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Extra information
For more information on this release:
E-mail: internationalaccounts@cso.ie Annette Hayes (+353) 1 498 4319
For general information on CSO statistics:
information@cso.ie (+353) 21 453 5000 On-line ISSN 2009-6747
CSO statistical release, , 11am

Foreign Direct Investment

2020

 € million
 20192020
 
Flows - Abroad 28,659-39,395
Flows - In Ireland 133,48570,803
Positions - Abroad - end year 1,001,686987,531
Positions - In Ireland - end year 1,079,5701,097,554
Positions - Net - end year-77,884-110,023
Net Income Flows-69,166-78,026

Direct investment in Ireland increased by €71bn in 2020

Foreign Direct Investment 2020 Figure 1
go to full release

Irish stocks of direct investment abroad decreased to €988bn at the end of 2020 from a stock position of €1,002bn at the end of 2019. 

The stock of direct investment abroad at the end of 2020 comprised of Equity Capital & Reinvested Earnings of €1039bn and the withdrawal of Other Capital of -€52bn. A decrease in Other Capital positions (-€46bn) was offset by an increase in Equity Capital & Reinvested Earnings (€32bn). The decrease in Other Capital positions was mostly attributable to the withdrawal of investment from Switzerland and Central American Offshore centres of €19bn and €25bn respectively. The increase in Equity Capital and Reinvested Earnings positions was attributed to increased investment in North America, €97bn which was offset by a decrease in European investment of €77bn. For the data breakdowns, see Table 3.

The stock of direct investment in Ireland increased between the end of 2019 and end of 2020 - from €1080bn to €1,098bn. Increased investment from the United States of €54bn was offset by a decrease in investment from Europe and Offshore centres of €13bn and €27bn respectively - Table 4.

Ireland had a net foreign liability of €110bn at the end of 2020, an increase of €32bn on the net foreign liability of €78bn at the end 2019.

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.
X-axis labelOffshore CentresUnited StatesOtherNetherlandsLuxembourgSwitzerland
2020383.132240.05136.885133.479119.31384.695

  

X-axis labelUnited StatesOtherIrelandOffshore CentresUnited KingdomFrance
2020836.023143.49451.93936.38314.85514.86

Direct Investment positions by Immediate and Ultimate Investor

In line with International recommendations the geographic allocation of direct investment flows and stocks in Tables 1 to 9 is based on the country of location of the immediate owner of the direct investment enterprise. 

An alternative presentation of the stock of direct investment in Ireland by ultimate investor displays a different geographic pattern. Figure 2 presents the value of investment stock in Ireland by location of the immediate owner (of the direct investment enterprise). Figure 3 presents the value of investment stock in Ireland by location of the ultimate investor. In 2020, the stock of investment from the US as ultimate investor at €836bn was €596bn greater than the stock of US investment presented by immediate owner (€240bn). This difference indicates that while a great deal of investment into Ireland comes directly from our European counter parts, this investment originates from enterprises located in the United States.

Investment stock from Ireland as ultimate investor at €52bn primarily represents former US-based corporate inversion enterprises which are now located in Ireland (see figure 3).

For further analysis on FDI, that explores its impact on the Irish economy with respect to employment, wages and regional breakdowns, see the FDI in Ireland publication. This research publication also contains numerous statistics based on the location of the ultimate investor, pass through FDI and Greenfield FDI.

Investment flows

Flows of direct investment into Ireland increased by €71bn in 2020: Equity and reinvested earnings inflows of €57bn and €64bn respectively, were offset by decreases in other capital investment of €50bn. The increase in flows of FDI into Ireland was largely attributable to investment from North America and Bermuda which increased by €46bn and €18bn in 2020 respectively.  - see Table 2.

X-axis labelNorth AmericaOffshore CentresLuxembourgGermanyUKOtherNetherlands
Flows45.84319.8217.2272.0462.441-1.94800000000001-4.627
X-axis labelTotalEuropeUS
201238.04625.1133.757
201338.10724.4439.615
201436.31719.5496.892
2015196.36379.97676.457
201635.60796.488-55.433
201746.77101.238-53.064
2018-10.176-154.91374.256
2019133.48567.936-105.339
202070.8039.481

Please note: The Inward FDI flow for US in year 2020 is suppressed due to confidentiality requirements. 

