	-9,494	-12,302	17,532
	In Ireland	-4,168	1,415	-17,134	7,019	-8,431	14,378	-465	-33,949	36,807	-978

General Government	Abroad	-3	0	*	*	*	*	0	0	0	0
	In Ireland	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Monetary Authority ³	Abroad	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
	In Ireland	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Monetary Financial Institutions⁴	Abroad	-296	725	*	*	*	*	570	173	-106	88
	In Ireland	-1,670	-274	-201	254	471	-2,194	-77	-236	-437	476
Other Sectors⁵	Abroad	49,376	4,345	15	12,074	-1,339	38,626	8,766	-9,668	-12,197	17,444
	In Ireland	-2,498	1,688	-16,933	6,765	-8,902	16,572	-387	-33,714	37,245	-1,456
of which:
Other Financial Intermediaries	Abroad	32,779	-4,716	3,133	1,326	*	*	1,426	-332	-3,408	-2,402
	In Ireland	64,164	-1,064	6,251	6,945	20,170	30,798	7,893	-18,924	11,061	-1,094
Non-Financial Companies⁶	Abroad	16,597	9,061	-3,118	10,748	*	*	7,340	-9,336	-8,789	19,846
	In Ireland	-66,662	2,752	-23,184	-180	-29,072	-14,226	-8,280	-14,790	26,184	-362

Portfolio investment	Assets	353,036	-56,049	68,715	89,870	48,775	145,676	-51,325	-22,273	-45,681	63,230
	Liabilities	359,117	81,227	60,377	94,537	59,399	144,804	-15,234	10,370	2,171	83,920

General Government	Assets	-1,167	354	-657	-62	-254	-194	0	567	-213	0
	Liabilities	1,148	-9,648	4,765	251	-1,394	-2,474	366	49	-1,994	-8,069
Monetary Authority ³	Assets	-3,116	-1,678	-845	-1,185	-1,112	26	-1,462	-298	-331	413
	Liabilities	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Monetary Financial Institutions⁴	Assets	16,486	-33,736	-16,704	6,848	-23,866	50,208	-59,065	-14,694	-30,884	70,907
	Liabilities	-12,590	45,687	-51,053	1,827	-12,335	48,971	-37,630	-6,664	5,018	84,963
Other Sectors⁵	Assets	340,831	-20,988	86,920	84,269	74,007	95,635	9,202	-7,848	-14,252	-8,090
	Liabilities	370,559	45,187	106,665	92,459	73,128	98,307	22,030	16,985	-853	7,025
of which:
Other Financial Intermediaries	Assets	340,951	-20,913	86,945	84,299	74,039	95,668	9,231	-7,819	-14,245	-8,080
	Liabilities	348,433	48,836	109,843	91,615	*	*	23,408	*	*	*
Non-Financial Companies⁶	Assets	-120	-75	-25	-30	-32	-33	-29	-29	-7	-10
	Liabilities	22,126	-3,649	-3,178	844	*	*	-1,378	*	*	*

Other investment	Assets	-8,242	59,570	17,920	-16,940	15,365	-24,587	83,939	-18,350	88,720	-94,739
	Liabilities	-16,973	-95,741	32,571	-39,922	1,755	-11,377	46,319	-33,057	11,724	-120,727

