Society Measuring Ireland's Progress 2020 - Central Statistics Office

Ireland: Population distribution by age group

Table 1.1 Ireland: Population distribution by age group, 2011-2021¹
Year	0 - 14 years	15 - 24 years	25 - 44 years	45 - 64 years	65 years and over	Total
Year	Percentage					Thousands
2011	21.3	12.7	31.7	22.7	11.6	4,574.9
2012	21.5	12.3	31.2	22.9	12.0	4,593.7
2013	21.5	12.2	30.8	23.1	12.3	4,614.7
2014	21.5	12.2	30.3	23.3	12.7	4,645.4
2015	21.4	12.2	29.9	23.5	13.0	4,687.8
2016	21.2	12.1	29.6	23.8	13.3	4,739.6
2017	21.0	12.2	29.2	24.1	13.6	4,792.5
2018	20.8	12.5	28.7	24.2	13.9	4,857.0
2019	20.5	12.6	28.4	24.4	14.1	4,921.5
2020	20.2	12.7	28.1	24.6	14.5	4,977.4
2021	19.9	12.7	27.7	25.0	14.8	5,011.5
Source: CSO Population and Migration Estimates
¹Persons in April of each year. Data are preliminary for 2017 - 2021.

Open in Excel: Measuring Ireland's Progress 2020 Table 1.1 (XLS 9KB)

Ireland's population was 5.01 million in April 2021, an increase of 0.7% (i.e. 34,100 persons) on 2020.
The proportion of the population aged 65 years or over has increased since 2011 from 11.6% to 14.8% in 2021. Similarly, the proportion of the population aged 45-64 years also increased, from 22.7% in 2011 to 25.0% in 2021.

Conversely, the proportion of the population aged 15-24 years remained unchanged in 2011 and 2021 at 12.7%, while the proportion of the population aged 25-44 years decreased from 31.7% in 2011 to 27.7% in 2021.

Since 2011, the proportion of the population aged 0-14 years decreased, from 21.3% in 2011 to 19.9% in 2021. Table 1.1 demonstrates that Ireland has an ageing population.

The proportion of the population aged 15-64 years decreased from 67.1% in 2011 to 65.4% in 2021.

By country: Population

Table 1.2 By country: Population, 2011 and 2021^1,2
Country	2011	2021	Change	% Change
EU27	439,942,305	447,007,596	7,065,291	1.6
Germany	80,222,065	83,155,031	2,932,966	3.7
France	64,978,721	67,439,599	2,460,878	3.8
Italy	59,364,690	59,257,566	-107,124	-0.2
Spain	46,667,174	47,394,223	727,049	1.6
Poland	38,062,718	37,840,001	-222,717	-0.6
Romania	20,199,059	19,186,201	-1,012,858	-5.0
Netherlands	16,655,799	17,475,415	819,616	4.9
Belgium	11,000,638	11,566,041	565,403	5.1
Greece	10,486,731	10,701,777	215,046	2.1
Czech Republic	11,123,392	10,682,547	-440,845	-4.0
Sweden	9,415,570	10,379,295	963,725	10.2
Portugal	10,572,721	10,298,252	-274,469	-2.6
Hungary	9,985,722	9,730,772	-254,950	-2.6
Austria	8,375,164	8,932,664	557,500	6.7
Bulgaria	7,369,431	6,916,548	-452,883	-6.1
Denmark	5,560,628	5,840,045	279,417	5.0
Finland	5,375,276	5,533,793	158,517	2.9
Slovakia	5,392,446	5,459,781	67,335	1.2
Ireland	4,570,881	5,006,907	436,026	9.5
Croatia	4,289,857	4,036,355	-253,502	-5.9
Lithuania	3,052,588	2,795,680	-256,908	-8.4
Slovenia	2,050,189	2,108,977	58,788	2.9
Latvia	2,074,605	1,893,223	-181,382	-8.7
Estonia	1,329,660	1,330,068	408	0.0
Cyprus	839,751	896,005	56,254	6.7
Luxembourg	511,840	634,730	122,890	24.0
Malta	414,989	516,100	101,111	24.4

United Kingdom	63,022,532	:	:	:

EFTA Countries:
Switzerland	7,870,134	8,667,088	796,954	10.1
Norway	4,920,305	5,391,369	471,064	9.6
Iceland	318,452	368,792	50,340	15.8
Liechtenstein	36,149	39,055	2,906	8.0

EU Candidate Countries:
Turkey	73,722,988	83,614,362	9,891,374	13.4
Serbia	7,251,549	6,871,547	-380,002	-5.2
Albania	2,907,361	2,829,741	-77,620	-2.7
Macedonia	2,057,284	2,068,808	11,524	0.6
Montenegro	619,850	620,739	889	0.1
Source: Eurostat, Population and Social Conditions
¹Population on 1^st January of given year.
²Sorted by 2021, descending.
: Data is unavailable.

Open in Excel: Measuring Ireland's Progress 2020 Table 1.2 (XLS 12KB)

Ireland had the fourth highest percentage increase (9.5%) in population growth among the European Union 27 (EU27) countries between 2011 and 2021, after Malta (24.4%), Luxembourg (24.0%), and Sweden (10.2%).