In 2015, the flow of direct investment into Ireland increased by €196bn mainly due to increased investment from Europe (€80bn) and the US (€76bn). This increase in 2015 pertains to the financing of intellectual property as well as the onshoring of other assets. In years 2019 and 2020, flows of direct investment into Ireland increased by €133bn and €71bn respectively. - see Table 2.

Direct investment abroad decreased by €39bn in 2020 – following an increase in outflows of €29bn in 2019. Reinvested earnings abroad and equity investments abroad of €16bn and €1bn were offset by a decrease in other capital investment abroad of €57bn. This decrease in other capital investment abroad was mainly with Europe (€44bn) - see Table 1.

Sectoral breakdown

Investment abroad by enterprises located in Ireland is primarily from the services sector – an investment position of €771bn at the end of 2020 is down €78bn compared to the position at the end of 2019 (€850bn). The stock of services sector investment into the EU was €427bn (55% of total services sector investment). Investment abroad from the manufacturing sector amounted to €187bn, up €68bn on the position at the end of 2019 (€120bn) - see table 7.

The Services Sector remains the largest sector for inward investment - at the end of 2020, the investment position was €628bn, down €15bn from the previous end of year 2019 position (€643bn). The investment position in financial intermediation increased from €218bn in 2019 to €234bn at end of 2020. Investment in administrative and support activities increased from €64bn in 2019 to €53bn in 2020. Investment in the Manufacturing Sector increased by €33bn to a stock position of €469bn in the same period - see Table 8.

 

X-axis labelManufacturingServices
In Ireland468.609627.971
Abroad187.326771.176

Direct investment income

Income outflows of foreign owned direct investment enterprises were €99bn in 2020, an increase of €7bn compared with 2019. Earnings of European owned companies were €66.6bn in 2020, up €1.6bn on the 2019 figure. Income earned abroad by investors located in Ireland was €21bn in 2020 down €1.6bn from 2019. The income earned abroad was predominantly from Luxembourg (€11bn), United States (€4bn), the Netherlands and UK (€2.9bn & €2.8bn) - see Table 9.

Table 1 Direct Investment1 Flows Abroad Classified by Location of Investment € million
Region/Country 2019 2 2020
 EquityReinvested EarningsOther CapitalTotal EquityReinvested EarningsOther CapitalTotal
Europe 89,46314,789-86,68917,564-123,67215,653-44,290-152,308
  of which:
    Belgium 1,561-32-873657-44**-1,689
    France  2,325151-582,418-341179-192-355
    Germany  444-209611,385-295-144239-200
    Italy -2-3712-27-60-4712-95
    Luxembourg 85,57010,359-37,41958,510-124,75210,452-3,596-117,896
    Netherlands  *4,053*-32,498*2,319*5,304
    Spain -216**-567-16520-38-183
    Switzerland *213-15**407*-21,151
    United Kingdom  3,4991,5521,4286,478*2,086*-1,706
    EU 273 96,29013,063-87,99621,358*12,803*-117,752
    EMU 194 95,35613,207-79,34829,215-124,48312,802-6,980-118,662
 
Americas 13,3462,191-2,59012,947*3,255*117,464
  North America 12,4498024,85918,110*3,28913,349*
   of which:
    Canada 7-1609615*17*1,140
    United States  12,4428034,25017,495*3,272**
  Central America *1,330*-5,330*-47*-6,781
  South America *59*1677213**
 
Asia 9,891**1,1416,375**-4,147
  of which:
    China **-12***-16*
    Hong Kong *13*-75518-30-8
    Japan -28**32**2484
 
