Measuring Ireland's Progress 2016

Welcome to the 2016 edition of Measuring Ireland's Progress and the fifth 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 Quality of Life in Ireland 2013. This report is the fourteenth 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 2016, 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 EU 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 national context is generally in a time series format while the international context compares Ireland with other EU countries, and where available, with three EFTA countries (Iceland, Norway and Switzerland) and five countries (Albania, Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia and Turkey) who were official EU candidate countries in 2016. In cases where tables are not sorted by year, the ranking variable is highlighted with a darker background. 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.

The following symbol is used:

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Highlights

Healthy life years at birth for females in Ireland was 67.9 years in 2015, the third highest rate in the EU and 4.6 years above the EU average. Male healthy life years at birth in Ireland in 2015 was 66.6 years, the third highest rate in the EU and 4 years higher than the EU average.

Irish males can expect to spend about 16% of their life expectancy in poor health, the fourth lowest rate in the EU. Males in Austria, Estonia, Latvia, Croatia, Portugal and Slovakia can anticipate spending about a quarter of their life expectancy in poor health. Females in Ireland can expect to spend about 19% of their life expectancy in poor health, the fourth lowest rate in the EU.  In Finland and Portugal females are predicted to spend about a third of their life in poor health.

There were 436 passenger cars per 1,000 inhabitants in Ireland in 2015, which was low by EU standards. The highest number of cars per 1,000 inhabitants was in Luxembourg at 661 while the lowest was in Romania at 261.

The quantity of municipal waste generated per person in Ireland dropped by a quarter over the 2004 to 2014 period, from 750 to 564kg.

Just over a fifth (20.5%) of municipal waste was landfilled in Ireland in 2016, below the EU average of 24.4%. The landfill percentage varies widely in EU states, from less than 1% in Sweden and Belgium, (where recycling and incineration rates are high), to over 80% in Malta and Greece. The quantity of waste landfilled in Ireland dropped by 70% between 2004 to 2014, from 1,818.5 to 536.5 thousand tonnes.

Just under one in six (15.9%) of those aged 18-24 in Ireland in 2016 was neither in employment nor in education and training, (the NEET rate). The EU average NEET rate was 15.2% and varied from a low of 6.1% in the Netherlands to 26% in Italy.

Ireland had the highest proportion of Mathematics, Science and Technology (STEM) graduates in the EU in 2015. The proportion of graduates in these disciplines was 31.5 per 1,000 of the population aged 20-29 in Ireland, while the EU average was 19.1.

Population: Ireland accounted for just under 1% of the total EU population in 2016 and had the third highest percentage increase in population between 2006 and 2016 in the EU. Ireland had the second highest fertility rate in the EU in 2015 at 1.92; the EU average was much lower at 1.58. Just over a third (36.5%) of all Irish births in 2015 were outside marriage, below the EU average of 42%.

The divorce rate in Ireland was 0.6 divorces per 1,000 population in 2015, the lowest rate in the EU. Ireland had the highest proportion of young people (0-14) in the EU, and the lowest proportion of old people (65 and over); these combined to give Ireland a dependency ratio of 54.2, the ninth highest in the EU. (Tables 1.2, 1.5, 1.6 and 1.7)

Health: Current public expenditure on health care in Ireland averaged €2,964 per person in 2015 (at constant 2015 prices), an increase of 11% on 2006. Life expectancy at birth in Ireland in 2015, as calculated by Eurostat, is 83.4 years for females, just above the EU average of 83.3 years. The male life expectancy at birth in Ireland was 79.6 years, 1.7 years above the EU 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.

Healthy life years at birth for females in Ireland was 67.9 years in 2015, the third highest rate in the EU and 4.6 years above the EU average. Male healthy life years at birth in Ireland in 2015 was 66.6 years, the third highest rate in the EU and 4 years higher than the EU average.

Irish males can expect to spend about 16% of their life expectancy in poor health, the fourth lowest rate in the EU. Males in Austria, Estonia, Latvia, Croatia, Portugal and Slovakia can anticipate spending about a quarter of their life expectancy in poor health. Females in Ireland can expect to spend about 19% of their life expectancy in poor health, the fourth lowest rate in the EU.  In Finland and Portugal females are predicted to spend about a third of their life in poor health. (Tables 5.1, 5.3, 5.4, 5.5, 5.6 and 5.7) 

Environment: There were 436 passenger cars per 1,000 inhabitants in Ireland in 2015, which was low by EU standards. The highest number of cars per 1,000 inhabitants was in Luxembourg at 661 while the lowest was in Romania at 261.

