Overview In 2021, Ireland was the number 25 economy in the world in terms of GDP (current US$), the number 30 in total exports, the number 36 in total imports, the number 3 economy in terms of GDP per capita (current US$) and the number 17 most complex economy according to the Economic Complexity Index (ECI) .

Exports The top exports of Ireland are Vaccines, blood, antisera, toxins and cultures ($36.5B), Packaged Medicaments ($32.8B), Nitrogen Heterocyclic Compounds ($22.4B), Integrated Circuits ($15.3B), and Scented Mixtures ($9.37B), exporting mostly to United States ($59.8B), Germany ($23.3B), United Kingdom ($19.7B), China ($14.2B), and Belgium ($13.6B).

In 2021, Ireland was the world's biggest exporter of Nitrogen Heterocyclic Compounds ($22.4B), Scented Mixtures ($9.37B), Nucleic Acids ($5.99B), Hormones ($5.99B), and Sulfonamides ($3.42B)

Imports The top imports of Ireland are Planes, Helicopters, and/or Spacecraft ($16.5B), Vaccines, blood, antisera, toxins and cultures ($5.03B), Nitrogen Heterocyclic Compounds ($4.95B), Packaged Medicaments ($4.82B), and Integrated Circuits ($3.83B), importing mostly from United Kingdom ($28.4B), United States ($18.6B), France ($12.5B), Germany ($8.68B), and Netherlands ($6.76B).

In 2021, Ireland was the world's biggest importer of Planes, Helicopters, and/or Spacecraft ($16.5B)

Location Ireland borders United Kingdom by land.

March, 2023

Historical Data

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Top Export (2021): Vaccines, blood, antisera, toxins and cultures, $36.5B

Top Destination (2021): United States, $59.8B

In 2021, Ireland exported a total of $212B, making it the number 30 exporter in the world. During the last five reported years the exports of Ireland have changed by $59.5B from $153B in 2016 to $212B in 2021.

The most recent exports are led by Vaccines, blood, antisera, toxins and cultures ($36.5B), Packaged Medicaments ($32.8B), Nitrogen Heterocyclic Compounds ($22.4B), Integrated Circuits ($15.3B), and Scented Mixtures ($9.37B). The most common destination for the exports of Ireland are United States ($59.8B), Germany ($23.3B), United Kingdom ($19.7B), China ($14.2B), and Belgium ($13.6B).

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Fastest Growing Export Markets (2020 - 2021)

Fastest Growing Import Markets (2020 - 2021)

Ireland Exports Services (2020): $122B

Ireland Imports Services (2020): $240B

In 2020, Ireland exported $122B worth of services. The top services exported by Ireland in 2020 were Miscellaneous business, professional, and technical services ($44.6B), Operational leasing services ($20.7B), Financial services ($19.5B), Other royalties and license fees ($14.9B), and Other direct insurance ($7.47B).

The top services imported by Ireland in 2020 were Other royalties and license fees ($96.4B), Miscellaneous business, professional, and technical services ($79.4B), Merchanting and other trade-related services ($25.6B), Financial services ($17.8B), and Reinsurance ($4.35B).

Economic Complexity

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Most Specialized Products by RCA Index

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Ireland has a high level of specialization in Sulfonamides (33.8), Scented Mixtures (32.2), Hormones (29.7), Nitrogen Heterocyclic Compounds (26.4), and Nucleic Acids (23.2). Specialization is measured using RCA, an index that takes the ratio between Ireland observed and expected exports in each product.

Most Complex Products by PCI

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Export Opportunities by Relatedness

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The top export opportunities for Ireland according to the relatedness index, were Phosphides (0.14), Bulbs and Roots (0.12), Prints (0.12), Revenue Stamps (0.12), and Precious Metal Watches (0.12). Relatedness measures the distance between a country's current exports and each product. The barchart show only products that Ireland is not specialized in.

The product space is a network connecting products that are likely to be co-exported. The product space can be used to predict future exports, since countries are more likely to start exporting products that are related to current exports. Relatedness measures the distance between a product, and all of the products a country currently specializes in.

Relatedness Space

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This network shows the products most related to the production structure of Ireland. These are products that tend to be co-exported with the products that Ireland exports. Higher relatedness values ​​indicate greater knowledge, which predicts a greater probability of exporting that product in the future.

Diversification Frontier

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The Complexity-Relatedness diagram compares the risk vs strategic value of a country's potential export oppotunities. Relatedness is predictive of the probability that a country increases its exports in a product. Complexity, is associated with higher levels of income, economic growth, less income inequality, and lower greenhouse emissions.

Economic Complexity Ranking

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During the last 20 years Ireland's⁩ ⁨economy has become relatively less complex, moving from the ⁩⁨10th to the 17th⁩ position in the ECI rank.

These economic complexity rankings use 6 digit exports classified according to the HS96 classification. We consider only countries with population of at least 1 million and exports of at least $1 billion, and products with world trade over $500 million. To explore different rankings and vary these parameters visit the custom rankings section.

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