Out of the EU27, ten countries experienced a decrease in population growth between 2011 and 2021: Italy, Poland, Portugal, Hungary, Czech Republic, Romania, Croatia, Bulgaria, Lithuania, and Latvia.

Latvia had the biggest percentage fall in population at 8.7%, while Malta had the largest increase at 24.4%.

Germany had the largest population in the EU27 in 2021 at close to 83.2 million people, nearly 17 times the size of Ireland's population.

Country	% Change
Malta	24.4
Luxembourg	24
Sweden	10.2
Ireland	9.5
Austria	6.7
Cyprus	6.7
Belgium	5.1
Denmark	5
Netherlands	4.9
France	3.8
Germany	3.7
Finland	2.9
Slovenia	2.9
Greece	2.1
EU27	1.6
Spain	1.6
Slovakia	1.2
Estonia	0
Italy	-0.2
Poland	-0.6
Portugal	-2.6
Hungary	-2.6
Czech Republic	-4
Romania	-5
Croatia	-5.9
Bulgaria	-6.1
Lithuania	-8.4
Latvia	-8.7
Iceland	15.8
Switzerland	10.1
Norway	9.6
Liechtenstein	8
Turkey	13.4
Macedonia	0.6
Montenegro	0.1
Albania	-2.7
Serbia	-5.2

Country	Population
Germany	83155031
France	67439599
Italy	59257566
Spain	47394223
Poland	37840001
Romania	19186201
Netherlands	17475415
Belgium	11566041
Greece	10701777
Czech Republic	10682547
Sweden	10379295
Portugal	10298252
Hungary	9730772
Austria	8932664
Bulgaria	6916548
Denmark	5840045
Finland	5533793
Slovakia	5459781
Ireland	5006907
Croatia	4036355
Lithuania	2795680
Slovenia	2108977
Latvia	1893223
Estonia	1330068
Cyprus	896005
Luxembourg	634730
Malta	516100
Switzerland	8667088
Norway	5391369
Iceland	368792
Liechtenstein	39055
Turkey	83614362
Serbia	6871547
Albania	2829741
Macedonia	2068808
Montenegro	620739

Ireland: Migration and natural increase

Table 1.3 Ireland: Migration and natural increase, 2011-2021¹
'000 persons
Year	Immigrants	Emigrants	Net migration	Births	Deaths	Natural increase	Population change	Total Population
2011	53.3	80.6	-27.4	75.1	27.7	47.5	20.1	4,574.9
2012	57.3	83.0	-25.7	73.2	28.7	44.5	18.8	4,593.7
2013	62.7	81.3	-18.7	69.4	29.8	39.6	21.0	4,614.7
2014	66.5	75.0	-8.5	68.4	29.2	39.2	30.8	4,645.4
2015	75.9	70.0	5.9	66.4	29.9	36.5	42.3	4,687.8
2016	82.3	66.2	16.2	65.4	29.8	35.6	51.8	4,739.6
2017	84.6	64.8	19.8	63.9	30.8	33.1	52.9	4,792.5
2018	90.3	56.3	34.0	61.2	30.7	30.5	64.5	4,857.0
2019	88.6	54.9	33.7	61.2	30.4	30.8	64.5	4,921.5
2020	85.4	56.5	28.9	58.3	31.2	27.1	55.9	4,977.4
2021	65.2	54.0	11.2	55.5	32.7	22.8	34.0	5,011.5
Source: CSO, Population and Migration Estimates
¹Data refer to the 12 months up to April of each year, and are preliminary for 2017 - 2021.

Open in Excel: Measuring Ireland's Progress 2020 Table 1.3 (XLS 10KB)

Inward migration to Ireland in the twelve months ending to April 2021 is estimated to have decreased by 23.7%, from 85,400 to 65,200 persons.
The number of emigrants from Ireland in 2012 was estimated to be 83,000, then dropped each year to 54,900 in 2019. It then increased to 56,500 in 2020 before falling to 54,000 in 2021.

The combined effect of these changes in immigration and emigration resulted in negative net migration between 2011 and 2014 (i.e. more people emigrated from Ireland than immigrated). However, by 2015 there was positive net migration, when a total of 5,900 more persons entered the country than left and positive net migration continued in each subsequent year. In 2021 there was a net migration of 11,200 persons.

The number of births in Ireland in 2021 was 55,500. Over the last ten years, the natural increase in the population (i.e. the number of births less the number of deaths) has decreased from 47,500 in 2011 to 22,800 in 2021.

The annual population change in 2011 was 20,100 persons, before decreasing to 18,800 in 2012. It increased to 64,500 in 2018, then decreased to 34,000 in 2021.

