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International Accounts

€23.5bn
Trade deficit 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 18.1, 18.2 and 18.3) show transactions between residents of Ireland and non-residents. Table 18.4 shows the end of year stocks (or levels) of Ireland's financial assets and liabilities, the International Investment Position. The data in table 18.5 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 18.6 combines data from the financial and non-financial sector accounts and shows the trend in saving and investment for households.

Table 18.1 Balance of International Payments – Current and Capital Accounts
€million
Item2019 2020
 ExportsImportsExportsImports
Current Account
 
Merchandise 225,944107,828 244,80999,856
  of which: Merchanting (net export)13,960- 14,873-
     
Services230,152335,716 244,069305,968
 Repairs and Processing2,0496,261 2,7077,377
 Transport8,0414,236 2,5353,914
 Tourism and travel5,7867,374 1,6452,072
 Insurance10,2718,361 11,2849,282
 Financial services17,62015,686 19,12916,943
 Royalties/Licences10,48285,851 13,08584,421
 Communications484568 259442
 Computer services118,4596,161 134,1826,306
 Business services48,106199,717 48,214173,741
    Research and development5,487137,006 9,198104,183
    Operational leasing19,4251,185 18,1221,183
    Misc. business services23,19461,525 20,89768,376
 Other services n.e.s.8,8541,500 11,0331,472
      
Primary Income110,428190,265 96,204185,365
 Compensation of Employees524676 245538
 Investment Income108,314189,116 94,447184,388
    Direct investment income22,56291,727 20,94598,970
       Income on equity17,54080,815 18,10487,854
           Dividends & distributed branch profits4,21720,739 1,72324,304
           Reinvested earnings13,32360,074 16,38363,551
        Income on debt5,02210,915 2,84111,117
    Portfolio investment income64,86281,164 57,85371,839
        Income on equity20,90463,596 17,44755,018
        Income on debt43,95817,568 40,40616,821
    Other investment income20,89016,224 15,64713,579
 Other primary income1,588474 1,512438
     
Secondary Income5,1828,668 5,8679,651
      
Current Account - Total571,707642,477 590,947600,839
      
Current Account Balance-70,772 -9,892
      
Capital Account Balance-35,310 -15,526
Memorandum Item: Government income1013,362 612,304
Source: CSO

Table 18.1 shows the Current and Capital accounts from the Balance of Payments release. The current account is subdivided into three main sections; Merchandise, Services and Income.

In 2020 the current account, a measure of Ireland’s economic flows with the rest of the world, had a deficit of €9.9bn. The merchandise surplus of €145bn was offset by profit and interest outflows of €89.2bn and a services deficit of €61.9bn.

The largest categories of services exports were computer services (€134.2bn) and business services (€48.2bn), while the largest categories of service imports were business services (€173.7bn) due to high R&D related IP imports (€104.2bn) and royalties (€84.4bn).

Interactive table: PXStat BPA15

Link to publication: International Accounts

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This map is © Ordnance Survey Ireland. All rights reserved. License number 01/05/001.
Table 18.2 Exports of Merchandise and Services 2020

Table 18.2 shows the exports of merchandise and services by partner country in 2020.

In 2020 total exports of merchandise and services amounted to €488.9bn. The top three countries accounted for 39.8% of exports. The largest trading partner for exports was United States (€98.3bn) followed by exports to United Kingdom of €55.3bn and exports to Germany of €40.9bn.  

Interactive table: PXStat BPA19

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This map is © Ordnance Survey Ireland. All rights reserved. License number 01/05/001.
Table 18.3 Imports of Merchandise and Services 2020

Table 18.3 shows the imports of merchandise and services by partner country in 2020.

In 2020 total imports of merchandise and services amounted to €405.8bn. The top two countries accounted for 40.9% of imports. The largest trading partner for imports was United States (€121.8bn); followed by imports from United Kingdom of €44bn.

The value for merchandise and services imports from the US was amended on 17 Dec 2021.


Interactive table: PXStat BPA19

Link to publication: International Accounts

18.4 International Investment Position - detailed data  
 €million
 2014201520162017201820192020
Foreign assets
  Direct Investment Abroad509,706835,530812,639822,832838,9281,001,686987,531
    Equity capital and reinvested earnings 437,273749,944745,116750,436749,5451,007,5501,039,429
    Other capital72,43285,58667,52372,39689,384-5,864-51,897
 
  Portfolio Investment 2,011,5692,246,7632,442,7752,688,5612,746,6083,402,1093,637,469
    Equity 772,568879,460952,7921,109,0711,094,6491,389,0591,531,880
    Debt instruments1,239,0001,367,3031,489,9831,579,4901,651,9592,013,0492,105,589
      Bonds and notes840,176934,5161,049,8901,129,8691,247,3071,557,3311,621,287
      Money market instruments398,824432,787440,092449,620404,652455,719484,302
 
  Other Investment 1,183,1081,283,7071,234,5391,218,2541,271,1981,481,3481,680,597
    Loans, currency and deposits757,735862,959844,200890,703955,1411,101,6191,216,469
    Trade Credits46,42249,92151,64749,08050,75577,92481,509
    Other assets378,951370,827338,692278,472265,300301,807382,620
 
  Reserve assets1,4262,0133,3843,6724,5505,0876,207
    Monetary gold180178201198205248282
    Special drawing rights776829817776797828815
    Reserve Position in the IMF3083291,029959981995951
    Foreign Exchange33379597883906981
    Other1596749581,1421,6842,1103,178
 