The quantity of municipal waste generated per person in Ireland dropped by a quarter over the 2004 to 2014 period, from 750 to 564kg. Just over a fifth (20.5%) of municipal waste was landfilled in Ireland in 2014, below the EU average of 24.4%. The landfill percentage varies widely in EU states, from less than 1% in Sweden and Belgium, (where recycling and incineration rates are high), to over 80% in Malta and Greece. The quantity of waste landfilled in Ireland dropped by 70% between 2004 to 2014, from 1,818.5 to 536.5 thousand tonnes.

Total greenhouse gas emissions in Ireland fell by 13.6% between 2006 and 2015, from 69.3 million tonnes of CO₂ to 59.9 million tonnes. (Tables 3.5, 3.7, 3.8 and 3.9)

Education: Real expenditure per student in Ireland increased over the period 2006-2015 by 15.1% at primary level and 6.8% at second level. However, there was a decrease of 24.6% at third level over the same time period. In 2016 nearly half (46.7%) of the population aged 25-34 had completed third level education, the fifth highest rate across the EU.

Just under one in six (15.9%) of those aged 18-24 in Ireland in 2016 was neither in employment nor in education and training, (the NEET rate). The EU average NEET rate was 15.2% and varied from a low of 6.1% in the Netherlands to 26% in Italy. Ireland had the highest proportion of Mathematics, Science and Technology (STEM) graduates in the EU in 2015. The proportion of graduates in these disciplines was 31.5 per 1,000 of the population aged 20-29 in Ireland, while the EU average was 19.1. (Tables 4.1, 4.5, 4.7 and 4.8)

Prices: Ireland had the fourth highest prices levels in the EU in 2016 with prices 23.7% above the EU average and only Denmark, Sweden and Luxembourg were more expensive. However, this is an improvement on 2008 when price levels in Ireland were 26.5% above the EU average and were the second highest in the EU. (Table 2.13)

Employment and unemployment: The employment rate in Ireland dropped sharply from 71.7% in 2007 to 59.8% in 2012 before rising to 67.4% in 2017. The unemployment rate in Ireland rose from 5.2% in 2007 to 15.9% in 2012 before decreasing to 6.9% in 2017.

The employment rate in Ireland in 2016 at 66.4% was just below the EU average of 66.6%. The highest employment rate in 2016 in the EU was in Sweden at 76.2% while the lowest rate was in Greece at 52%. The unemployment rate in Ireland in 2016 at 9.1% was the tenth highest in the EU with the lowest rate in the Czech Republic at 4% and the highest in Greece at 23.6%. (Tables 2.14 and 2.16)

Housing: The number of ESB connections to dwelling units increased sharply to peak at almost 90,000 in 2006 before collapsing over the next seven years to stand at 8,301 in 2013. Over the following four years, the number of ESB connections increased each year to stand at 19,271 in 2017. The average value of a housing loan dropped by over a third between 2008 and 2012, from €270,200 to €173,600. There were small rises in the average value of a housing loan over the next four years to stand at €198,700 by 2016. (Graph 2.19 and table 2.20)

Social cohesion: The at risk of poverty rate in Ireland was 16.6% in 2016 which was below the EU rate of 17.3%. In 2016, 8.3% of the population in Ireland were in consistent poverty. Ireland’s net official development assistance was 0.32% of GNI in 2014, the twelfth highest rate in the EU, but below the UN target of 0.7%. (Tables 1.8, 1.10 and 1.13)

Economy:  The GDP growth rate for Ireland in 2016 was 5.1% while the rate in the EU was 1.9%. The highest GDP growth rate in the EU in 2016 was in Malta at 5.5% while there was negative growth of -0.2% in Greece. The public balance deficit was -0.5% of GDP, smaller than the EU average of -1.7% and a big improvement on 2010 when it was -32.1%. Government debt dropped in 2016 to 72.8% of GDP, (below the EU average of 83.2%), having been 119.6% in 2012. In 2016 Ireland had the second highest GDP per capita in the EU at 77% above the EU average. Ireland’s gross fixed capital formation was 31.8% of GDP in 2016, well above the EU average of 19.8%. The productivity of the Irish workforce in 2016, as measured by GDP per hour worked, was 78.3% higher than the EU average and was the highest in the EU. (Tables 2.3, 2.4, 2.5, 2.6, 2.8 and 2.15)