Africa *0***16**
Oceania and Polar Regions -25**3*-62*310
 
Not geographically allocated5 *1,359-1,743*****
 
Total 110,30513,323-94,96928,6591,19516,383-56,973-39,395
  of which:
    All offshore centres6 *1,195*-21,426 *225*-17,695
1Data are provided according to arithmetic sign conventions e.g. minus signs are used in cases where there is withdrawal of investment.
2Revised.
3For analytical purposes, additional details are given of transactions between residents of Ireland and residents of the EU27 area.
4The relevant EMU countries are: Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia and Spain.
5This category covers data supplied by respondents without a geographical breakdown.
6This category overlaps with the regions referred to above and covers Andorra, Antigua and Barbuda, Anguilla, Netherlands Antilles, Barbados, Bahrain, Bermuda, Bahamas, Belize, Cook Islands, Curacao, Dominica, Grenada, Guernsey, Gibraltar, Hong Kong, Isle of Man, Jersey, Jamaica, St. Kitts and Nevis, St Maarten, Turks and Caicos Islands, Cayman Islands, Lebanon, Saint Lucia, Liechtenstein, Liberia, Marshall Islands, Montserrat, Maldives, Nauru, Niue, Panama, Philippines, Singapore, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, British Virgin Islands, US Virgin Islands, Vanuatu, Samoa.
*Data suppressed for confidentiality reasons.
Open in Excel: Foreign Direct Investment 2020 Table 1 (XLS 13KB)
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Table 2 Direct Investment1 Flows into Ireland Classified by Location of Investor  € million
Region/Country2019 22020
EquityReinvested EarningsOther CapitalTotal EquityReinvested EarningsOther CapitalTotal
Europe-102,96044,796126,10067,936-22,92442,237-9,8339,481
  of which:
    Belgium -7002,3885332,220*1,451*427
    France 1661,577-4861,258-4591,6847401,966
    Germany 790**-4,5712,030899-8832,046
    Italy 1101,7991192,028-4271,4246051,602
    Luxembourg-87,69912,13414,927-60,638-15,9242,38820,7637,227
    Netherlands -5,4816,307111,064111,88917,8965,821-28,344-4,627
    United Kingdom -7,4862,172-5,262-10,575-3,767236,1862,441
    EU 273 -96,29421,210128,46353,37953014,325-4,29810,557
    EMU 194-93,38021,024129,22956,87349214,291-6,4858,298
 
North America-8,3658,226-105,455-105,59455,3943,023-12,57545,843
  of which:
    Canada**-593-255-6-45**
    United States **-104,862-105,33955,4013,069**
 
Central America121,9203,25052,589177,75917,22314,281-18,97112,533
  of which:
    Bermuda97,9901,91448,129148,03218,016**17,755
 
South America00131300-26-26
  of which:
    Brazil00393900-67-67
 
Asia733,832-10,915-7,010*4,137*12,999
  of which:
    China**1,2921,902**1,0591,831
    Japan *2,541*2,241**229*
 
Africa*11*2007-46-38
Oceania and Polar Regions**186255**-18975
 
Not geographically allocated5***106558**-10,064
 
Total11,15260,07462,259133,48557,02863,550-49,77570,803
  of which:
    All offshore centres6123,56417,64852,515193,727 7,76328,905-16,84719,821
1Data are provided according to arithmetic sign conventions e.g. minus signs are used in cases where there is withdrawal of investment.
2Revised.
3For analytical purposes, additional details are given of transactions between residents of Ireland and residents of the EU27 area.
4The relevant EMU countries are: Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia and Spain.
5This category covers data supplied by respondents without a geographical breakdown.
6This category overlaps with the regions referred to above and covers Andorra, Antigua and Barbuda, Anguilla, Netherlands Antilles, Barbados, Bahrain, Bermuda, Bahamas, Belize, Cook Islands, Curacao, Dominica, Grenada, Guernsey, Gibraltar, Hong Kong, Isle of Man, Jersey, Jamaica, St. Kitts and Nevis, St Maarten, Turks and Caicos Islands, Cayman Islands, Lebanon, Saint Lucia, Liechtenstein, Liberia, Marshall Islands, Montserrat, Maldives, Nauru, Niue, Panama, Philippines, Singapore, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, British Virgin Islands, US Virgin Islands, Vanuatu, Samoa.
*Data suppressed for confidentiality reasons.
Open in Excel: Foreign Direct Investment 2020 Table 2 (XLS 14KB)
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Table 3 Direct Investment1 Abroad End Year Positions Classified by Location of Investment€ million
Region/Country 2019 2 2020
 Equity Capital & Reinvested EarningsOther CapitalTotal Equity Capital & Reinvested EarningsOther CapitalTotal
Europe700,45818,015718,472 623,615-22,147601,468
  of which:
    France  3,5495784,127 2,844452,888
    Germany  2,68162,687 2,6712922,963
    Italy 2,418-7621,655 2,412-6951,717
    Luxembourg 455,7858,832464,618 366,1754,135370,310
    Netherlands  56,5115,22061,732 54,1414,23358,375
    Switzerland 24,020-12,08211,939 5,165-31,472-26,307
    United Kingdom  79,90115,88295,784 89,5305,04394,573
    Offshore centres **32,340 **55,974
    EU 273  560,61214,165574,777 469,9153,829473,744
    EMU 194 550,76014,663565,423 459,4585,045464,503
 