Year	Immigrants	Emigrants	Net migration
2011	53300	80600	-27400
2012	57300	83000	-25700
2013	62700	81300	-18700
2014	66500	75000	-8500
2015	75900	70000	5900
2016	82300	66200	16200
2017	84600	64800	19800
2018	90300	56300	34000
2019	88600	54900	33700
2020	85400	56500	28900
2021	65200	54000	11200

Ireland: Immigration and emigration by country of origin/destination

Table 1.4 Ireland: Immigration and Emigration by country of origin/destination, 2016-2021^{1, 2}
'000 persons
Year	2016	2017	2018	2019	2020	2021
Immigrants
EU14 (excluding Ireland)¹	14.7	15.1	14.9	14.0	13.8	6.9
EU15 to EU27²	11.9	12.2	11.0	9.1	8.7	7.7
UK	18.2	18.7	20.1	19.7	15.3	19.1
US	5.3	5.4	7.3	6.2	5.5	4.9
Australia	6.9	7.1	7.2	5.8	6.4	5.1
Canada	3.1	3.2	2.5	2.4	2.9	5.2
Rest of the world	22.2	22.8	27.4	31.4	32.8	16.3
Total persons	82.3	84.6	90.3	88.6	85.4	65.2

Emigrants
EU14 (excluding Ireland)	13.9	12.9	12.3	10.4	12.2	11.5
EU15 to EU27	9.3	9.7	6.5	3.8	9.1	4.5
UK	14.4	12.1	11.4	11.6	10.0	18.2
US	5.7	6.5	5.8	5.2	6.0	2.5
Australia	5.3	5.3	4.5	6.5	6.1	2.6
Canada	3.4	3.7	3.9	4.9	3.1	1.7
Rest of the world	14.2	14.6	11.9	12.5	10.1	13.0
Total persons	66.2	64.8	56.3	54.9	56.5	54.0
Source: CSO Population and Migration Estimates
¹Countries before enlargement on 1 May 2004 (i.e. Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, Portugal). Formerly referred to as "EU13".
²Accession countries joined post 2004.

Open in Excel: Measuring Ireland's Progress 2020 Table 1.4 (XLS 10KB)

In 2021 there were 65,200 immigrants into Ireland. Of these, 19,100 arrived from the United Kingdom (UK), and 6,900 from the rest of the EU14, excluding Ireland (those EU countries before enlargement from May 2004 onwards).

About 16,300 persons immigrated from the rest of the world in 2021 (i.e. countries other than the EU27, US, Australia, the UK or Canada).

Of the total 54,000 persons who emigrated from Ireland in 2021, the number of people emigrating to the UK was 18,200, or 33.7%.

Apart from the EU14 (excluding Ireland), there were more people immigrating into Ireland than emigrating from each region of origin in 2021. The total number of persons emigrating and immigrating to the EU14 (excluding Ireland) was 11,500 and 6,900 respectively.

Year	EU14 (excluding Ireland)	EU15 to EU27	UK	US	Australia	Canada	Rest of the World
2011	9700	9800	11900	3300	4500	1300	12900
2012	10200	10100	10100	5300	5400	1700	14500
2013	11600	10700	11700	4000	6000	1900	16700
2014	11700	10800	13500	4400	5400	2200	18600
2015	11900	11900	16400	4400	5800	2700	22800
2016	14700	11900	18200	5300	6900	3100	22200
2017	15100	12200	18700	5400	7100	3200	22800
2018	14900	11000	20100	7300	7200	2500	27400
2019	14000	9100	19700	6200	5800	2400	31400
2020	13800	8700	15300	5500	6400	2900	32800
2021	6900	7700	19100	4900	5100	5200	16300

By country: Young and old age dependency ratios

Table 1.5 By country: Young and old age dependency ratios, 2020^1,2
% of population aged 15-64
Country	Young and old age dependency ratio	Young age dependency ratio (0-14)	Old age dependency ratio (65 & over)
France	62.1	29.0	33.1
Finland	61.4	25.4	36.0
Sweden	60.6	28.5	32.1
Estonia	57.5	25.9	31.6
Greece	57.5	22.4	35.1
Latvia	57.5	25.2	32.3
Denmark	56.8	25.7	31.1
Italy	56.7	20.3	36.4
Bulgaria	56.3	22.5	33.8
Belgium	56.2	26.3	29.9
Czech Republic	56.1	25.0	31.1
Portugal	55.6	21.1	34.5
EU27	55.5	23.5	32.0
Germany	54.9	21.2	33.7
Croatia	54.8	22.2	32.6
Slovenia	54.6	23.3	31.3
Netherlands	54.2	24.1	30.1
Lithuania	53.9	23.3	30.6
Ireland	53.1	31.0	22.1
Romania	53.0	24.0	29.0
Hungary	52.5	22.2	30.3
Spain	51.8	22.1	29.7
Poland	50.8	23.3	27.5
Austria	50.3	21.7	28.6
Slovakia	47.9	23.4	24.5
Cyprus	47.8	23.7	24.1
Malta	46.9	19.7	27.1
Luxembourg	43.9	23.0	20.9

United Kingdom	57.5	28.2	29.3

EFTA Countries:
Norway	53.5	26.6	26.9
Switzerland	50.8	22.7	28.1
Iceland	49.6	28.0	21.6
Liechtenstein	49.2	21.9	27.3

EU Candidate Countries:
Serbia	54.4	22.0	32.4
Montenegro	50.5	27.0	23.5
Turkey	47.5	34.1	13.4
Albania	46.2	24.6	21.6
Macedonia	44.3	23.4	20.9
Source: Eurostat, Population and Social Conditions
¹Data refer to 1st January.
²Ordered by "Young and old age dependency ratio", descending.

Open in Excel: Measuring Ireland's Progress 2020 Table 1.5 (XLS 10KB)

In 2020, Ireland had the highest young-age dependency ratio (the percentage of the population aged under 15 years as a proportion of those aged 15-64) in the EU27 at 31.0%.