Total Foreign Assets3,705,8084,368,0134,493,3374,733,3194,861,2845,890,2306,311,804
 
Foreign liabilities
  Direct Investment in Ireland354,045817,580797,521882,171916,5161,079,5701,097,554
    Equity capital and reinvested earnings 379,597598,350706,277791,120819,830922,276997,095
    Other capital-25,552 219,23091,24491,05196,686157,294100,459
 
  Portfolio Investment 2,364,5082,798,4282,909,5003,142,5123,172,2913,974,9764,263,989
    Equity 1,937,0512,313,1802,450,0732,705,1682,727,3643,415,5923,642,558
    Debt instruments427,457485,248459,428437,344444,927559,384621,431
      Bonds and notes413,568466,421445,071419,860433,919544,797600,860
      Money market instruments13,88918,82714,35717,48411,00814,58720,571
 
  Other Investment 1,307,3461,272,6751,251,8861,204,7101,370,7851,514,1101,587,194
    Loans, currency and deposits713,243692,977713,055719,827828,936910,038924,882
    Trade Credits19,84930,49741,01346,78343,51444,50353,669
    Other liabilities574,254549,201497,819438,099498,335559,569608,643
 
Total Foreign Liabilities4,025,8994,888,6834,958,9085,229,3935,459,5916,568,6556,948,736
Source: CSO

 Table 18.4 shows the International Investment Position.

At the end of 2020 Ireland’s stock of financial assets amounted to €6,311.8bn. The corresponding stock of financial liabilities was €6,948.7bn. This resulted in a net foreign liability of €636.9bn.

Interactive table: PXStat BPQ26

Link to publication: International Accounts

18.5 Irish Private Sector Credit and Deposits, end of year 2013-2020
€m
 20132014201520162017201820192020
Credit advanced to Irish private sector 278,266226,881199,877185,771179,144173,866166,016155,109
   1. Households107,66096,87391,96388,16989,90991,39992,03786,954
       1.1 Loans for house purchase83,32278,29277,02973,46974,79976,12676,49373,770
       1.2 Consumer credit12,93311,52411,23412,09312,89613,32113,85611,667
       1.3 Other loans11,4057,0573,7002,6072,2141,9521,6931,518
   2. Non-financial corporations79,64860,32847,09942,58741,52641,70939,10436,497
       2.1 Loans79,52660,07146,81942,34641,25540,88538,57036,320
       2.2 Securities122257280241271824533177
   3. Insurance corporations and pension funds/other financial intermediaries90,95869,51460,81555,01547,70940,75834,87531,658
       3.1 Loans30,73821,17918,50617,00217,24217,76415,84313,769
       3.2 Securities60,22048,33542,30938,01330,46622,99419,03217,889
 
Deposits of Irish private sector 180,358165,821176,070180,116187,205193,809218,699254,866
   4. Households91,18291,46094,74197,12899,495104,047110,465124,529
   5. Non-financial corporations33,93339,74442,65245,57950,53352,36261,65572,699
   6. Insurance corporations and pension funds/Other financial intermediaries55,24334,61638,67837,40837,17837,40046,57957,638
Source: Central Bank of Ireland

Table 18.5 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, and slight increases from 2017 to 2019, the amount owed by households to Irish banks decreased in 2020, standing at €87.0bn at year end. There is a persisting trend in recent years where households’ credit liabilities have fallen in cumulative terms by €24.1bn since 2012. Loans for house purchase decreased by 3.6% in 2020 over the previous year, while deposits held by households rose by 12.7% from 2019 to 2020.

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GFCFNet Capital TransfersDepositsLoansInsurance, Pensions and SharesGross Savings
20098.8075101135218-0.2827666557081335.26142022509062.013664765238150.82682389659737614.8993060253312
20105.80870508083562-0.2199129404339040.5481803969292819.8183523861205-1.2451959200423613.3612207019781
20114.56704100708432-0.133483018475304-1.726837457607748.851245922945781.354234437564027.79100077631827
20124.11908376364855-0.06765248472276790.9891735256134317.31716889792146-0.59409874817656810.2778693645634
20134.17583648493732-0.1389146670731240.2031585509000194.5623476926151.147144576281058.49007433656123
20144.1729575174887-0.08328283806902532.598307883131755.579797369456610.103174209011487.65370185040143
20154.66319990744766-0.1119599813055913.943923437113284.519691930385850.6310760251055398.2925673181102
20165.50544428966578-0.2674956020753.215616279229742.722826801727621.014260349131947.80960936036448
20176.36987786899173-0.3266032784.063154822632010.9419303343441263.0777167472929112.2437149304565
20187.33891150157362-0.5939274808928255.0523509499681.134359009080641.0646198230437212.8937328142937
20197.24880117309944-0.4443648911139997.2650018502260.3090632200076194.7818209533587714.4557315450967
Table 18.6 Saving and Investment of Households, 2009-2019

Interactive link: PXStat ISA04

Household1 saving peaked at €14.9bn in 2009 and amounted to €14.5bn in 2019. How households have been using their savings is illustrated in Figure 18.5. 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 €25.8bn in 2006 to €4.1bn in 2012, ultimately rising to €7.3bn in 2018, and declining slightly to €7.2bn in 2019 (for full time series see the related PxStat ISA04 table). Repayment of loans amounting to €0.3bn, also known as deleveraging, continued to be a use of household saving in 2019. 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).

   

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