General Government	Assets	-654	-182	-1,151	-23	83	437	-474	-59	-53	404
	Liabilities	1,830	-87	1,963	-361	*	*	*	-175	62	23
Monetary Authority ³	Assets	36,925	17,605	13,680	11,121	2,631	9,493	3,787	13,792	-5,334	5,360
	Liabilities	5,296	2,232	119	605	*	*	*	1,139	385	475
Monetary Financial Institutions⁴	Assets	-79,321	88,791	-27,727	-10,169	8,141	-49,566	61,534	-60	67,454	-40,137
	Liabilities	-51,036	20,952	7,475	-7,404	-4,267	-46,840	38,673	-6,092	27,136	-38,765
Other Sectors⁵	Assets	34,811	-46,643	33,119	-17,868	4,511	15,049	19,091	-32,023	26,654	-60,365
	Liabilities	26,935	-118,840	23,012	-32,763	1,872	34,814	7,409	-27,929	-15,860	-82,460
of which:
Other Financial Intermediaries	Assets	38,027	-40,894	43,545	-19,142	1,867	11,757	28,257	-28,192	15,251	-56,210
	Liabilities	16,025	-116,911	31,279	-37,712	-1,356	23,814	15,169	-28,505	-23,412	-80,163
Non-Financial Companies⁶	Assets	-3,216	-5,749	-10,426	1,274	2,644	3,292	-9,166	-3,831	11,403	-4,155
	Liabilities	10,910	-1,929	-8,267	4,949	3,228	11,000	-7,760	576	7,552	-2,297

Reserve Assets		4,980	485	173	72	4,081	654	-129	33	603	-22

Balance on Financial Account		60,876	22,176	10,959	23,203	14,264	12,450	11,200	6,553	-19,364	23,787
Net errors and omissions		-3,495	-13,918	-9,111	5,855	-8,145	7,906	-6,060	-9,044	-8,855	10,041
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
		2021	2022	2021				2022
Item		Year		Quarter 1	Quarter 2	Quarter 3	Quarter 4	Quarter 1	Quarter 2	Quarter 3	Quarter 4

Current Account - Total	Inflows	700,951	842,076	162,743	170,527	174,070	193,611	189,899	204,500	213,900	233,777
	Outflows	640,292	797,842	145,689	154,168	151,404	189,031	172,856	188,652	218,381	217,953

Merchandise²	Exports	279,360	351,012	67,641	67,679	71,697	72,343	78,473	85,130	92,641	94,768
	Imports	112,050	146,634	25,583	27,542	26,874	32,051	30,688	36,048	39,095	40,803
EMU	Exports	92,437	125,192	19,953	22,221	22,814	27,449	24,318	31,522	33,482	35,870
	Imports	38,602	51,591	7,631	10,984	9,136	10,851	10,300	11,941	13,328	16,022
Non-EMU	Exports	186,923	225,819	47,688	45,458	48,883	44,894	54,155	53,608	59,158	58,898
	Imports	73,449	95,044	17,953	16,558	17,738	21,200	20,389	24,107	25,767	24,781
EU	Exports	100,611	135,121	21,958	24,189	24,603	29,861	26,518	33,781	36,060	38,762
	Imports	42,729	56,668	8,603	12,054	10,106	11,966	11,477	13,196	14,688	17,307
Non-EU	Exports	178,747	215,890	45,682	43,490	47,093	42,482	51,955	51,348	56,581	56,006
	Imports	69,321	89,967	16,980	15,487	16,768	20,086	19,211	22,853	24,407	23,496

Services	Exports	293,629	337,282	63,385	70,835	74,001	85,408	77,956	81,710	85,888	91,728
	Imports	293,053	354,051	57,895	65,632	68,855	100,671	72,514	78,736	104,379	98,422
EMU	Exports	76,024	87,541	16,394	18,489	19,117	22,024	19,334	21,296	22,585	24,326
	Imports	39,275	51,345	7,034	9,415	9,054	13,772	9,525	13,219	11,204	17,397
Non-EMU	Exports	217,605	249,741	46,992	52,346	54,883	63,384	58,623	60,414	63,303	67,401
	Imports	253,782	302,710	50,862	56,218	59,802	86,900	62,990	65,518	93,176	81,026
EU	Exports	93,466	107,758	20,068	22,520	23,560	27,318	23,810	26,223	27,721	30,004
	Imports	43,084	56,089	7,866	10,421	9,996	14,801	10,546	14,421	12,421	18,701
Non-EU	Exports	200,163	229,524	43,317	48,315	50,441	58,090	54,147	55,487	58,167	61,723
	Imports	249,971	297,965	50,029	55,212	58,859	85,871	61,969	64,316	91,959	79,721

