ECONOMIC INFORMATION

Population: 3.9m

Population growth: 0.69%

Population density (people per sq. km): 57

UN Human Development Index ranking: 10/177

Gross national income (current US$): $106.4bn (2003)

Gross national income per capita: $26,960

PPP Gross national income: $120.2bn

PPP Gross national income per capita: $30,450

GDP growth: 1.1% (2003)

GDP breakdown Agriculture: 3.5%, Industry: 42.2%, Services: 54.4%

Inflation (12-month average): 0.2 (2003)

Gross capital formation as % of GDP: 23.5%

Final consumption expenditure as % of GDP (growth): 61.7% (7.2%)

Exports of goods & services as % of GDP: 98.2%

Top 3 export markets: UK, US, Germany

Local industries: Food products, brewing, textiles, clothing, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, machinery, transportation equipment, glass & crystal, software

WEF Growth Competitiveness ranking *: 30/104

WEF Business Competitiveness ranking **: 22/103

WEF Quality of the Business Environment ranking: 22/103

Transparency International Corruption Perceptions ranking: 17/145

Languages : English (official)

FDI INFORMATION

Region: UK / Republic of Ireland

No. of projects (Jan-Sep 2004): 236

Market-share of projects in the region: 23.8%

Value of projects relative to GDP : 15.8%

Top 3 destination sectors: IT & software, financial services,hotels tourism & leisure

Top 3 business functions: Retail, manufacturing, business services

Top 3 source countries: US, UK, Germany

Top 3 investors: Intel, Abbott Laboratories, Johnson & Johnson

IPA

Name: IDA Ireland

Web address: www.idaireland.com

* World Economic Forum Growth Competitiveness Ranking assesses an economy’s ability to grow consistently

** World Economic Forum Business Competitiveness Ranking assesses the microeconomic factors that contribute to economic growth

*** The difficulty of hiring workers and the difficulty and expense of firing workers is reflected as an index where the higher the value the more rigid the regulations