Back to Top

 Skip navigation

International Accounts

€8.3bn
Trade surplus with the United States

This chapter contains information on Ireland's transactions and positions with the rest of the world. The results shown are consistent with the new methodological standards implemented in June 2014, namely the IMF's Balance of Payments and International Investment Position Manual, sixth edition (BPM6). The Balance of International Payments data (tables 16.1, 16.2 and 16.3) show transactions between residents of Ireland and non-residents. Table 16.4 shows the end of year stocks (or levels) of Ireland's financial assets and liabilities, the International Investment Position. The data in table 16.5 shows the outstanding amount of credit granted by credit institutions resident in Ireland to Irish private sector residents, although loans granted by non-resident credit institutions to Irish residents are not included. Table 16.6 combines data from the financial and non-financial sector accounts and shows the trend in saving and investment for households.

Table 16.1 Balance of International Payments – Current and Capital Accounts
€million
Item2017 2018
 ExportsImports ExportsImports
Current account     
      
Merchandise 197,82488,705 216,307103,346
  of which: Merchanting (net export)9,759- 8,488-
      
Services161,831205,323 180,077185,647
 Repairs and processing1,9944,765 1,8995,452
 Transport8,0882,599 7,7463,109
 Tourism and travel4,9725,814 5,2376,270
 Insurance9,7476,967 9,6648,040
 Financial services15,54412,923 15,35412,851
 Royalties/licences9,10066,662 11,77772,180
 Communications657693 415570
 Computer services68,0803,232 86,2224,331
 Business services39,553101,024 38,02572,155
    Research and development6,72955,157 2,98822,901
    Operational leasing13,542915 12,910728
    Misc. business services19,28244,952 22,12648,526
 Other services n.e.s.4,096639 3,741687
      
Primary income79,418140,481 83,098152,828
 Compensation of employees528643 528626
 Investment Income77,385139,522 81,003151,894
    Direct investment income20,82172,631 17,71576,992
       Income on equity18,20166,821 15,43471,316
           Dividends & distributed branch profits77712,456 2,17414,797
           Reinvested earnings17,42554,364 13,25956,519
        Income on debt2,6195,809 2,2805,677
    Portfolio investment income46,26356,704 51,42963,763
        Income on equity14,86747,981 16,68355,247
        Income on debt31,3968,723 34,7458,516
    Other investment income10,30110,188 11,85911,140
 Other primary income1,504317 1,566309
      
Secondary income5,3668,472 4,9968,361
      
Current account - total444,439442,981 484,477450,185
      
Current account balance1,457 34,292
      
Capital account balance-25,855 -53,038
Memorandum item: Government income933,666 1,6673,763
Source: CSO

Table 16.1 shows the current and capital accounts from the balance of payments data in the International Accounts publication. The current account is subdivided into three main sections; merchandise, services and income.

In 2018 the current account, a measure of Ireland’s economic flows with the rest of the world, had a surplus of €34.3bn. This was mainly due to a merchandise surplus of €113.0bn which was offset by profit and interest outflows of €73.1bn and a services deficit of €5.6bn.

The largest categories of services exports were computer services (€86.2bn) and business services (€38.0bn), while the largest categories of service imports were business services (€72.2bn) and royalties (€72.2bn).

Interactive table: StatBank link

Link to publication: International Accounts

Open in Excel:
This map is © Ordnance Survey Ireland. All rights reserved. License number 01/05/001.
Table 16.2 Exports of Merchandise and Services 2018

Table 16.2 shows the exports of merchandise and services by partner country in 2018.

In 2018, total exports of merchandise and services amounted to €396.4bn. The top three countries accounted for 38.7% of exports. The largest trading partner for exports was United States (€73.1bn) followed by United Kingdom with exports of €51.3bn and Germany €28.8bn.  

Interactive table:  StatBank link 

Link to publication: International Accounts

Open in Excel:
This map is © Ordnance Survey Ireland. All rights reserved. License number 01/05/001.
Table 16.3 Imports of Merchandise and Services 2018

Table 16.3 shows the imports of merchandise and services by partner country in 2018.

