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Women and Men in Ireland 2016

Health

5.1 Ireland: Life expectancy at birth and at 65 years, 1925-2012
years
PeriodAt birthAt 65 years
 MenWomenDifferenceMenWomenDifference        
1925-192757.457.90.512.813.40.6
1935-193758.259.61.412.513.10.6
1940-194259.061.02.012.313.20.9
1945-194760.562.41.912.013.11.1        
1950-195264.567.12.612.113.31.2
1960-196268.171.93.812.614.41.8
1965-196768.672.94.312.414.72.3
1970-197268.873.54.712.415.02.6
1978-198069.575.05.512.415.43.0
1980-198270.175.65.512.615.73.1
1985-198771.076.75.712.616.23.6
1990-199272.377.95.613.417.13.7
1995-199773.078.55.513.817.43.6
2001-200375.180.35.215.418.73.3
2005-200776.881.64.816.619.83.2
2010-201278.482.84.417.720.62.9
 Source: CSO Irish Life Tables No 15, 2010-2012        

 

  • In Ireland, female life expectancy at birth increased from 57.9 years in the period 1925-1927 to 82.8 years in 2010-2012, an increase of just under 25 years. Over the same time period, male life expectancy at birth increased from 57.4 years to 78.4 years, which is a rise of 21 years.
  • The difference between male and female life expectancy at birth increased from 0.5 years in 1925-1927 to 5.7 years in 1985-1987 before falling in recent years to 4.4 years by 2010-2012.
  • Women's life expectancy at age 65 increased from 13.4 years in 1925-1927 to 20.6 years by 2010-2012 while male life expectancy at age 65 rose from 12.8 years to 17.7 years over the same time period.
  • The difference between male and female life expectancy at 65 years of age increased from 0.6 years in 1925-1927 to 3.7 years in 1990-1992. However this difference had decreased to 2.9 years by 2010-2012.
5.2 EU: Life expectancy at birth, 2015
years
CountryMalesFemalesDifference        
Sweden80.484.1-3.7        
Italy80.384.9-4.6        
Spain80.185.8-5.7        
Luxembourg80.084.7-4.7        
Cyprus79.983.7-3.8        
Netherlands79.983.2-3.3        
Malta79.784.0-4.3        
Ireland79.683.4-3.8        
France79.285.5-6.3        
United Kingdom79.282.8-3.6        
Denmark78.882.7-3.9        
Austria78.883.7-4.9        
Belgium78.783.4-4.7        
Finland78.784.4-5.7        
Greece78.583.7-5.2        
Germany78.383.1-4.8        
Portugal78.184.3-6.2        
EU 2877.983.3-5.4        
Slovenia77.883.9-6.1        
Czech Republic75.781.6-5.9        
Croatia74.480.5-6.1        
Poland73.581.6-8.1        
Estonia73.282.2-9.0        
Slovakia73.180.2-7.1        
Hungary72.379.0-6.7        
Romania71.578.7-7.2        
Bulgaria71.278.2-7.0        
Latvia69.779.5-9.8        
Lithuania69.279.7-10.5        
    
Iceland81.283.8-2.6
Switzerland80.885.1-4.3
Norway80.584.2-3.7        
Albania76.279.7-3.5
Turkey75.481.0-5.6
Montenegro74.478.6-4.2
Macedonia73.577.4-3.9
Serbia72.877.9-5.1
 Source: Eurostat        

 

