Welcome to the 2018 edition of Measuring Ireland's Progress and the seventh edition designed for the web and mobile devices.
The progress indicators used in this report provide an overall view of the social, economic, environment, education and health situation in Ireland. From the feedback we have received on earlier reports, users have found it useful to have a diverse set of important indicators brought together in one report. A similar approach has also been followed in other CSO publications such as Women and Men in Ireland 2016 and Regional SDGs Ireland 2017. This report is the sixteenth in the Measuring Ireland’s Progress series. In June 2012 the CSO launched a new web-based report which brings together national data on 27 key short-term economic indicators in a timely and accessible way. The CSO also publishes the Macroeconomic Scoreboard 2018, an annual process which the European Commission undertakes using a scoreboard of eleven headline indicators and 28 auxiliary indicators to screen for and correct any macroeconomic imbalances that may occur in Member States.
Internationally there has been an increasing level of interest in national progress indicators. A number of other European countries have published similar reports (e.g., Spain and Germany) and the OECD publishes an annual Factbook covering more than 100 indicators. The OECD is also actively involved in measuring well-being and progress through their OECD Better Life Initiative and their publication How's Life? 2017 Measuring Well-being.
Pádraig Dalton,
Director General
This web-based edition of Measuring Ireland’s Progress is organised so that fifty-nine indicators are presented in five themes – Society, Economy, Environment, Education and Health.
Most indicators are presented in both a national and an international context. The EU28 is referenced throughout this report as the UK was still a member of the EU for the time period covered by this publication. The national context is generally in a time series format while the international context compares Ireland with other EU28 countries and, where available, with three European Free Trade Association (EFTA) countries (Iceland, Norway and Switzerland) and five countries (Albania, Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia and Turkey) who were official EU28 candidate countries in 2018. The appendices describe the indicator definitions and data sources in greater detail. Where a graph and/or map is available for an indicator this will be indicated below the text for that indicator.
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Highlights
In 2019 the population estimate for Ireland was 4.92m, meaning that 1 in every 100 people in the EU28 lived in Ireland. Ireland had the fifth highest population increase (8.5%) in the EU28 between 2009 and 2019. Germany had the largest population in the EU28 in 2019, at 83.0m, and accounted for 16 in every 100 people in the EU28.
The number of people aged 65 and over in Ireland grew by over a third (39.6%) between 2009 and 2019, an increase of 197,400 persons.
In 2017, Ireland had the third highest fertility rate in the EU28 at 1.8. All EU28 countries had a fertility rate below the theoretical replacement rate of 2.1.
Ireland’s exports and imports were 200.7% and 146.4% of Modified Gross National Income (GNI*) respectively. These high levels of imports and exports demonstrate that Ireland’s economy is very open.
Prices in Ireland were the second highest in the EU28 in 2018 after Denmark at 27.3%, above the EU28 average. Ireland had the highest labour productivity in the EU28 in 2018, as measured by GDP per hour worked, at 78.4% above the EU28 average. Excluding the Foreign Sector (to exclude globalisation effects), Ireland had a labour productivity 19.8% higher than the EU28 average.
Municipal waste in Ireland dropped by 18.5% between 2007 and 2017, falling from 3.40 to 2.77 million tonnes. Over the same time period, the amount of waste recovered rose from 34.1% to 75.9% of total waste generated.
In 2017, Ireland’s net greenhouse gas emissions fell below the limit in the Kyoto Protocol by 0.1%.
Ireland had 444 passenger cars per 1,000 inhabitants in 2017, the seventh lowest ratio in the EU28.
The NEET rate (neither in employment nor in education and training) for young people in Ireland aged 18-24 was 12.6% in 2018, below the EU28 average of 13.7%.
The number of mathematics, science and technology (STEM) graduates in Ireland was 32.7 per 1,000 persons aged 20-29 in 2017, the highest rate in the EU28. Ireland also had the highest gender differential in STEM graduates in the EU28, with 46.0 male graduates and 19.4 female graduates per 1,000 persons aged 20-29.
Male life expectancy at birth in Ireland was 80.4 years in 2017, while female life expectancy was 3.6 years higher at 84.0 years. Both Italy and Sweden had the highest life expectancy for males at 80.8 years, while Spain had the highest for females at 86.1 years.
Public health spending per capita, in constant 2017 prices, increased from €2,870 to €3,232 between 2007 and 2017 in Ireland, an increase of 12.6%.
Overview
Population: Ireland accounted for just under 1.0% of the total EU28 population in 2019 and had the fifth highest percentage increase in population between 2009 and 2019. Ireland had a fertility rate of 1.8 in 2017. This tied with Sweden and Denmark as the second highest rate in the EU28, after France (at 1.9). The average age of first time mothers in Ireland in 2017 was 30.3 years old, above the EU28 average of 29.1 years.
The divorce rate in Ireland was 0.7 divorces per 1,000 population in 2016, the lowest rate in the EU28. Ireland had the highest proportion of young people (0-14) in the EU28 at 31.9%, and the second lowest proportion of older people (65 and over) at 20.6%. These combined to give Ireland a dependency ratio of 53.1%, just 1.5 percentage points less than the EU28 average of 54.6%. (Tables 1.2, 1.5, 1.6, 1.7 and 1.8)
Health: Current public expenditure on health care in Ireland averaged €3,232 per person in 2017 (at constant 2017 prices), an increase of 12.6% on 2007. Life expectancy at birth in Ireland in 2017, as calculated by Eurostat, was 84.0 years for females, 0.5 years greater than the EU28 average. The male life expectancy at birth in Ireland was 80.4 years, 2.1 years above the EU28 average. A 65 year old man in Ireland can now expect to live for a further 17.7 years while a 65 year old woman can look forward to another 20.6 years.