In 2018, total imports of merchandise and services amounted to €289.0bn. The top three countries accounted for 47.3% of imports. The largest trading partner for imports was United States (€64.8bn); imports from United Kingdom were €42.2bn and from Netherlands were €29.8bn.

Interactive table: StatBank link

Link to publication: International Accounts

Table 16.4 International Investment Position - detailed data
€million
 201320142015201620172018
Foreign assets
  Direct investment abroad387,758509,706835,530812,639822,832823,501
    Equity capital and reinvested earnings 340,246437,273749,944745,116750,436725,416
    Other capital47,51272,43285,58667,52372,39698,085
 
  Portfolio investment 1,685,6342,011,5692,246,7632,442,7752,688,5612,744,938
    Equity 614,954772,568879,460952,7921,109,0711,093,660
    Debt instruments1,070,6801,239,0001,367,3031,489,9831,579,4901,651,278
      Bonds and notes783,125840,176934,5161,049,8901,129,8691,206,567
      Money market instruments287,555398,824432,787440,092449,620444,712
 
  Other investment 889,5651,183,1081,283,7071,234,5391,218,2541,269,260
    Loans, currency and deposits708,189757,735862,959844,200890,703939,947
    Trade credits38,94446,42249,92151,64749,08049,195
    Other assets142,432378,951370,827338,692278,472280,118
 
  Reserve assets1,1781,4262,0133,3843,6724,554
    Monetary gold159180178201198205
    Special drawing rights727776829817776797
    Reserve position in the IMF2893083291,029959982
    Foreign exchange333379597886
    Other01596749581,1421,684
 
Total foreign assets2,964,1353,705,8084,368,0134,493,3374,733,3194,842,253
 
Foreign liabilities
  Direct investment in Ireland300,733354,045817,580797,521882,171873,742
    Equity capital and reinvested earnings 312,489379,597598,350706,277791,120802,817
    Other capital-11,756 -25,552 219,23091,24491,05170,925
 
  Portfolio investment 1,933,6562,364,5082,798,4282,909,5003,142,5123,146,296
    Equity 1,517,6161,937,0512,313,1802,450,0732,705,1682,702,904
    Debt instruments416,040427,457485,248459,428437,344443,392
      Bonds and notes405,165413,568466,421445,071419,860431,040
      Money market instruments10,87513,88918,82714,35717,48412,352
 
  Other investment 968,7771,307,3461,272,6751,251,8861,204,7101,356,200
    Loans, currency and deposits659,028713,243692,977713,055719,827821,503
    Trade credits14,34219,84930,49741,01346,78341,146
    Other liabilities295,407574,254549,201497,819438,099493,550
 
Total foreign liabilities3,203,1654,025,8994,888,6834,958,9085,229,3935,376,237
Source: CSO

Table 16.4 shows the International Investment Position.

At the end of 2018 Ireland’s stock of financial assets amounted to €4,842.3bn. The corresponding stock of financial liabilities was €5,376.2bn. This resulted in a net foreign liability of €534bn.

Interactive table: Statbank link

Link to publication: International Accounts

Table 16.5 Irish Private Sector Credit and Deposits, end of year 2012-2018
€million
 2012201320142015201620172018
Credit advanced to Irish private sector 302,164278,266226,881199,877185,771179,144173,865
   1. Households111,076107,66096,87391,96388,16989,90991,399
       1.1 Loans for house purchase84,97383,32278,29277,02973,46974,79976,126
       1.2 Consumer credit14,20612,93311,52411,23412,09312,89613,321
       1.3 Other loans11,89711,4057,0573,7002,6072,2141,952
   2. Non-financial corporations84,33079,64860,32847,09942,58741,52641,709
       2.1 Loans84,20479,52660,07146,81942,34641,25440,885
       2.2 Securities126122257280241271824
   3. Insurance corporations and pension funds/other financial intermediaries106,75890,95869,51460,81555,01547,70940,757
       3.1 Loans38,90730,73821,17918,50617,00217,24217,764
       3.2 Securities67,85160,22048,33542,30938,01330,46622,993
 