Americas**164,971 279,932-31,721248,211
  North America 115,295-18,29996,996 212,384-5,651206,732
   of which:
    Canada **2,950 2,8733993,272
    United States  **94,046 209,511-6,051203,461
  Central America **66,837 **40,477
   of which:
    Offshore centres 67,030-97766,053 66,088-26,32439,765
  South America **1,138 **1,002
 
Asia 70,940-1,78769,154 70,982-11,66459,318
Africa**63 **466
Oceania and Polar Regions2,126-4811,645 3,3461613,507
Not geographically allocated5 **47,381 **74,560
 
Total 1,007,550-5,8641,001,686 1,039,429-51,897987,531
  of which:
    All offshore centres6 **152,106 **146,930
1The sign convention used is: for year-end positions 'Abroad', an entry without sign indicates a net asset position, while a minus sign indicates a net liability position.
2Revised.
3For analytical purposes, additional details are given of transactions between residents of Ireland and residents of the EU27 area.
4The relevant EMU countries are: Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia and Spain.
5This category covers data supplied by respondents without a geographical breakdown.
6This category overlaps with the regions referred to above and covers Andorra, Antigua and Barbuda, Anguilla, Netherlands Antilles, Barbados, Bahrain, Bermuda, Bahamas, Belize, Cook Islands, Curacao, Dominica, Grenada, Guernsey, Gibraltar, Hong Kong, Isle of Man, Jersey, Jamaica, St. Kitts and Nevis, St Maarten, Turks and Caicos Islands, Cayman Islands, Lebanon, Saint Lucia, Liechtenstein, Liberia, Marshall Islands, Montserrat, Maldives, Nauru, Niue, Panama, Philippines, Singapore, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, British Virgin Islands, US Virgin Islands, Vanuatu, Samoa.
*Data suppressed for confidentiality reasons.
Open in Excel: Foreign Direct Investment 2020 Table 3 (XLS 14KB)
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Table 4 Direct Investment1 in Ireland End Year Positions Classified by Location of Investor  € million
Region/Country 2019 22020
 Equity Capital & Reinvested EarningsOther CapitalTotal Equity Capital & Reinvested EarningsOther CapitalTotal
Europe554,0737,508561,581 549,242-420548,822
  of which:
    Belgium 5,542-20,091-14,549 3,873-19,845-15,972
    France  21,45748321,940 21,2061,27822,484
    Germany  10,533-4,2606,273 12,631-5,0257,606
    Italy  8,7747079,481 8,7441,1859,929
    Luxembourg 122,600-10,209112,391 109,3619,952119,313
    Netherlands  74,53061,930136,461 97,92135,558133,479
    Spain **13,419 **9,694
    Switzerland 110,441-13,22497,217 106,486-21,79184,695
    United Kingdom  58,417-20,77437,643 51,168-13,60037,568
    Offshore centres **131,634 ***
    EU 273 260,99830,578291,576 271,04024,032295,072
    EMU 194 258,12433,430291,555 268,06724,502292,568
 
North America125,36459,797185,160 206,40935,612242,022
  of which:
    Canada **-840 1,4385331,971
    United States  **186,000 204,97135,079240,050
 
Central America197,45879,177276,636 193,18057,450250,630
  of which:
    Offshore centres 197,45879,345276,804 193,18057,520250,700
 
South America0-322-322 0-263-263
  of which:
    Brazil 0-226-226 0-227-227
 
Asia45,916-3,12642,790 48,03537848,413
  of which:
    China **8,120 **8,283
    Japan *162* *415*
    Singapore 405-1,290-885 3368241,159
    Offshore centres5 2,016-4281,588 1,9532,0704,023
 
