Ireland's debt varies by measure, but recent figures show national debt around €218-€244 billion (2024-2025), while gross external debt is much higher, over €3 trillion, reflecting multinational corporate activity, but net debt (government assets minus liabilities) is lower, about €155 billion (end-2024), or roughly 28% of GDP.
Total liabilities stood at €12,838bn, down €67.4bn when compared to the previous quarter. The difference between total assets and liabilities of the Irish economy results in a net financial wealth position of -€360.8bn, increasing by €68.1bn since the previous quarter.
The United States has the most national debt in absolute dollar terms, exceeding $38 trillion, followed by China and Japan, but Japan has the highest debt relative to its economy (debt-to-GDP ratio) at over 200%, indicating a much larger burden on its economic output. Other countries with high debt-to-GDP ratios include Sudan, Singapore, and Venezuela, but the U.S. holds the largest total figure, impacting global debt.
This means that, after the September 2019 instalment, there are just three instalments left on the bilateral loans. Three instalments of EUR253. 5 million are left owing to the UK – EUR760 million – and three instalments of EUR66. 6 million – EUR200 million in all – to Sweden and Denmark.
Within the next five years, €49.6 billion of government bonds will mature. Estimated non-resident holdings was €71.5 billion at the end of December. Credit Institutions and the Central Bank account for the largest amount of Irish-resident holdings, at €63.8 billion. This equates to 92.3 per cent of the resident total.
Taking a straight comparison of GDP per head at current exchange rates Ireland's per capita GDP is second only to Luxemburg in the EU and is exactly double that of the UK.
Reckless lending and borrowing by banks fuelled an unsustainable boom in Ireland, which crashed when the global financial crisis began in 2008. The Irish government guaranteed all the debts of the banks, transferring a huge amount of debt onto the public.
The causes of Ireland's growth are the subject of some debate, but credit has been primarily given to state-driven economic development; social partnership among employers, government and trade unions; increased participation by women in the labour force; decades of investment in domestic higher education; targeting of ...
A 'good' salary in Ireland generally ranges from €50,000 to €70,000 per year. This would allow a single person or small family to live comfortably, especially outside of Dublin.
The post-2008 Irish banking crisis occurred when a number of Irish financial institutions faced almost imminent collapse due to insolvency during the Great Recession. In response, the Irish government instigated a €64 billion bank bailout.
Australia's government debt is nearing $1 trillion AUD in gross terms, with forecasts placing it just over that mark in late 2025 or early 2026, representing around 32-35% of GDP, which is considered relatively low compared to other developed nations despite rising from previous years. Net debt, which accounts for government assets, is lower (around $880 billion in 2024-25) but also growing as a percentage of GDP.
Eliminating the U.S. government's debt is a Herculean task that could take decades. In addition to obvious steps, such as hiking taxes and slashing spending, the government could take a number of other approaches, some of them unorthodox and even controversial.
As the world's biggest gambling hub, Macao SAR has zero debt, bolstered by billions in gaming revenue and healthy financial reserves. Liechtenstein ranks in second, with virtually no debt and the only country in Europe ranking in the top 10.
Ireland is an open economy (3rd on the Index of Economic Freedom), and ranks first for high-value foreign direct investment (FDI) flows. In the global GDP per capita tables, Ireland ranks 2nd of 192 in the IMF table and 4th of 187 in the World Bank ranking. (2023 est. )
For most people, a household salary of €100,000 would put a family in the category of “rich”. And if you earned that last year, you were among the top 6.6pc of employees, Revenue figures show. The average gross pay for a PAYE worker nationwide was €42,100 in 2024, while the Dublin average was €49,500.
The final repayment of the loan by Ireland was made, on schedule, on 26 March 2021. An Act to make provision in connection with the making of loans to Ireland by the United Kingdom.
The agency's latest analysis of earnings broken down by gender and county indicated that men represented 73.6 per cent of those in the top 1 per cent income bracket (those earning above €300,000 a year). The proportion of women among the State's top one per cent of earners is, however, increasing.
Housing: Overall, housing in Ireland is about 5.3% cheaper than housing in the U.S. Rent: In Dublin, rent for a one-bedroom apartment in the city center is around €2,200 ($2,400), comparable to high-cost U.S. cities like New York and San Francisco, where rents can exceed $3,000.
The richest country by GDP (PPP) per capita is often cited as Singapore, followed closely by Luxembourg, depending on the specific report and year, with Singapore leading in 2025 estimates with around $156,000-$157,000 per person, while Luxembourg is a strong contender just below that, highlighting small, finance-heavy economies as wealthiest per person.
Housing was seen as the most important issue facing the Republic of Ireland as of 2025, with 64 percent of respondents placing it as one of the top two issues facing the country.
Ireland is referred to as a tax haven because of the country's taxation and economic policies. The country's tax laws heavily favor businesses, and the economic environment is very hospitable for all corporations, especially those invested in research, development, and innovation.
Their substantial indebtedness to Ireland's central bank was repaid over a period of years, during which the interest costs were very low, thanks to a complex mechanism devised at the time of their liquidation in early 2013 (Honohan, 2023).
The United States has the most national debt in absolute dollar terms, exceeding $38 trillion, followed by China and Japan, but Japan has the highest debt relative to its economy (debt-to-GDP ratio) at over 200%, indicating a much larger burden on its economic output. Other countries with high debt-to-GDP ratios include Sudan, Singapore, and Venezuela, but the U.S. holds the largest total figure, impacting global debt.
According to economic historian Kevin O'Rourke, the Irish economy remained underdeveloped for extended periods of time after partition due to its continuing excessive dependence on an underperforming British economy.