  • Life expectancy at birth in 2015 for Irish males was 79.6 years which was 1.7 years higher than the EU average of 77.9 years.
  • Irish females born in 2015 could expect to live to 83.4 years, just above the EU average of 83.3 years.
  • The highest male life expectancy at birth was in Sweden at 80.4 years while the lowest was in Lithuania at 69.2 years.
  • The highest female life expectancy at birth was 85.8 years in Spain with the lowest in Bulgaria at 78.2.
  • Females had longer life expectancies than males in all EU countries in 2015, with the largest gap in Lithuania at 10.5 years and the smallest gap in the Netherlands at 3.3 years.
  • Over the ten year period from 2005 to 2015, male life expectancy at birth in Ireland rose by 2.9 years, compared to an increase of 2.1 years for females, (see graph).
MenWomen
200576.781.3
200676.981.7
200777.382.1
200877.982.4
200977.882.7
201078.583.1
201178.683
201278.783.1
20137983.1
201479.383.5
201579.683.4
This map is © Ordnance Survey Ireland. All rights reserved. License number 01/05/001.
This map is © Ordnance Survey Ireland. All rights reserved. License number 01/05/001.
5.3 Ireland: Age-sex specific death rates, 2014
per 100,000 population
Age groupMalesFemalesMale : Female ratio
0-482.962.41.3 : 1
5-1410.27.51.4 : 1
15-2461.016.93.6 : 1
25-64264.6157.81.7 : 1
65-741,865.31,232.51.5 : 1
75 and over7,925.17,005.61.1 : 1
Source: CSO Vital Statistics

 

  • The death rate in Ireland was higher for males than for females in all age groups in 2014.
  • The most pronounced difference was in the 15-24 age group where the male death rate was more than three times that of the female rate. One cause of the higher death rate for young men is the higher rates of fatalities for young men in road traffic accidents, (see Table 1.14)
Open in Excel:
WomenMen
20041582.635186595582711.23872026251
20051533.733133433282535.25641025641
20061394.440270473332483.69132856006
20071463.649851632052329.96894409938
20081328.776978417272347.92452830189
20091304.74198047422190.85631349782
20101311.06612685562060.01395673412
20111249.186727391022002.6936026936
20121177.135678391961933.54838709677
20131205.858058447941937
20141232.483538747261865.28929558669
  • The death rate for the 65-74 age group decreased by over a fifth for women (22.1%) over the period 2004-2014.
  • Over the same time period, the death rate for men decreased by just under a third, falling by 31.2%.
5.5 Ireland: Mortality by cause of death, 2014
numberper 100,000 population
Cause of deathMenWomenMenWomen
Circulatory diseases4,4484,404195.1189.0
Malignant neoplasms4,8394,379212.3187.9
Accidents62132327.213.9
Suicide3998717.53.7
Source: CSO Vital Statistics

 

  • The male mortality rate due to suicide (17.5 per 100,000) was over four times the female rate in 2014.
  • The mortality rate due to accidents for men (27.2 per 100,000) was nearly twice that of women in 2014.
5.6 Ireland: Persons with a medical card, 2015  
%  
 Persons with a medical cardTotal populationProportion with a medical card
Age GroupMaleFemaleTotalMaleFemaleTotalMaleFemale
0-15200,963189,767390,730555,771533,8581,089,62936.235.5
16-24 82,41787,729170,146234,665221,713456,37835.139.6
25-34 76,370102,930179,300313,403340,868654,27124.430.2
35-44 96,335114,446210,781356,231367,132723,36327.031.2
45-54 91,28096,002187,282305,688309,536615,22429.931.0
55-64 80,84086,042166,882243,158247,356490,51433.234.8
65-6943,60652,66096,266100,420102,219202,63943.451.5
70-7449,72458,034107,75873,01576,352149,36768.176.0
75+93,588132,120225,708107,198146,807254,00587.390.0
Total815,123919,7301,734,8532,289,5492,345,8414,635,39035.639.2
Source: HSE, CSO Census of Population  

 