Deposits of Irish private sector 166,474180,358165,820176,071180,115187,204193,809
   4. Households92,39191,18291,44394,74197,12899,493104,047
   5. Non-financial corporations30,88833,93339,80342,65245,57950,53352,362
   6. Insurance corporations and pension funds/Other financial intermediaries43,19555,24334,57438,67837,40837,17837,400
Source: Central Bank of Ireland

Table 16.5 shows the outstanding amount of credit extended by credit institutions resident in Ireland to Irish private sector residents. It is important to note that the loans granted by non-resident credit institutions to Irish residents are not included in these tables. Hence, if a bank changes its jurisdiction this will affect the amounts shown in this table.

After a continuing decline from 2012 to 2016, the amount owed by households to Irish banks showed slight increases in 2017 and 2018, standing at €91.4bn at the end of 2018. There is a persisting trend in recent years where households’ credit liabilities have fallen in cumulative terms by €19.7bn since 2012. Loans for house purchase increased by 1.8% in 2018 over the previous year, while deposits held by households rose by 4.6% from 2017 to 2018.

Open in Excel:
GFCFNet Capital TransfersDepositsLoansInsurance, Pensions and SharesGross Savings
200723.13276129182020.0705121163268796.59681464185655-24.89767546799952.010166503608926.20761987648465
200817.1574890773054-0.1164228063369153.74163719423445-7.543045394603210.020005150392647910.3945399028834
20098.80751041312327-0.2827666557081335.26142022509062.013664765238150.82682389659737613.2790752465501
20105.67999898918966-0.2199129404339040.5481803969292819.8183523861205-1.2451959200423611.1158286537813
20114.40160222634719-0.136482073898488-1.726837457607748.851245922945781.354234437564027.36682103125961
20123.98674619903628-0.06765190317000620.9891735256134317.46683756324456-0.5940987481765689.82258414462442
20134.09335841347666-0.1389146670731240.2031585509000194.6417826048651.147144576281058.34794541833839
20143.95573196435953-0.08328283806902532.599307883131755.5954613293350.103174209011487.30250056502919
20154.53639610328332-0.1119599813055913.944923437113284.519439524337470.6310760251055398.1009173207104
20165.44890985489283-0.2700679783253.215616279229742.721042027600580.957260349131948.11541231633481
20175.8282961009454-0.326540589254.063154822632012.200965561211133.6738954073247511.4056963058408
Table 16.6 Saving and Investment of Households, 2007-2017

Interactive link: StatBank

Link to publication: Institutional Sector Accounts Non-Financial & Financial

Household1 saving peaked at €13.3bn in 2009 and amounted to €11.4bn in 2017. How households have been using their savings is illustrated in Figure 16.5. The line graph is the trend in actual gross household saving while the bar chart illustrates transactions in investment and borrowing by households.

During the entire period there is a clear link between transactions in loans and transactions in Gross Fixed Capital Formation (GFCF) of households. The transactions in loans relate predominantly to borrowing to fund investment in property while the capital formation relates to the property investments themselves.

Since 2009 households have not been borrowing, in net terms. At the same time investment in property has fallen to levels that can be financed by the saving of the sector without having recourse to borrowing. In fact the gross capital formation of households fell from a high of €23.1bn in 2007 to €4bn in 2012, ultimately rising to €5.8bn in 2017. Repayment of loans amounting to €2.2bn, also known as deleveraging, continued to be a major use of household saving in 2017. The use of household saving to fund transactions in investment assets such as deposits and insurance and pensions is also apparent in the graph.


1Data refers to Households and non-profit institutions serving households (S.14 + S.15 ESA2010 sector categories).

   

Go to next chapter >>>Trade

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.