Primary Income	Inflows	121,332	146,327	30,406	30,614	26,449	33,863	31,664	35,857	33,218	45,588
	Outflows	224,180	284,865	59,627	58,601	53,071	52,881	66,649	70,879	71,619	75,718
EMU	Inflows	39,403	44,309	9,062	9,615	9,483	11,243	9,652	10,418	11,313	12,926
	Outflows	61,289	60,072	15,251	17,276	16,686	12,076	13,765	16,664	15,562	14,081
Non-EMU	Inflows	81,927	102,017	21,344	20,999	16,965	22,619	22,012	25,439	21,904	32,662
	Outflows	162,891	224,792	44,376	41,325	36,385	40,805	52,884	54,215	56,056	61,637
EU	Inflows	42,604	48,131	9,846	10,418	10,356	11,984	10,485	11,308	12,361	13,977
	Outflows	64,092	63,077	16,036	18,229	17,242	12,585	14,598	17,583	16,179	14,717
Non-EU	Inflows	78,727	98,197	20,560	20,197	16,092	21,878	21,179	24,549	20,857	31,612
	Outflows	160,089	221,787	43,591	40,373	35,829	40,296	52,051	53,296	55,439	61,001

Secondary Income	Inflows	6,632	7,457	1,311	1,399	1,924	1,998	1,807	1,803	2,154	1,693
	Outflows	11,009	12,294	2,584	2,393	2,604	3,428	3,005	2,989	3,289	3,011
EMU	Inflows	3,411	4,038	732	721	1,031	927	1,055	803	1,100	1,080
	Outflows	4,056	4,577	888	888	1,187	1,093	1,210	968	1,255	1,144
Non-EMU	Inflows	3,221	3,421	579	678	893	1,071	752	1,001	1,054	614
	Outflows	6,954	7,716	1,697	1,505	1,417	2,335	1,795	2,021	2,034	1,866
EU	Inflows	3,951	4,334	788	810	1,280	1,073	1,111	904	1,158	1,161
	Outflows	7,802	8,211	1,955	1,637	1,844	2,366	2,100	1,882	2,138	2,091
Non-EU	Inflows	2,683	3,123	523	590	645	925	696	899	996	532
	Outflows	3,207	4,083	629	756	760	1,062	905	1,107	1,151	920

Balance on Current Account		60,659	44,236	17,054	16,359	22,666	4,580	17,043	15,848	-4,480	15,825

Balance on Capital Account		3,712	-8,142	3,016	989	-257	-36	217	-251	-6,029	-2,079
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.

Open in Excel: International Accounts Q4 2022 Table 1.6 (XLS 20KB)

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Table 1.7 Financial Account showing geographical detail

Table 1.7 Financial Account¹ showing geographical² detail											€ million
		2021	2022	2021				2022
Item		Year		Quarter 1	Quarter 2	Quarter 3	Quarter 4	Quarter 1	Quarter 2	Quarter 3	Quarter 4

Direct Investment	Abroad	49,077	5,071	-34	11,833	-1,233	38,511	9,335	-9,494	-12,302	17,532
	In Ireland	-4,168	1,415	-17,134	7,019	-8,431	14,378	-465	-33,949	36,807	-978