  • In 2015 35.6% of males and 39.2% of females had a medical card.
  • About 36% of boys and girls aged up to 15 years old had a medical card in 2015. However, for all other age groups, more women than men had a medical card, with the difference most pronounced in the 65-69 age group, where 43.4% of men had a medical card compared to 51.5% of women.
  • Between 2001 and 2008 all persons aged 70 and over were entitled to a medical card. However, from January 2009 only persons with income under certain limits are entitled to a card, see Appendix 1 for further details.
  • In 2015 68.1% of men and 76% of women aged 70 to 74 had a medical card. The vast majority of people aged 75 years and over had a medical card in 2015, when 87.3% of men and 90% of women had a card.
MenWomen
0-1536.159317416705835.5463437843022
16-2435.121130121662839.5687217258347
25-3424.367986266883230.1964396775291
35-4427.042845793880931.1729841038101
45-5429.860511371071231.0148092628967
55-6433.245873053734634.7846828053494
65-6943.423620792670851.5168412917364
70-7468.101075121550476.008487007544
75+87.303867609470389.9957086514948
5.7 Ireland: Acute hospital discharges by principal diagnosis, 20151
number%
DiagnosisMalesFemalesMalesFemales
Neoplasms64,06665,0128.47.2
Diseases of the nervous system and sense organs41,78247,9585.55.3
Circulatory diseases43,45429,9765.73.3
Respiratory diseases41,21640,0755.44.5
Digestive diseases78,46079,97110.38.9
Genitourinary diseases24,86550,7513.35.6
Pregnancy, childbirth and the puerperium:120,857:13.4
Symptoms, signs and ill-defined conditions58,43768,8927.77.7
Injury and poisoning32,75426,3644.32.9
Other diagnoses 131,904130,08617.314.5
Supplementary classifications246,906240,28032.326.7
   of which Dialysis104,36866,41913.77.4
Total763,844900,222100.0100.0
Total discharges per 1,000 population333.6383.80.0 
Source: Hospital Inpatient Enquiry (HIPE), Statistics and Analytics Unit, Department of Health
1HIPE data covers discharges from all publicly funded acute hospitals.

 

  • In 2015 the rate of discharges from acute hospitals was 333.6 per 1,000 population for males and 383.8 for females.
  • Conditions related to pregnancy and childbirth accounted for 13.4% of discharges for females.
  • Males were more likely to have dialysis than females, with 104,368 discharges for males in 2015 compared to 66,419 for females.
5.8 Ireland: Acute hospital discharges by patient type, 2005-20151
per 1,000 population
Year          Day patients2          In-patients          All patients
 MalesFemalesMalesFemalesMalesFemales
2005103.0111.7114.9158.3217.9270.0
2006161.2151.6115.6159.8276.8311.4
2007167.9160.7112.9160.8280.8321.5
2008173.6170.3108.3158.1281.9328.4
2009182.5179.6106.3154.1288.8333.7
2010193.4183.7105.0153.1298.4336.8
2011195.0191.4104.5152.7299.5344.1
2012200.1200.3111.8161.0312.0361.3
2013202.3203.5111.5158.9313.9362.5
2014207.0209.9113.4160.2320.4370.1
2015220.0224.3113.6159.4333.6383.8
Source: Hospital Inpatient Enquiry (HIPE), Statistics and Analytics Unit, Department of Health
1HIPE data covers discharges from all publicly funded acute hospitals.
2From 1 January 2006 the HIPE system includes data on patients admitted for dialysis in dedicated dialysis units which were previously excluded from HIPE.

 

  • The rate of discharges for day patients in 2015 was 220 per 1,000 for males and 224.3 for females. Data for years from 2006 onwards includes patients admitted for dialysis on a day care basis which was previously excluded and thus there is a discontinuity in the data between years 2005 and 2006 in the series on day patients.
  • Discharges of day patients for males increased by over a third between 2006 and 2015, rising from 161.2 per 1,000 in 2006 to 220 in 2015.
  • Discharges of day patients for females increased by nearly 50% over the same time period, from 151.6 per 1,000 in 2006 to 224.3 in 2015.
  • In contrast, discharges of in-patients for males and females saw very little change between 2005 and 2015.
5.9 Ireland: Persons with an intellectual disability by level of disability, 2015
  number %
LevelMalesFemalesMenWomen
Mild5,2893,84132.133.0
Moderate6,6744,89740.542.0
Severe2,3081,70614.014.6
Profound4764082.93.5
Not verified1,71479510.46.8
Total16,46111,647100.0100.0
Source: National Intellectual Disability Database