Ireland had the second lowest old-age dependency ratio (the percentage of the population aged over 65 as a proportion of those aged 15-64) in the EU27 at 22.1%.

This had the combined effect of a young and old age dependency ratio of 53.1% in Ireland, which is 2.4 percentage points less than the EU27 average of 55.5%.

The highest combined dependency ratio in the EU27 in 2020 was France at 62.1%, while the lowest was Luxembourg at 43.9%.

By country: Total fertility rate

Table 1.6 By country: Total fertility rates, 2015-2019^1,2
Country	2015	2016	2017	2018	2019
France	2.0	1.9	1.9	1.9	1.9
Romania	1.6	1.7	1.8	1.8	1.8
Czech Republic	1.6	1.6	1.7	1.7	1.7
Ireland	1.9	1.8	1.8	1.8	1.7
Sweden	1.9	1.9	1.8	1.8	1.7
Denmark	1.7	1.8	1.8	1.7	1.7
Estonia	1.6	1.6	1.6	1.7	1.7
Latvia	1.7	1.7	1.7	1.6	1.6
Lithuania	1.7	1.7	1.6	1.6	1.6
Slovenia	1.6	1.6	1.6	1.6	1.6
Belgium	1.7	1.7	1.7	1.6	1.6
Bulgaria	1.5	1.5	1.6	1.6	1.6
Netherlands	1.7	1.7	1.6	1.6	1.6
Slovakia	1.4	1.5	1.5	1.5	1.6
Hungary	1.5	1.5	1.5	1.6	1.6
Germany	1.5	1.6	1.6	1.6	1.5
EU27	1.5	1.6	1.6	1.5	1.5
Croatia	1.4	1.4	1.4	1.5	1.5
Austria	1.5	1.5	1.5	1.5	1.5
Poland	1.3	1.4	1.5	1.5	1.4
Portugal	1.3	1.4	1.4	1.4	1.4
Finland	1.7	1.6	1.5	1.4	1.4
Greece	1.3	1.4	1.4	1.4	1.3
Luxembourg	1.5	1.4	1.4	1.4	1.3
Cyprus	1.3	1.4	1.3	1.3	1.3
Italy	1.4	1.3	1.3	1.3	1.3
Spain	1.3	1.3	1.3	1.3	1.2
Malta	1.4	1.4	1.3	1.2	1.1

United Kingdom	1.8	1.8	1.7	1.6	1.6

EFTA Countries:
Iceland	1.8	1.7	1.7	1.7	1.7
Norway	1.7	1.7	1.6	1.6	1.5
Liechtenstein	1.4	1.6	1.4	1.6	1.5
Switzerland	1.5	1.5	1.5	1.5	1.5

EU Candidate Countries:
Turkey	2.1	2.1	2.1	2.0	1.9
Montenegro	1.7	1.8	1.8	1.8	1.8
Serbia	1.5	1.5	1.5	1.5	1.5
Macedonia	1.5	1.5	1.4	1.4	1.3
Albania	1.6	1.5	1.5	1.4	:
Source: Eurostat, Population and Social Conditions
¹Ordered by 2019, descending.
²United Kingdom Data provided by the Office for National Statistics.
: Data is unavailable.

Open in Excel: Measuring Ireland's Progress 2020 Table 1.6 (XLS 10KB)

Ireland had a fertility rate of 1.7 in 2019. This tied with the Czech Republic, Sweden, Denmark and Estonia as the third highest rate in the EU27, after France (at 1.9) and Romania (at 1.8).

Malta had the lowest fertility rate in the EU27 in 2019 at 1.1.

Spain had the second lowest fertility rate in 2019, at 1.2. In general, Mediterranean countries had lower fertility rates than the EU27 average of 1.5.

All countries in the EU27 fell below the theoretical replacement fertility rate of 2.1 in 2019.

By country: Proportion of live births outside of marriage and mean age of woman at birth of first child

Table 1.7 By country: Proportion of live births outside of marriage and mean age of women at birth of first child, 2014-2019¹
	%		Age
Country	Proportion of live births outside marriage		Mean age of women at birth of first child
Country	2014	2019	2014	2019
Italy	28.8	35.4	30.7	31.3
Spain	42.5	48.4	30.6	31.1
Luxembourg	39.1	40.4	30.2	31.1
Ireland	36.3	38.4	29.8	30.7
Greece	8.2	12.4	30.0	30.6
Netherlands	48.7	52.4	29.5	30.1
Cyprus	15.4	21.2	29.2	30.0
Portugal	49.3	56.8	29.2	29.9
Germany	35.0	33.3	29.4	29.8
Denmark	52.5	54.1	29.2	29.7
Austria	41.7	40.6	29.0	29.7
Sweden	54.6	54.5	29.2	29.5
EU27	:	42.7	28.9	29.4
Finland	42.8	45.4	28.6	29.4
Belgium	49.4	:	28.5	29.1
Malta	:	:	28.6	29.0
Croatia	17.4	21.5	28.1	28.9
Slovenia	58.3	57.7	28.6	28.9
France	58.5	61.0	28.3	28.8
Czech Republic	46.7	48.2	28.1	28.5
Hungary	47.3	38.7	27.7	28.3
Estonia	59.4	53.7	26.6	28.2
Lithuania	29.0	26.8	27.0	28.0
Poland	24.2	25.4	26.9	27.6
Latvia	44.0	38.4	26.3	27.3
Slovakia	38.9	40.1	27.0	27.2
Romania	31.8	31.0	26.2	26.9
Bulgaria	58.8	58.4	25.8	26.3

United Kingdom	47.6	:	28.6	:

Switzerland	21.7	26.5	30.6	31.0
Norway	55.5	57.6	28.7	29.7
Iceland	:	69.4	27.5	28.7
Serbia	25.1	26.9	27.5	28.1
Macedonia	:	12.4	26.6	27.0
Turkey	2.8	2.8	:	26.4
Belarus	14.9	:	25.2	:
Source: Eurostat Population and Social Conditions
¹ Data sorted by mean age of women at birth of first child, 2019 in descending order.
: Data is unavailable.