Africa  284-126158 269-167102
Oceania and Polar Regions **639 **704
 
Not geographically allocated6 **12,928 **7,124
 
Total 922,276157,2941,079,570 997,095100,4591,097,554
  of which:
    All offshore centres7 319,77390,326410,099 311,91271,221383,132
1The sign convention used is: for year-end positions 'Abroad', an entry without sign indicates a net liability position, while a minus sign indicates a net asset position.
2Revised.
3For analytical purposes, additional details are given of transactions between residents of Ireland and residents of the EU27 area.
4The relevant EMU countries are: Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia and Spain.
5This category overlaps with some of the regions referred to above.
6This category covers data supplied by respondents without a geographical breakdown.
7This category overlaps with the regions referred to above and covers Andorra, Antigua and Barbuda, Anguilla, Netherlands Antilles, Barbados, Bahrain, Bermuda, Bahamas, Belize, Cook Islands, Curacao, Dominica, Grenada, Guernsey, Gibraltar, Hong Kong, Isle of Man, Jersey, Jamaica, St. Kitts and Nevis, Cayman Islands, Lebanon, Saint Lucia, Liechtenstein, Liberia, Marshall Islands, Montserrat, Maldives, Nauru, Niue, Panama, Philippines, Singapore, St MaartenTurks and Caicos Islands, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, British Virgin Islands, US Virgin Islands, Vanuatu, Samoa.
*Data suppressed for confidentiality reasons.
Open in Excel: Foreign Direct Investment 2020 Table 4 (XLS 14KB)
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Table 5 Direct Investment1 Flows Abroad Classified by Activity2 of Resident Investor   € million
SectorNACE 2  2019 32020
  Total         of which: Total         of which:
Section & Division EU 274EMU 195 EU 274EMU 195
All Industries  28,65921,35829,215-39,395-117,752-118,662
  of which:
  Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing; Mining and Quarrying; ConstructionA, B & F ******
 
  Total Manufacturing SectorC 2,388-8,557-8,585-34,349**
    Food, beverages and tobacco products10, 11 & 12 3,358*699***
    Textiles and wood13, 14 & 16 - 18 ******
    Basic pharmaceutical products and preparations21 993*****
    Other manufacturing n.e.s.  *-351-420-13,0721,06588
 
  Electricity, Gas, Steam and Air Conditioning supplyD ****0*
 
  Total Services Sector45 - 99 24,90730,03837,919-3,022-14,503-14,503
    Wholesale and retail trade; Repairs of motor vehiclesG -614469467-1,095**
    Transportation and storageH ****00
    Information and communicationJ ***3,494**
    Financial and insurance activitiesK 2,7531,5501,496-3,0344,1764,338
    of which:
      Activities of holding companies64.2 6735685582,5682,9392,928
    Other service activities6  5074057,32865,254 **-18,484
1Data are provided according to arithmetic sign conventions e.g. minus signs are used in cases where there is withdrawal of investment.
2The activity classification used in this release is the NACE Rev. 2 classification.
3Revised.
4For analytical purposes, additional details are given of transactions between residents of Ireland and residents of the EU27 area.
5The relevant EMU countries are: Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia and Spain.
6This covers residual FDI service activity.
*Data suppressed for confidentiality reasons.
Open in Excel: Foreign Direct Investment 2020 Table 5 (XLS 13KB)
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Table 6 Direct Investment1 Flows into Ireland Classified by Activity2 of Resident Enterprise   € million
SectorNACE 2  2019 32020
  Total of which:  Total of which:
Section & Division United StatesJapanEU 274EMU 195Offshore Centres United StatesJapanEU 274EMU 195Offshore Centres
All Industries  133,485-105,3392,24153,37956,873193,72770,80342,617*10,5578,29919,821
  Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing; Mining and Quarrying; ConstructionA, B & F **0**0**0**0
  Total Manufacturing SectorC 53,054-56,414-31750,27950,40579,07544,4125,238-22324,41923,69020,424
    Food, beverages and tobacco products10, 11 & 12 9,461*0***-793*0***
    Textiles and wood13, 14 & 16 - 18 *-101-11*00000
    Basic pharmaceutical products and preparations21 40,841-2,786-467,0127,07035,67980,812*-2427,02626,86711,309
    Other manufacturing n.e.s.  **-271*****-199***
 