 

  • There were 28,108 persons registered on the National Intellectual Disability database in 2015, of whom 59% were male.
  • The gender breakdown at each level of disability shows a similar pattern, with men representing more than half of persons in each category.
  • Approximately three-quarters of both males and females with a disability were classified as having a mild or moderate disability.
5.10 Ireland: Admissions to psychiatric hospitals and units, 2015
 per 100,000 population of which: first admissions (%)
ConditionMalesFemalesMalesFemales
Organic Mental Disorders13.710.857.062.5
Alcoholic Disorders31.120.239.133.3
Other Drug Disorders33.311.542.346.5
Schizophrenia, Schizotypal and Delusional Disorders95.059.522.822.2
Depressive Disorders96.8110.441.534.6
Mania36.046.624.721.6
Neuroses34.238.448.643.8
Eating Disorders0.75.733.324.8
Personality and Behavioural Disorders18.041.322.919.2
Intellectual Disability2.61.828.825.6
Development Disorders1.20.553.641.7
Behavioural & Emotional Disorders of Childhood & Adolescence0.60.238.560.0
Other and Unspecified32.428.550.845.7
Total395.5375.336.432.0
Source: Health Research Board, Activities of Irish Psychiatric Services

 

  • In 2015 the rate of admission to psychiatric units for males was 395.5 per 100,000 population, higher than the rate for women at 375.3 per 100,000.
  • For both males and females the highest cause of admission was depressive disorders, with a rate of 110.4 per 100,000 for females - 14% higher than the rate for men.
  • There were clear gender differences in the rate of admissions for other conditions. Women were more than twice as likely as men to be admitted for personality and behavioural disorders.
  • The male rate of admissions for schizophrenia was nearly 60% higher than the female rate while the male rate for other drug disorders was nearly three times higher than the female rate.
  • The male rate of admissions for alcoholic disorders was more than 50% higher than the female rate.
5.11 Ireland: Recipients of Carer's Allowance and Carer's Benefit, 2006-2016
   number 
YearMenWomenTotal% women
20065,56123,56029,12180.9
20076,86928,27835,14780.5
20089,17536,64345,81880.0
200910,21339,92650,13979.6
201010,52440,05350,57779.2
201111,16642,13753,30379.1
201211,47742,37053,84778.7
201313,01145,72358,73477.8
201413,37646,00659,38077.5
201514,41348,59063,00377.1
201616,48153,97870,45976.6
Source: Department of Social Protection

 

  • There were 70,459 people in receipt of caring-related social welfare payments in 2016, of whom about three-quarters (76.6%) were women.
  • The number of recipients has more than doubled since 2006, when 29,121 people received these payments.
  • The number of men receiving caring-related social welfare payments nearly trebled between 2006 and 2016, growing from 5,561 to 16,481.
5.12 Ireland: Recipients of Carer's Allowance and Carer's Benefit by age, 2016
   number  
Age groupMenWomenTotal% men% women
Under 252005987981.21.1
25-348775,8316,7085.310.8
35-442,64913,30015,94916.124.6
45-544,52314,33318,85627.426.6
55-643,98010,08514,06524.118.7
65 & over4,2529,83114,08325.818.2
Total16,48153,97870,459100.0100.0
Source: Department of Social Protection

 

  • Just over half (51.2%) of all women in receipt of caring-related social welfare payments in 2016 were aged between 35 and 54.
  • More than a quarter (27.4%) of men in receipt of these payments were aged between 45 and 54 and just over a quarter (25.8%) were aged 65 or over.
5.13 Ireland: Number of carers by age group and hours of unpaid help provided per week, 2016
Hours per weekAged 0-14 Aged 15 and over Total
MaleFemaleTotal MaleFemaleTotal MaleFemaleTotal
1-141,0151,0602,075 33,84147,83881,679 34,85648,89883,754
15-28 116140256 11,65019,22330,873 11,76619,36331,129
29-42434588 5,8838,89714,780 5,9268,94214,868
43 or more108102210 13,93127,04440,975 14,03927,14641,185
Not stated5935781,171 9,93213,22423,156 10,52513,80224,327
Total carers1,8751,9253,800 75,237116,226191,463 77,112118,151195,263
Source: CSO Census of Population