Open in Excel: Measuring Ireland's Progress 2020 Table 1.7 (XLS 11KB)

The average age of first time mothers in Ireland increased from 29.8 years in 2014 to 30.7 in 2019. The EU27 average in 2019 was 29.4 years.

In 2019, 38.4% of live births in Ireland were outside of marriage, an increase of 2.1 percentage points from 2014.

In the EU27, more than half of live births occurred outside of marriage in eight countries in 2019: Netherlands (52.4%), Estonia (53.7%), Denmark (54.1%), Sweden (54.5%), Portugal (56.8%), Slovenia (57.7%), Bulgaria (58.4%), and France (61.0%).

The country with the lowest proportion of births outside of marriage in 2019 was Greece, at 12.4%.

By country: Divorce rates

Table 1.8 By country: Divorce rates, 2008, 2013 and 2018^1,2,3
Divorces per 1,000 people
Country	2008	2013	2018
Ireland	0.8	0.6	0.7
Malta	:	0.8	0.7
Slovenia	1.1	1.1	1.1
Bulgaria	1.9	1.5	1.5
Croatia	1.2	1.4	1.5
Italy	0.9	0.9	1.5
Romania	1.7	1.4	1.6
Hungary	2.5	2.0	1.7
Poland	1.7	1.7	1.7
EU27	2.0	1.8	1.8
Germany	2.3	2.1	1.8
Greece	1.2	1.5	1.8
Netherlands	2.0	2.0	1.8
Austria	2.4	1.9	1.8
Slovakia	2.4	2.0	1.8
Belgium	3.3	2.2	2.0
Spain	2.4	2.0	2.0
Luxembourg	2.0	2.1	2.0
Portugal	2.5	2.2	2.0
Czech Republic	3.0	2.7	2.3
Estonia	2.6	2.5	2.4
Cyprus	2.1	2.2	2.4
Finland	2.5	2.5	2.4
Sweden	2.3	2.8	2.5
Denmark	2.7	3.4	2.6
Latvia	2.9	3.5	3.1
Lithuania	3.2	3.4	3.1
France	2.1	1.9	:

United Kingdom	2.2	2.0	1.5

EFTA Countries:
Norway	2.1	2.0	1.9
Switzerland	2.6	2.1	1.9
Iceland	1.7	:	:
Liechtenstein	2.8	:	:

EU Candidate Countries:
Macedonia	0.6	1.0	0.8
Montenegro	0.7	0.8	1.4
Serbia	1.2	1.1	1.4
Albania	1.1	:	1.7
Turkey	1.4	1.6	1.7
Source: Eurostat, Population and Social Conditions
¹2017 data used for Ireland and Greece.
²Sorted by 2018, ascending.
³United Kingdom data provided by the Office for National Statistics.
: Data is unavailable.

Open in Excel: Measuring Ireland's Progress 2020 Table 1.8 (XLS 16KB)

Ireland and Malta both had the lowest divorce rate in the EU27 in 2018, at 0.7 divorces per 1,000 persons.

The average divorce rate in the EU27 is 1.8 divorces per 1,000 persons.

Latvia and Lithuania had the highest divorce rates in the EU27 in 2018, at 3.1 per 1,000 persons. Many of the countries in the EU27 with the highest divorce rates are in the Scandinavian and Baltic regions.

By country: At risk of poverty rates

Table 1.9 By country: At risk of poverty rates, 2020^1,2
	%
Country	Before social transfers and pensions	After social transfers and pensions	Reduction
Bulgaria	41.7	23.8	17.9
Romania	44.6	23.4	21.2
Latvia	38.4	21.6	16.8
Spain	43.9	21.0	22.9
Lithuania	41.0	20.9	20.1
Estonia	39.7	20.7	19.0
Italy	45.0	20.1	24.9
Germany	43.7	18.5	25.2
Croatia	39.3	18.3	21.0
Greece	49.6	17.7	31.9
Luxembourg	47.4	17.4	30.0
EU27	43.0	17.2	25.8
Malta	35.1	16.9	18.2
Portugal	42.4	16.2	26.2
Sweden	43.7	16.1	27.6
Poland	43.9	14.8	29.1
Cyprus	35.2	14.3	20.9
Belgium	42.3	14.1	28.2
Austria	42.4	13.9	28.5
France	47.5	13.8	33.7
Netherlands	37.2	13.4	23.8
Ireland	37.9	13.2	24.7
Slovenia	39.4	12.4	27.0
Hungary	40.5	12.3	28.2
Finland	42.8	12.2	30.6
Denmark	40.4	12.1	28.3
Slovakia	37.4	11.4	26.0
Czech Republic	34.1	9.5	24.6

United Kingdom	:	:	:

EFTA Countries:
Switzerland	38.0	15.5	22.5
Norway	40.4	12.7	27.7

EU Candidate Countries:
Turkey	40.3	23.0	17.3
Serbia	44.8	21.7	23.1
Source: Eurostat Population and Social Conditions, CSO Survey on Income and Living Conditions (SILC)
¹2019 data used for Italy and EU27
²Sorted by "After social transfers and pensions", descending.
: Data is unavailable.