  Electricity, Gas, Steam and Air Conditioning supplyD **0**0**0**0
  Total Services Sector45 - 99 80,413-48,9332,5583,0206,406114,65226,34237,371*-13,873-15,434-603
    Wholesale and retail trade; Repairs of motor vehiclesG 4,778120*-2,906-2,816*-2,540-1,012*-1,068-1,21478
    Transportation and storageH *-10****00**0
    Information and communicationJ 27,2124,091*-107,910-107,978130,99651,83951,755181,2271,066-2,180
    Financial intermediation64 9,951-49,103-473,22376,659*-3,802-15,649322-4,881-6,469814
      of which:
       Activities of holding companies64.2 -2,506*0**-36352360-159-160-366
    Insurance, reinsurance and pension funding65 4,824-16*1,4171,3551,1552,15989*3,0203,287503
    Other financial activities66 771**335333*1,309**1,2651,265*
    Other services activities6  **2,535**-5,872 **9,277***
1Data are provided according to arithmetic sign conventions. e.g. minus signs are used in cases where there is withdrawal of investment.
2The activity classification used in this release is the NACE Rev. 2 classification.
3Revised.
4For analytical purposes, additional details are given of transactions between residents of Ireland and residents of the EU27 area.
5The relevant EMU countries are: Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia and Spain.
6This covers residual FDI service activity.
*Data suppressed for confidentiality reasons.
Open in Excel: Foreign Direct Investment 2020 Table 6 (XLS 14KB)
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Table 7 Direct Investment1 Abroad End Year Positions Classified by Activity2 of Resident Investor  € million
SectorNACE 2  2019 32020
  Total         of which: Total         of which:
Section & Division EU 274EMU 195 EU 274EMU 195
All Industries  1,001,686574,777565,423987,531473,744464,503
  of which:
  Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing; Mining and Quarrying; ConstructionA, B & F ******
 
  Total Manufacturing SectorC 119,63529,92429,275187,32638,14236,656
    Food, beverages and tobacco products10, 11 & 12 ******
    Textiles and wood13, 14 & 16 - 18 ******
    Basic pharmaceutical products and preparations21 **-1,99465,1992,7402,661
    Other manufacturing n.e.s.  68,39510,4839,88470,22812,50210,982
 
  Electricity, Gas, Steam and Air Conditioning supplyD ******
       
  Total Services Sector45 - 99 849,493534,217525,511771,176426,900419,146
    Wholesale and retail trade; Repairs of motor vehiclesG 10,5743,6393,3669,5753,0942,800
    Transportation and storageH ******
    Information and communicationJ **2,456**2,258
    Financial and insurance activitiesK 102,19626,51125,091113,90951,92250,709
     of which:
        Activities of holding companies64.2 32,161**37,58930,98030,844
    Other service activities6  689,182**577,161**
1The sign convention used is: for year-end positions 'Abroad', an entry without sign indicates a net asset position, while a minus sign indicates a net liability position.
2The activity classification used in this release is the NACE Rev. 2 classification.
3Revised.
4For analytical purposes, additional details are given of transactions between residents of Ireland and residents of the EU27 area.
5The relevant EMU countries are: Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia and Spain.
6This covers residual FDI service activity.
*Data suppressed for confidentiality reasons.
Open in Excel: Foreign Direct Investment 2020 Table 7 (XLS 12KB)
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Table 8 Direct Investment1 in Ireland End Year Positions Classified by Activity2 of Resident Enterprise        € million
SectorNACE 2  2019 32020
  Total of which: Total of which:
Section & Division United StatesJapanEU 274EMU 195Offshore Centres United StatesJapanEU 274EMU 195Offshore Centres
All Industries  1,079,570186,000*291,576291,555410,0991,097,554240,050*295,072292,568383,132
  Agriculture, Forestry and FishingA **0**0**0**0
  Mining and Quarrying; ConstructionB  *0**00*00*00
  Total ManufacturingC 435,37653,416-30087,86788,156236,496468,60973,209-436124,096123,628222,121
    Food, beverages and tobacco products10, 11 & 12 **0*********
    Textiles and wood13, 14 & 16 - 18 *000*0*0000*
    Basic pharmaceutical products and preparations21 138,5756,28434826,15426,10945,997224,88366,97734769,44869,20830,569
    Metal and mechanical products24, 25, 26 & 28 *****111,665******
    Other manufacturing  *3,275*45,659**43,461223-27937,77837,742708
 