 

  • More than six out of ten (61%) of the 195,263 carers providing unpaid help in 2016 were female.
  • Three in ten (30.5%) female carers and a quarter of male carers (25.9%) provided 29 hours or more of unpaid help each week in 2016.
  • The vast majority (98%) of carers were aged 15 and over but 3,800 were children aged 14 or younger.
5.14 Ireland: Health service personnel by grade category1, 2016
 number
Grade categoryMenWomenTotal% women
Medical/Dental - Consultant1,9431,2603,20339.3
Medical/Dental - non-Consultant3,3084,0057,31354.8
Nursing3,37737,70041,07791.8
Health and social care professionals2,71714,68117,39884.4
General support staff4,6126,47311,08558.4
Support and care staff6,21016,63522,84572.8
Management & administration2,99915,79018,78984.0
Total25,16696,544121,71079.3
Source: Health Service Executive, Health Service Personnel Census
1Figures refer to Public Health Sector Employment (HSE, Section 38 Voluntary Hospitals & Agencies) excluding Home Helps

 

  • Four out of five (79.3%) employees in the Irish Health Service were women in 2016.
  • Women were in the majority in all the grades shown in the table with the exception of Medical and Dental consultants where men accounted for 60.7% of the positions.
  • Women accounted for 91.8% of nurses, 84.4% of health and social care professionals and 84% of managers and administrators.
MenWomen
Total2516696544
Nursing337737700
Health and social care professionals271714681
Management and Administration299915790
Support and care621016635
General support46126473
Medical/Dental non-consultants33084005
Medical/dental consultants19431260
5.15 EU: Proportion of persons who currently smoke, 2014
   % aged 15+
CountryMaleFemaleTotalPercentage points differential
Sweden17.416.016.71.4
United Kingdom18.915.817.33.1
Finland22.116.619.25.5
Denmark22.419.420.93.0
Luxembourg23.517.520.56.0
Ireland23.920.122.03.8
Germany24.818.821.76.0
Belgium26.219.923.06.3
Slovenia27.521.124.26.4
Malta27.620.624.17.0
Portugal27.813.220.014.6
Italy28.317.422.710.9
EU 2828.719.523.99.2
Netherlands28.821.625.27.2
Spain30.420.525.39.9
France32.424.528.37.9
Poland32.520.326.112.2
Croatia32.725.028.77.7
Austria32.927.230.05.7
Hungary33.522.227.511.3
Czech Republic35.022.628.712.4
Estonia37.619.227.618.4
Slovakia38.021.729.516.3
Greece39.426.432.613.0
Romania39.812.525.727.3
Lithuania40.312.325.028.0
Cyprus41.917.229.124.7
Latvia43.118.629.524.5
Bulgaria43.326.834.816.5
     
Iceland20.317.218.83.1
Norway21.119.120.12.0
Turkey47.417.932.529.5
Source: CSO IHS, Eurostat EHIS

 