Open in Excel: Measuring Ireland's Progress 2020 Table 1.9 (XLS 17KB)

In 2020, Ireland had an at risk of poverty rate of 37.9% before social transfers and pensions. This was the sixth lowest in the EU27 in 2020, and was 5.1 percentage points below the EU27 average of 43.0%.

After social transfers and pensions, the proportion of those at risk of poverty in Ireland decreased by 24.7 percentage points down to 13.2%. The EU27 average was 17.2%.

Bulgaria had the highest at risk of poverty rate in 2020 after social transfers and pensions at 23.8%, while Czech Republic had the lowest at 9.5%.

Ireland: At risk of poverty and consistent poverty rates by age group

Table 1.10 Ireland: At risk of poverty and consistent poverty rates by age group, 2020¹
	% of age group population
Age group	At risk of poverty	Consistent poverty
0-17	16.9	8.0
18-34	12.5	4.0
35-49	11.7	5.2
50-64	14.8	5.3
65+	7.9	0.9
State	13.2	5.0
Source: CSO SILC
¹At risk of poverty indicator calculated using the national income definition and equivalence scale, see Appendix 1.

Open in Excel: Measuring Ireland's Progress 2020 Table 1.10 (XLS 10KB)

In 2020, 13.2% of all persons in Ireland were considered at risk of poverty. People aged 0-17 had the highest at risk of poverty rate, at 16.9%, followed by people aged 50-64 at 14.8%. People aged over 65 had the lowest at risk of poverty rate at 7.9%.
Approximately one in every twenty people in Ireland were in consistent poverty in 2020 (5.0%).
In 2020, people aged 0-17 had the highest rate of consistent poverty at 8.0%, followed by those aged 50-64 at 5.3%. People aged 65+ had the lowest rate of consistent poverty in 2020 at 0.9%.

Age Group	At risk of poverty rate	Consistent poverty rate
0-17	16.9	8
18-34	12.5	4
35-49	11.7	5.2
50-64	14.8	5.3
65+	7.9	0.9
State	13.2	5

Ireland: At risk of poverty and consistent poverty by household composition

Table 1.11 Ireland: At risk of poverty and consistent poverty rates by household composition, 2020¹
		%
Household composition	At risk of poverty	Consistent poverty
1 adult aged 65 years and over	15.8	1.9
1 adult aged less than 65 years	30.7	12.2
2 adults, at least 1 aged 65 years and over	3.8	0.4
2 adults, both aged less than 65 years	8.9	4.1
3 or more adults	6.7	0.8
1 adult, with children under 18 years	31.8	21.6
2 adults, with 1-3 children under 18 years	10.7	3.5
Other households with children under 18 years	19.3	8.4
State	13.2	5.0
Source: CSO SILC
¹At risk of poverty indicator calculated using the national income definition and equivalence scale, see Appendix 1.

Open in Excel: Measuring Ireland's Progress 2020 Table 1.11 (XLS 11KB)

In 2020, households consisting of 1 adult with children aged under 18 years had the highest at risk of poverty rate of 31.8%.

Households consisting of 1 adult with children under 18 years also had the highest rate of consistent poverty, at 21.6%.

Households consisting of two adults (with at least one aged 65 or over) had both the lowest at risk of poverty and consistent poverty rates, at 3.8% and 0.4% respectively.

Ireland: At risk of poverty and consistent poverty rates by principal economic status

Table 1.12 Ireland: At risk of poverty and consistent poverty rates by principal economic status, 2020
		%
Principal Economic Status	At risk of poverty	Consistent poverty
Employed	6.3	1.7
Unemployed	32.0	16.6
Retired	8.1	1.0
Unable to work due to long-standing health problems	33.7	17.0
Student, pupil	20.2	6.5
Fulfilling domestic tasks	19.4	5.9
State	13.2	5.0
Source: CSO SILC

Open in Excel: Measuring Ireland's Progress 2020 Table 1.12 (XLS 9KB)

In 2020, the group with the highest at risk of poverty rate in Ireland were persons unable to work due to long-standing health problems, with a rate of 33.7%. This group was followed by those who were unemployed (32.0%).

Unemployed persons and those who were not working due to long-standing health problems were the only two groups with a consistent poverty rate higher than 10%, at 16.6% and 17.0% respectively.

Those who were at work had the lowest risk of poverty at 6.3% while those retired from employment had the lowest rate of consistent poverty at 1.0%.