  Electricity, Gas, Steam and Air Conditioning supplyD *****0**00*0
  Total Services Sector45 - 99 643,175132,583*203,315203,191173,603627,971166,840*170,821168,939161,011
    Wholesale and retail trade; Repairs of motor vehiclesG 30,015**18,37518,3131,95229,109**17,58617,4122,662
    Information and communicationJ 150,2209,289*5,3345,338130,289193,73058,194*4,7394,587122,618
    Financial intermediation 64 218,059106,11767363,80964,27218,679234,16091,205*83,63782,49417,254
     of which:
        Activities of holding companies64.2 21,131*0**6,05820,505*08,7538,7535,961
    Insurance services65 28,6833,745*15,41615,0515,56529,673*31517,90117,5826,076
    Administrative and support activitiesN 64,2328,615*5,6755,5117,19352,9279,695*9,9039,8095,055
    Other services activities6  151,966*29,76294,70694,7069,925 88,372-8132,79137,05537,0557,346
1The sign convention used is: for year-end positions 'In Ireland' an entry without sign indicates a net liability position, while a minus sign indicates a net asset position.
2The activity classification used in this release is the NACE Rev. 2 classification.
3Revised.
4For analytical purposes, additional details are given of transactions between residents of Ireland and residents of the EU27 area.
5The relevant EMU countries are: Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia and Spain.
6This covers residual FDI service activity.
*Data suppressed for confidentiality reasons.
Open in Excel: Foreign Direct Investment 2020 Table 8 (XLS 14KB)
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Table 9 Direct Investment Income1 Flows Classified by Geographic Location of Creditor/Debtor € million
Region/Country 2019 22020
 InflowsOutflowsNet InflowsOutflowsNet
Europe 21,53265,000-43,46818,76466,596-47,832
  of which:
     Belgium 902,413-2,323*1,586*
    France 2802,524-2,2442201,813-1,593
    Germany  143**1111,068-957
    Italy312,032-2,001-1141,586-1,700
    Luxembourg 11,52316,053-4,53011,4098,3523,057
    Netherlands 6,38011,428-5,0482,86710,163-7,296
    Spain-57391-4487415-408
    Switzerland 22814,590-14,36253623,714-23,178
    United Kingdom 2,3963,971-1,5752,7941,918876
    EU 273 18,80232,297-13,49514,99425,394-10,400
    EMU 19418,80331,876-13,07314,93525,277-10,342
 
Americas3,99422,154-18,1604,42927,300-22,871
  of which:
    Canada85-5313846-450
    United States 2,07411,386-9,3124,2148,366-4,152
    Offshore centres 1,69810,818-9,11910018,936-18,836
 
Asia*4,171**4,583*
  of which:
    Japan 282,667-2,63946**
 
Africa137-361421-7
Oceania and Polar Regions *21**9*
Not geographically allocated5 1,6113451,266880463417
 
Total22,56291,728-69,16620,94598,971-78,026
  of which:
    Offshore centres6 1,62525,629-24,004 45935,235-34,776
1Income on equity and other direct investment capital.
2Revised.
3For analytical purposes, additional details are given of transactions between residents of Ireland and residents of the EU27 area.
4The relevant EMU countries are: Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia and Spain.
5This category covers data supplied by respondents without a geographical breakdown.
6This category overlaps with the regions referred to above and covers Andorra, Antigua and Barbuda, Anguilla, Netherlands Antilles, Barbados, Bahrain, Bermuda, Bahamas, Belize, Cook Islands, Curacao, Dominica, Grenada, Guernsey, Gibraltar, Hong Kong, Isle of Man, Jersey, Jamaica, St. Kitts and Nevis, Cayman Islands, Lebanon, Saint Lucia, Liechtenstein, Liberia, Marshall Islands, Montserrat, Maldives Nauru, Niue, Panama, Philippines, Singapore, St MaartenTurks and Caicos Islands, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, British Virgin Islands, US Virgin Islands, Vanuatu, Samoa.
*Data suppressed for confidentiality reasons.
Open in Excel: Foreign Direct Investment 2020 Table 9 (XLS 12KB)
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Background Notes

The Foreign Direct Investment release updates the annual statistical series on Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) flows and end-year stocks (or positions) for Ireland, broken down geographically by region and by country. The release includes tables with further analyses of the FDI flows and stocks presented by the principal economic activity (using NACE Rev.2 classification) of the resident direct investment enterprise. The statistics are methodologically consistent with the data already presented in the quarterly balance of payments and IIP releases. The statistics are also compatible with those supplied to Eurostat and the European Central Bank (ECB) and to other international organisations such as the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).

For more detailed methodological information see: 

Foreign Direct Investment - Background Notes (PDF 215KB)

Redomiciled PLCs in the Irish Balance of Payments

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