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Ireland

Ireland ranks 1st of 28 overall, 1st of 28 on economy and 6th of 28 on quality of life, among the 28 countries (the UK and the 27 EU member states). Scores use 21 ranked metrics from published sources (snapshot of 6 November 2026); each metric below names its source, vintage and fetch date.

Overall rank

1st of 28

Rank under alternative calculations: 2nd without multinational-sensitive measures; 2nd with rank-based scoring. About these alternatives

Pillar ranks

  • Economy1st of 2811 of 11 metrics
  • Quality of life6th of 2810 of 10 metrics

Overall rank over time

Rank 1 is the top of the table; the line is drawn with rank 1 at the top.

Overall rank, 2000 to 2025: 4th to 1st1st3rd6th9th11th200020052010201520202025June 20161stOverall rank, 2000 to 2025: 4th to 1st1st3rd6th9th11th200020102020June 20161st

2000: 4th · 2025: 1st

Scorecard by pillar

Each metric is ranked among the 28 countries with a value. Missing values are left out, not filled in.

Economy

Economy metrics for Ireland
Trend, 2000 to latest
Employment rate, ages 15+62.2 % of population aged 15+20243rd of 28ILOSTAT (International Labour Organization) · DF_EMP_2WAP_SEX_AGE_RT · vintage ILO LAST_UPDATE 2025-12-02 · fetched 2026-11-06
FDI inflows, % of GDP10.39 % of GDP (net inflows)20253rd of 28World Bank Indicators (WDI and WGI) · BX.KLT.DINV.WD.GD.ZS · vintage 2026-10-08 · fetched 2026-11-06
GNI per head, PPP88,346 international $ (constant 2021 PPP)20241st of 28World Bank Indicators (WDI and WGI) · NY.GNP.PCAP.PP.KD · vintage 2026-10-08 · fetched 2026-11-06
Government debt, % of GDP34.8 % of GDP (general government gross debt)20256th of 28International Monetary Fund, DataMapper (World Economic Outlook) · GGXWDG_NGDP · vintage World Economic Outlook (October 2026), dataset last modified 2026-10-08 · fetched 2026-11-06
Inflation, consumer prices2.10 % change on previous year (annual average)20256th of 28International Monetary Fund, DataMapper (World Economic Outlook) · PCPIPCH · vintage World Economic Outlook (October 2026), dataset last modified 2026-10-08 · fetched 2026-11-06
Investment, % of GDP22.2 % of GDP (gross fixed capital formation)202510th of 28World Bank Indicators (WDI and WGI) · NE.GDI.FTOT.ZS · vintage 2026-10-08 · fetched 2026-11-06
GDP per hour worked135.7 USD per hour worked, PPP, constant prices20241st of 26OECD statistics, read through the DBnomics mirror (provider code OECD) · DSD_PDB@DF_PDB_LV/IRL.A.GDPHRS._T.USD_PPP_H.Q._Z._Z._Z · vintage 2026-04-07 · fetched 2026-11-06
Real GDP growth8.00 % change on previous year, real terms20251st of 28International Monetary Fund, DataMapper (World Economic Outlook) · NGDP_RPCH · vintage World Economic Outlook (October 2026), dataset last modified 2026-10-08 · fetched 2026-11-06
R&D spending, % of GDP1.59 % of GDP (gross domestic expenditure on R&D)202314th of 28UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS) · EXPGDP.TOT · vintage as fetched 2026-11-06 · fetched 2026-11-06
Trade openness, % of GDP240.0 % of GDP (exports plus imports of goods and services)20252nd of 28World Bank Indicators (WDI and WGI) · NE.TRD.GNFS.ZS · vintage 2026-10-08 · fetched 2026-11-06
Unemployment rate4.70 % of labour force202512th of 28International Monetary Fund, DataMapper (World Economic Outlook) · LUR · vintage World Economic Outlook (October 2026), dataset last modified 2026-10-08 · fetched 2026-11-06

Quality of life

Quality of life metrics for Ireland
Trend, 2000 to latest
Government effectiveness1.63 WGI estimate, about −2.5 (weak) to +2.5 (strong)20256th of 28World Bank Indicators (WDI and WGI) · GOV_WGI_GE.EST · vintage 2026-09-25 · fetched 2026-11-06
Human Development Index0.949 index (0 to 1)20236th of 28Our World in Data (Human Development Index, UNDP-derived) · human-development-index · vintage 2025-05-07 · fetched 2026-11-06
Healthy life expectancy70.2 years (at birth, both sexes)20238th of 28WHO Global Health Observatory · WHOSIS_000002 · vintage WHO GHO record date 2026-10-01 · fetched 2026-11-06
Homicide rate0.861 intentional homicides per 100,000 people202212th of 28World Bank Indicators (WDI and WGI) · VC.IHR.PSRC.P5 · vintage 2026-10-08 · fetched 2026-11-06
Household consumption per head, PPP24,787 international $ (constant 2021 PPP)202514th of 28World Bank Indicators (WDI and WGI) · NE.CON.PCAP.PP.KD · vintage 2026-10-08 · fetched 2026-11-06
Income inequality, Gini29.9 index (0 to 100)20229th of 27World Bank Indicators (WDI and WGI) · SI.POV.GINI · vintage 2026-10-08 · fetched 2026-11-06
Life expectancy at birth83.0 years20245th of 28World Bank Indicators (WDI and WGI) · SP.DYN.LE00.IN · vintage 2026-10-08 · fetched 2026-11-06
Life satisfaction (0–10)6.93 Cantril ladder, mean of 0–10 (three-year average)20256th of 28World Happiness Report (Gallup life evaluations) · life_evaluation_3yr_avg · vintage 2026 · fetched 2026-11-06
PISA mean score504.0 PISA score points (mean of reading, mathematics and science)20222nd of 27OECD statistics, read through the DBnomics mirror (provider code OECD) · PISA-2022-database · vintage pisa_2022 · fetched 2026-11-06
Air pollution, PM2.57.5 micrograms per cubic metre (mean annual exposure)20236th of 28World Bank Indicators (WDI and WGI) · EN.ATM.PM25.MC.M3 · vintage 2026-10-08 · fetched 2026-11-06

Context metrics (shown, not ranked)

These measures are shown for context. They are not part of either pillar score or the overall rank.

Context metrics for Ireland, not ranked
Trend, 2000 to latest
GDP per head, PPP131,338 international $ (constant 2021 PPP)2025World Bank Indicators (WDI and WGI) · NY.GDP.PCAP.PP.KD · vintage 2026-10-08 · fetched 2026-11-06
House price to income index117.4 index relative to a base year (not a ratio in years; base differs by country)2024OECD statistics, read through the DBnomics mirror (provider code OECD) · DSD_AN_HOUSE_PRICES@DF_HOUSE_PRICES/IRL.A.HPI_YDH.IX · vintage 2026-06-16 · fetched 2026-11-06
Household disposable income per head36,677 USD (PPP) per person, gross disposable income of households2024OECD statistics, read through the DBnomics mirror (provider code OECD) · DSD_NAAG@DF_NAAG_V/A.IRL.B6GS1M_POP.USD_PPP_PS.NAAG_V · vintage 2026-06-16 · fetched 2026-11-06
Trust in institutions5.70 mean of 0–10 trust scores (parliament, legal system, police)2023European Social Survey · trstprl,trstlgl,trstplc · vintage ess_round11 · fetched 2026-11-06

Sources