EMU	Abroad	33,559	20,631	1,524	3,660	18,283	10,092	4,725	9,477	2,766	3,663
	In Ireland	-18,578	42,998	589	-664	17,950	-36,453	6,281	-3,382	28,086	12,013
Non-EMU	Abroad	15,520	-15,560	-1,558	8,172	-19,515	28,421	4,611	-18,972	-15,069	13,870
	In Ireland	14,412	-41,583	-17,723	7,683	-26,379	50,831	-6,746	-30,568	8,722	-12,991
EU	Abroad	34,802	20,470	922	4,202	20,003	9,675	4,922	8,995	2,747	3,806
	In Ireland	-17,750	42,810	1,374	-766	18,317	-36,675	6,674	-3,622	27,780	11,978
Non-EU	Abroad	14,279	-15,399	-956	7,633	-21,235	28,837	4,413	-18,489	-15,049	13,726
	In Ireland	13,583	-41,395	-18,507	7,784	-26,747	51,053	-7,138	-30,328	9,028	-12,957

Portfolio Investment	Assets	353,036	-56,049	68,715	89,870	48,775	145,676	-51,325	-22,273	-45,681	63,230
	Liabilities	359,117	81,227	60,377	94,537	59,399	144,804	-15,234	10,370	2,171	83,920

EMU	Assets	40,876	-1,048	-1,552	23,901	11,278	7,249	-15,570	-6,522	-14,305	35,349
	Liabilities	168,822	36,683	26,516	48,559	25,694	68,053	-36,501	6,213	10,479	56,492
Non-EMU	Assets	312,159	-55,003	70,267	65,969	37,497	138,426	-35,756	-15,751	-31,377	27,881
	Liabilities	190,293	44,544	33,861	45,977	33,705	76,750	21,267	4,157	-8,308	27,428
EU	Assets	53,717	266	2,703	25,528	20,147	5,339	-17,630	-4,919	-14,056	36,871
	Liabilities	174,782	31,928	27,934	50,795	27,381	68,672	-38,547	6,428	8,656	55,391
Non-EU	Assets	299,317	-56,316	66,011	64,342	28,628	140,336	-33,696	-17,354	-31,625	26,359
	Liabilities	184,334	49,299	32,443	43,742	32,018	76,131	23,313	3,942	-6,484	28,528

Other Investment³	Assets	-8,242	59,570	17,920	-16,940	15,365	-24,587	83,939	-18,350	88,720	-94,739
	Liabilities	-16,973	-95,741	32,571	-39,922	1,755	-11,377	46,319	-33,057	11,724	-120,727

EMU	Assets	30,451	36,265	30,193	10,642	4,190	-14,574	18,466	17,021	23,310	-22,532
	Liabilities	5,934	-13,553	14,180	4,358	-2,570	-10,034	700	7,904	235	-22,392
Non-EMU	Assets	-38,692	23,305	-12,272	-27,582	11,175	-10,013	65,473	-35,371	65,410	-72,207
	Liabilities	-22,909	-82,187	18,390	-44,281	4,325	-1,343	45,619	-40,960	11,489	-98,335
EU	Assets	30,702	38,347	33,829	11,686	3,503	-18,316	21,923	14,831	27,345	-25,752
	Liabilities	12,174	-13,472	19,188	5,406	-2,010	-10,410	3,882	3,404	3,363	-24,121
Non-EU	Assets	-38,943	21,221	-15,909	-28,625	11,861	-6,270	62,016	-33,181	61,373	-68,987
	Liabilities	-29,148	-82,270	13,381	-45,328	3,765	-966	42,437	-36,462	8,361	-96,606

Reserve Assets		4,980	485	173	72	4,081	654	-129	33	603	-22

Balance on Financial Account		60,876	22,176	10,959	23,203	14,264	12,450	11,200	6,553	-19,364	23,787

Net errors and omissions		-3,495	-13,918	-9,111	5,855	-8,145	7,906	-6,060	-9,044	-8,855	10,041
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 Q4 2022 Table 1.7 (XLS 20KB)

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International Accounts Q4 2022

Balance of International Payments

Balance of International Payments

Current account balance of €15.8bn in Quarter 4 2022

Current account balance of €15.8bn in quarter 4 2022

Current account (see Table 1.3)

Financial account (see Tables 1.4 and 1.5)

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