The predicted healthy life years at birth for females in Ireland was 69.3 years in 2017, the fourth highest rate in the EU28 and 5.3 years above the EU28 average. Male healthy life years at birth in Ireland in 2017 was 67.9 years, also the fourth highest rate in the EU28 and 4.4 years higher than the EU28 average.
Irish males can expect to spend 15.5% of their life expectancy in poor health, the fifth lowest rate in the EU28. Males in Slovenia, Austria, Latvia, Finland and Estonia can anticipate spending over a quarter of their life expectancy in poor health. Females in Ireland can expect to spend 17.5% of their life expectancy in poor health, the fourth lowest rate in the EU28. In Finland, Latvia and Slovenia, females are predicted to spend at least a third of their life in poor health (33.3%, 34.5% and 35.0% respectively), and the highest rates in the EU28. (Tables 5.1, 5.3, 5.4, 5.5, 5.6 and 5.7)
Environment: There were 444 passenger cars per 1,000 inhabitants in Ireland in 2017, the seventh lowest rate in the EU28. The highest number of cars per 1,000 inhabitants was in Luxembourg at 670, while the lowest was in Hungary at 355.
The quantity of municipal waste generated per person in Ireland dropped by a quarter (25.6%) over the 2007 to 2017 period, from 776.5 to 577.6kg. In all 22.5% of municipal waste was landfilled in 2017, below the EU28 average of 23.3%. The landfill percentage varies widely in EU28 states, from less than 1.0% in Denmark, Germany, and Sweden (where recycling and incineration rates are high), to over 80.0% in Greece and Malta. The quantity of waste landfilled in Ireland dropped by 69.1% between 2007 and 2017 from 2.01 to 0.62 million tonnes.
In 2018, diesel vehicles were the most common type of vehicle licensed for the first time at 63.1% (or 99,100 vehicles). This was followed by petrol vehicles (49,778 or 31.7%), petrol/electric hybrids (6,921 or 4.4%) and electric only vehicles (1,328 or 0.9%). (Tables 3.2, 3.6, 3.7, and 3.8)
Education: Real expenditure per student increased over the period 2007-2016 by 13.4% at primary level. However, there was a decrease of 7.4% at secondary level and 29.5% at third level over the same time period. In 2018, more than half (53.7%) of the population aged 25-34 had completed third level education, the third highest rate across the EU28.
Just over one in eight (12.6%) of those aged 18-24 in Ireland in 2017 was neither in employment nor in education and training (the NEET rate). The EU28 average NEET rate was 13.7% and varied from a low of 5.4% in the Netherlands to 24.9% in Italy. Ireland had the highest proportion of mathematics, science and technology (STEM) graduates in the EU28 in 2017. The proportion of graduates in these disciplines was 32.7 per 1,000 of the population aged 20-29 in Ireland, while the EU28 average was 19.3. (Tables 4.1, 4.5, 4.7 and 4.8)
Prices: Ireland had the second highest price levels in the EU28 in 2018, with prices 27.3% higher than the EU28 average. Only Denmark was more expensive with price levels at 137.9. (Table 2.13)
Employment and unemployment: The employment rate in Ireland fell from 70.3% in 2008 to 59.8% in 2012 before rising to 68.5% in 2018, just below the EU28 average of 68.6%. The highest employment rate in 2018 in the EU28 was in Sweden at 77.5% while the lowest rate was in Greece at 54.9%.
The unemployment rate in Ireland rose from 6.1% in 2008 to 15.9% in 2012 before decreasing to 6.0% in 2018. Ireland had the twelfth highest unemployment rate in the EU28, with the lowest rate in the Czech Republic at 2.2% and the highest in Greece at 19.3%. (Tables 2.14 and 2.16)
Housing: The number of new dwellings in Ireland increased by 266.8% between 2012 and 2018, from 4,911 to 18,016. In the same time period, the number of apartments increased by 425.3% (446 to 2,343), scheme houses rose by 1,039.8% (964 to 10,988), and single houses increased by 33.8% (3,501 to 4,685). Nationally, residential property prices decreased 44.8% between 2009 and 2013, before increasing 76.9% from 2013 to 2019. (Tables 2.19 and 2.20)
Social cohesion: The at risk of poverty rate in Ireland was 14.0% in 2018, which was below the EU28 rate of 16.9%. In 2018, 5.6% of the population in Ireland was in consistent poverty. Ireland’s net official development assistance was 0.3% of GNI in 2018, the tenth highest rate in the EU28, but below the UN target of 0.7%. (Tables 1.9, 1.10 and 1.14)
Economy: The GDP growth rate for Ireland in 2018 was 8.2%, the highest in the EU28 and above the EU28 average of 2.0%. Italy had the lowest GDP growth rate in the EU28 in 2018 at 0.9%, however no country experienced negative growth. In 2018, Ireland had the second highest GDP per capita in the EU28 at 87% higher than the EU28 average.
The public balance deficit in 2018 was 0.0% of GDP, greater than the EU28 average of -0.6% and a significant improvement on 2010 when it was -32.0%. Government debt dropped in 2018 to 63.6% of GDP (below the EU28 average of 80.0%), having been 119.9 in 2012. Ireland’s gross fixed capital formation was 23.4% of GDP in 2018, above the EU28 average of 20.6%.
The productivity of the Irish workforce, excluding the Foreign Sector and as measured by GDP per hour worked, was 19.8% higher than the EU28 average. (Tables 2.3, 2.4, 2.6, 2.8, and 2.15)
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