Principal economic status	At risk of poverty	Consistent poverty
Employed	6.3	1.7
Unemployed	32	16.6
Retired	8.1	1
Unable to work due to long-standing health problems	33.7	17
Student, pupil	20.2	6.5
Fulfilling domestic tasks	19.4	5.9
State	13.2	5

Ireland: Median weekly earnings by sex

Table 1.13 Ireland: Median weekly earnings by sex, 2013-2020
€
Year	Total Persons	Males	Females	Differential
2013	530.00	590.63	469.74	120.89
2014	530.21	587.52	469.85	117.67
2015	533.90	590.25	473.55	116.70
2016	543.04	599.92	479.88	120.04
2017	556.61	615.37	488.85	126.52
2018	573.35	636.63	500.00	136.63
2019	598.36	666.22	523.10	143.12
2020	629.46	690.56	561.23	129.33
Source: CSO Earnings

Open in Excel: Measuring Ireland's Progress 2020 Table 1.13 (XLS 14KB)

Between 2013 and 2020, the median weekly earnings across both sexes combined increased from €530.00 to €629.46.
The difference in median weekly earnings between males and females was decreasing between 2013 and 2015, where it dropped from €120.89 in 2013 to €116.70 in 2015. It then increased to €143.12 by 2019 before falling to €129.33 in 2020.

Year	Difference
2013	120.89
2014	117.67
2015	116.7
2016	120.04
2017	126.52
2018	136.63
2019	143.12
2020	129.33

By country: Gender pay gap

Table 1.14 By country: Gender pay gap, 2014-2018^1,2
as a % of average gross hourly earnings of male paid employee
Country	2014	2015	2016	2017	2018
Estonia	28.1	26.7	24.8	24.9	21.8
Austria	22.2	21.8	20.8	20.7	20.4
Czech Republic	22.5	22.5	21.5	21.1	20.1
Germany	22.3	21.8	21.1	20.4	20.1
Slovakia	19.7	19.7	19.2	20.1	19.8
Latvia	17.3	18.4	19.7	19.8	19.6
Finland	18.4	17.5	17.5	17.1	16.9
France	15.5	15.6	15.9	16.3	16.7
Netherlands	16.2	16.1	15.6	15.1	14.7
Denmark	16.0	15.1	15.1	14.8	14.6
EU27	15.7	15.5	15.1	14.6	14.4
Hungary	15.1	14.0	14.0	15.9	14.2
Lithuania	13.3	14.2	14.4	15.2	14.0
Bulgaria	14.2	15.5	14.6	14.3	13.9
Malta	10.6	10.7	11.6	13.2	13.0
Sweden	13.8	14.0	13.3	12.5	12.1
Spain	14.9	14.1	14.8	13.5	11.9
Croatia	8.7	:	11.6	12.3	11.4
Ireland	13.9	13.9	14.2	14.4	11.3
Cyprus	14.2	13.2	12.3	11.2	10.4
Slovenia	7.0	8.2	8.1	8.4	9.3
Portugal	14.9	16.0	13.9	10.8	8.9
Poland	7.7	7.3	7.1	7.0	8.5
Belgium	6.6	6.4	6.0	5.8	5.8
Italy	6.1	5.5	5.3	5.0	5.5
Romania	4.5	5.6	4.8	2.9	2.2
Luxembourg	5.4	4.7	3.9	2.6	1.4

United Kingdom	20.9	21.0	20.7	20.8	19.8

EFTA Countries:
Switzerland	17.4	17.9	17.4	17.6	18.6
Iceland	16.7	17.5	15.8	15.3	13.8
Norway	14.5	16.0	14.5	13.7	13.2
Source: Eurostat, Earnings
¹Sorted by 2018, descending.
²Data unavailable for Greece.
: Data is unavailable.

Open in Excel: Measuring Ireland's Progress 2020 Table 1.14 (XLS 12KB)

The gender pay gap is defined as the difference between male and female gross hourly earnings as a percentage of average gross hourly male earnings. In 2008, Ireland had a gender pay gap of 12.6%. It then increased to 13.9% by 2010, before decreasing to 12.2% in 2012. The gender pay gap then increased to 14.4% in 2017, before falling to 11.3% in 2018.

Ireland had the ninth lowest gender pay gap in the EU27 in 2018, and was 3.1 percentage points below the EU27 average of 14.4%.

Estonia had the highest gender pay gap in 2018, at 21.8%. Luxembourg had the lowest, at 1.4%.

Year	Pay gap
2008	12.6
2009	12.6
2010	13.9
2011	12.7
2012	12.2
2013	12.9
2014	13.9
2015	13.9
2016	14.2
2017	14.4
2018	11.3

By country: Net official development assistance

Table 1.15 By country: Net Official Development Assistance, 2016 - 2020^1,2
					% of GNI
Country	2016	2017	2018	2019	2020
Sweden	0.9	1.0	1.1	1.0	1.1
Luxembourg	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.0
Denmark	0.8	0.7	0.7	0.7	0.7
Germany	0.7	0.7	0.6	0.6	0.7
France	0.4	0.4	0.5	0.4	0.6
Netherlands	0.6	0.6	0.6	0.6	0.6
Belgium	0.5	0.4	0.4	0.4	0.5
Finland	0.4	0.4	0.4	0.4	0.5
Malta	0.2	0.2	0.2	0.3	0.4
Ireland % GNI*	0.4	0.4	0.4	0.4	0.4
Ireland % GNI	0.3	0.3	0.3	0.3	0.3
Austria	0.4	0.3	0.3	0.3	0.3
Hungary	0.2	0.1	0.2	0.2	0.3
Iceland	0.3	0.3	0.3	0.2	0.3
Estonia	0.2	0.2	0.2	0.2	0.2
Italy	0.3	0.3	0.2	0.2	0.2
Portugal	0.2	0.2	0.2	0.2	0.2
Slovenia	0.2	0.2	0.2	0.2	0.2
Spain	0.3	0.2	0.2	0.2	0.2
Bulgaria	0.1	0.1	0.1	0.1	0.1
Czech Republic	0.1	0.2	0.1	0.1	0.1
Greece	0.2	0.2	0.1	0.2	0.1
Latvia	0.1	0.1	0.1	0.1	0.1
Lithuania	0.1	0.1	0.1	0.1	0.1
Poland	0.1	0.1	0.1	0.1	0.1
Romania	0.1	0.1	0.1	0.1	0.1
Slovakia	0.1	0.1	0.1	0.1	0.1

