Ireland’s economy has seen strong growth in 2021, according to new figures released by the Central Statistics Office (CSO).
Gross Domestic Product (GDP) increased by approximately 13.5% while Gross National Product (GNP) increased by 11.5%.
Meanwhile, modified domestic demand, which is a broad measure of underlying domestic activity that covers personal, government and investment spending, grew 6.5% in 2021.
According to the CSO, personal spending on goods and services increased by 5.7% during the year.
However, it was the sectors dominated by multinationals that saw the most significant growth of 21.9%, while the other sectors increased by 5%.
Here is the international accounts infographic to accompany today’s release of the quarterly national accounts and international accounts for the fourth quarter of 2021 and the year 2021https://t.co/Ngd5D7Z9Eh #CSOIreland #Ireland #National Accounts #Balance of payments #Economic indicators#GovernmentAccounts pic.twitter.com/z2FduWLZV5
— Central Statistics Office of Ireland (@CSOIreland) March 4, 2022
In the results of the international accounts, the current account of the balance of payments recorded a surplus of 58.8 billion euros in flows with the rest of the world in 2021, driven by the improvement in the balances of goods and services.
The €58.8 billion improvement in the services balance between 2020 and 2021 reflects the decline in imports of intellectual property products in 2021. Net profit outflows of multinationals amounted to €90.7 billion. euros over the year, an increase of 21.0 billion euros compared to 2020 levels.
Commenting on the figures, Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe said: “The main takeaway for me from today’s figures is the confirmation of the robust growth of the national economy in 2021, despite the lockdown of the first part of the economy. year and current Covid challenges over the past year.
“Beyond these data, the post-Covid recovery is now taking place in a period of unprecedented geopolitical instability and uncertainty.
“Ireland’s support for Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity is unwavering.
“The sanctions that Ireland, along with many other countries, have imposed on Russia will have a severe and lasting impact on the Russian economy.
“However, the sanctions and the wider conflict will not be without cost for Ireland as well.
“While our direct trade links with Russia are limited, the Irish economy remains exposed to the recent spike in commodity prices and other ripple effects.
“Indeed, some of our major trading partners are heavily dependent on Russia and Ukraine for certain goods and Russia plays an outsized role in global energy and commodity markets, which is expected to drive up short-term inflation.
“My department will continue to analyze and closely monitor these developments and produce an updated set of economic forecasts in the April Stability Program Update which will be published next month.”