  • Just under a quarter (23.9%) of males in Ireland aged 15 and over were smokers in 2014, below the EU average of 28.7% and the sixth lowest rate in the EU.
  • The highest rate of smoking among males was in Bulgaria at 43.3% while the lowest was in Sweden at 17.4%.
  • A fifth of females aged 15 and over in Ireland were smokers in 2014, slightly above the EU average of 19.5%. The highest rate of smoking in the EU among women was in Austria at 27.2% while the lowest rate was in Lithuania at 12.3%.
  • More men smoked than women in all EU countries, with the largest gender differential in Lithuania at 28%.
This map is © Ordnance Survey Ireland. All rights reserved. License number 01/05/001.
This map is © Ordnance Survey Ireland. All rights reserved. License number 01/05/001.
5.16 EU: Proportion of persons who are overweight1, 2014
  % aged 18 and over
CountryMen Women TotalPercentage points gender differential for overweight
Pre-obeseObeseOverweight Pre-obeseObeseOverweight Pre-obeseObeseOverweight
Netherlands42.011.653.6 30.215.145.3 36.013.349.38.3
France38.515.353.8 26.015.341.3 31.915.347.212.5
Italy43.311.354.6 25.810.336.1 34.110.844.918.5
Denmark41.014.155.1 25.015.640.6 32.914.947.814.5
Sweden42.213.655.8 29.614.444.0 35.914.049.911.8
Belgium42.413.956.3 28.714.242.9 35.314.049.313.4
Luxembourg39.616.856.4 25.414.439.8 32.415.648.016.6
Austria40.516.056.5 26.513.439.9 33.314.748.016.6
Estonia38.119.157.2 29.621.551.1 33.520.453.96.1
Portugal42.315.357.6 32.217.850.0 36.916.653.57.6
Lithuania44.214.158.3 33.519.953.4 38.317.355.64.9
Latvia40.018.858.8 31.323.354.6 35.221.356.54.2
EU 2843.016.159.1 29.015.744.7 35.715.951.614.4
Cyprus43.516.359.8 25.112.938.0 33.814.548.321.8
Germany43.017.360.3 27.716.544.2 35.216.952.116.1
United Kingdom40.519.860.3 31.420.451.8 35.620.155.78.5
Spain43.517.160.6 28.116.344.4 35.716.752.416.2
Bulgaria46.715.562.2 32.614.246.8 39.214.854.015.4
Hungary40.322.062.3 28.520.448.9 34.021.255.213.4
Finland43.518.962.4 30.017.747.7 36.418.354.714.7
Slovakia47.015.962.9 29.516.646.1 38.016.354.316.8
Ireland42.720.463.1 31.417.048.4 37.018.755.714.7
Romania54.19.163.2 39.39.749.0 46.49.455.814.2
Poland45.418.864.2 30.815.946.7 37.517.254.717.5
Czech Republic45.119.965.0 30.618.749.3 37.619.356.915.7
Slovenia44.021.065.0 31.117.448.5 37.419.256.616.5
Greece48.018.366.3 31.716.448.1 39.417.356.718.2
Malta38.728.166.8 31.323.955.2 35.026.061.011.6
Croatia46.820.767.5 31.616.848.4 38.718.757.419.1
             
Turkey40.216.256.4 30.526.156.6 35.321.256.5-0.2
Norway43.913.957.8 28.212.240.4 36.213.149.317.4
Iceland47.019.266.2 30.118.848.9 38.619.057.617.3
Source: CSO IHS, Eurostat EHIS
1Pre-obese is a BMI of between 25 and less than 30 and obese is a BMI of 30 or more. The overweight category is equal to pre-obese plus obese. See Appendix 1.

 