United Kingdom	0.7	0.7	0.7	0.7	0.7

Norway	1.1	1.0	0.9	1.0	1.1
Turkey	0.8	1.0	1.1	1.2	1.1
Switzerland	0.5	0.5	0.4	0.4	0.5
Source: OECD, CSO National Accounts
¹Data are preliminary for 2020
²Sorted by 2020, descending

Open in Excel: Measuring Ireland's Progress 2020 Table 1.15 (XLS 10KB)

In 2020, Net Official Development Assistance (ODA) was 0.3% of Gross National Income (GNI) for Ireland. Additionally, it accounted for 0.4% of Ireland's Modified GNI (GNI*).
In all, four EU27 countries had attained the United Nation (UN) target ODA of 0.7%: Sweden (1.1%), Luxembourg (1.0%), Denmark (0.7%) and Germany (0.7%).

Year	ODA as a % of GNI	ODA as a % of GNI*	UN Target % GNI
2010	0.5	0.5	0.7
2011	0.5	0.5	0.7
2012	0.4	0.5	0.7
2013	0.4	0.5	0.7
2014	0.4	0.4	0.7
2015	0.3	0.4	0.7
2016	0.3	0.4	0.7
2017	0.3	0.4	0.7
2018	0.3	0.4	0.7
2019	0.3	0.4	0.7
2020	0.3	0.4	0.7

By country: Private households with internet access

Table 1.16 By country: Private households with internet access, 2017-2021^1,2
% of households
Country	2017	2018	2019	2020	2021
Luxembourg	97	93	95	94	99
Netherlands	98	98	98	97	99
Ireland	88	89	91	92	97
Finland	94	94	94	96	97
Denmark	97	93	95	95	96
Spain	83	86	91	95	96
Austria	89	89	90	90	95
France	86	89	90	:	93
Cyprus	79	86	90	93	93
Slovenia	82	87	89	90	93
Sweden	95	93	96	94	93
EU27	86	88	90	91	92
Belgium	86	87	90	91	92
Germany	93	94	95	96	92
Estonia	88	90	90	90	92
Poland	82	84	87	90	92
Latvia	79	82	85	90	91
Hungary	82	83	86	88	91
Malta	85	84	86	90	91
Slovakia	81	81	82	86	90
Czech Republic	83	86	87	88	89
Romania	76	81	84	86	89
Lithuania	75	78	82	82	87
Portugal	77	79	81	84	87
Croatia	76	82	81	85	86
Greece	71	76	79	80	85
Bulgaria	67	72	75	79	84
Italy	81	84	85	88	:

United Kingdom	94	95	96	97	:

EFTA Countries:
Norway	97	96	98	96	99
Switzerland	93	:	96	:	99
Iceland	98	99	98	98	98

EU Candidate Countries:
Turkey	81	84	88	91	88
Serbia	68	73	80	81	82
Montenegro	71	72	74	80	81
Macedonia	74	79	82	79	:
Source: Eurostat, Science and Technology
¹Data determines the percentage of households who have internet access at home, and all forms of internet use are included.
²Sorted by 2021, descending.
: Data is unavailable.

Open in Excel: Measuring Ireland's Progress 2020 Table 1.16 (XLS 10KB)

The percentage of households in Ireland with access to the internet has increased from 88% in 2017 to 97% in 2021.

In 2021, Ireland had the second highest rate of household access to the internet in the EU alongside Finland. The EU27 average was 92%.

Nearly all households (99%) in Luxembourg and the Netherlands had access to the internet, while the rate in Bulgaria was 84%, the lowest of the EU27.

Seven countries in the EU27 had internet access rates at or above 95% in 2019: Luxembourg, Netherlands, Ireland, Finland, Denmark, Spain and Austria.

Measuring Ireland's Progress 2020

Society

Ireland: Population distribution by age group

By country: Population

Ireland: Migration and natural increase

Ireland: Immigration and emigration by country of origin/destination

By country: Young and old age dependency ratios

By country: Total fertility rate

By country: Proportion of live births outside of marriage and mean age of woman at birth of first child

By country: Divorce rates

By country: At risk of poverty rates

Ireland: At risk of poverty and consistent poverty rates by age group

Ireland: At risk of poverty and consistent poverty by household composition

Ireland: At risk of poverty and consistent poverty rates by principal economic status

Ireland: Median weekly earnings by sex

By country: Gender pay gap

By country: Net official development assistance

By country: Private households with internet access

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