  • Close to two-thirds (63.1%) of men in Ireland were overweight in 2014 which was the eighth highest rate in the EU and above the EU average of 59.1%.
  • In all EU countries more than half of men were overweight, with the lowest rate in the Netherlands at 53.6% and the highest in Croatia at 67.5%.
  • Just under half of women (48.4%) in Ireland were overweight in 2014, the joint eleventh highest rate in the EU and above the EU average of 44.7%. Slightly over a third of women (36.1%) were overweight in Italy, which was the lowest rate in the EU while the highest rate was in Malta at 55.2%.
  • More men were overweight than women in all EU countries in 2014 and the gender differential in Ireland was 14.6%.
5.17 EU: Persons with heavy episodic drinking1 at least once a week, 2014
 % of cohort
CountryMales Females Total
18-2425-6418+ 18-2425-6418+ 18-2425-6418+
Cyprus0.51.61.4 0.40.10.1 0.40.80.7
Latvia0.62.21.9 0.70.10.1 0.71.10.9
Lithuania2.06.95.7 0.00.70.5 1.03.72.8
Croatia2.33.43.3 0.00.80.6 1.22.01.9
Italy2.91.81.8 0.70.40.4 1.81.11.1
Slovakia3.22.92.7 0.60.30.3 1.91.61.5
Greece3.62.82.5 0.80.40.4 2.21.61.4
Hungary3.63.83.9 0.00.60.6 1.82.22.2
Bulgaria4.64.54.0 0.00.50.5 2.42.42.1
Poland5.46.15.5 2.10.70.7 3.83.32.9
Portugal6.65.35.0 1.30.60.5 4.02.82.6
Romania6.623.220.3 1.22.62.4 4.012.911.0
Spain7.34.34.1 2.31.51.2 4.92.92.7
Czech Republic10.23.74.0 0.90.30.3 5.82.02.1
Austria10.33.63.9 4.30.71.0 7.32.22.4
EU 2811.79.39.0 4.32.62.6 8.05.95.6
Estonia12.010.99.8 1.40.90.8 7.46.45.4
Slovenia12.75.35.6 4.31.01.2 8.53.23.3
Luxembourg14.418.517.4 7.25.75.5 10.912.211.4
Sweden14.46.46.8 7.11.52.0 10.94.04.4
Denmark16.014.214.3 10.73.74.5 13.29.09.3
United Kingdom17.017.815.5 6.56.24.9 11.011.69.8
Finland19.421.218.9 10.74.44.4 14.612.611.3
Germany22.012.713.5 8.04.95.4 15.28.89.4
Malta25.810.211.6 11.22.12.8 18.76.27.2
Belgium25.914.113.6 9.53.13.7 17.28.58.5
Ireland26.821.220.8 15.56.56.8 21.413.813.7
            
Turkey2.33.32.9 0.10.20.2 1.21.71.5
Iceland4.13.33.0 6.30.51.3 5.11.92.1
Norway8.73.63.7 5.10.71.1 7.02.12.4
Source: CSO IHS, Eurostat EHIS
1Heavy episodic drinking is defined as ingesting more than 60g of pure ethanol (the equivalent to about 6 standard drinks) on a single occasion, see Appendix 1.

 

  • More than a quarter (26.8%) of men aged 18-24 in Ireland engaged in heavy episodic drinking (or binge drinking) at least once a week in 2014. This was the highest rate in the EU and more than double the EU average of 11.7% for men aged 18-24.

  • Heavy episodic drinking is defined  in this table as ingesting more than 60g of pure ethanol on a single occasion, which is the equivalent in Ireland of three pints of beer or six pub measures of spirts, (see Appendix 1).

  • Just under one in six (15.5%) Irish women aged 18-24 engaged in binge drinking at least once a week in 2014, the highest rate in the EU, and well above the EU average of 4.3% for women aged 18-24.
  • Just over a fifth (20.8%) of Irish men aged 18 and over engaged in binge drinking at least once a week in 2014, the highest rate in the EU and more than double the EU average of 9%. The lowest rate was in Cyprus at 1.4%.
  • The rate of binge drinking at least once a week among Irish women aged 18 and over was 6.8% in 2014, the highest rate in the EU and more than double the EU average rate of 2.6%. The lowest rate was in Cyprus at 0.1%.
  • Binge drinking was more prevalent among men than women aged 18 and over in all countries, with the highest difference in Romania at 17.9 percentage points. Ireland had the third highest difference in the EU at 14 percentage points.
  • The lowest rates of binge drinking were in Mediterranean and Eastern European countries.
This map is © Ordnance Survey Ireland. All rights reserved. License number 01/05/001.
This map is © Ordnance Survey Ireland. All rights reserved. License number 01/05/001.

  

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