Lifestyle of Irish people improving, survey finds

The figures were included in the weighty Statistical Yearbook of Ireland 2007 from the Central Statistics Office offering 391 pages of 'did you know' information.

More than two million of us are working and only 91,400 people are unable to get work.

The average industrial wage is €31,252.

SSIAs were worth in the region of €15bn when they finally matured and one third of savers spent the cash on home improvements, foreign holidays and cars.

Personal lending by banks and finance houses has more than trebled from €39bn in 2000 to €134bn in 2006.

The number of people getting illness, disability and caring payments rose by 43% between 1999 and 2006 with 13bn spent on social welfare.

But the wealth generated by years of successful business at home and abroad has not reached everyone.

Almost a fifth 19% of the population, 847,969 people, were at-risk-of-poverty, while 7%, 296,789, were considered to be in consistent poverty.

The 391-page Statistical Yearbook has been given a new look this year, according to the CSO, to reflect changes in society with new chapters focusing on the knowledge economy and more information on pensions and spending.

Perfect for pub quiz experts and the 'did you know' types, it details almost every aspect of life: population, work trends, housing, transport, crime, tourism, education and housing.

It noted the improvements in education with almost a quarter of those aged 15-64 in 2006 holding a third level qualification. Females are more likely to go on to higher or further education.

Crime has been given a dedicated chapter and 103,924 headline offences were recorded in 2006, up from 102,258 in 2005.

There were 17,868 drink driving detections in 2006 - a rise of almost 34% on 2005 - and 14.6% of households in urban areas were targeted by criminals compared with 6.3% of rural homes.

Tourism continues to be a winner. Overseas visits to Ireland increased by more than 10% while trips abroad by Irish residents increased by 12%.

More and more new cars are coming on the roads, thanks in part to the SSIA bonanza, but learner drivers are still finding problems with the test with only half passing.

Divorce is on the up, as it has been since it was introduced in 1997 when in its first year only 95 divorces were granted.

The number increased to 1,421 in 1998 and by 2004 the number increased to 3,347. There were 3,411 divorces granted in 2005 and 3,466 in 2006.

The average house price was €305,637 in 2006 but in Dublin it was much dearer at €405,957.

But less and less houses are being built and developers instead are favouring apartments with planning permissions granted for new houses down by 19% from 2000 to 2006 and those granted for apartments up by nearly 8% in the same period.

One-person households are the fastest growing ownership group, up 51,877 or 18.7% since 2002.

Almost half of households were hooked up to the internet but only 13% of all households had a broadband connection.

Here is a selection of 'did you knows?':

There are more mobile phones than people in Ireland - 103 for every 100 people.

Only half of learner drivers who took the test last year passed.

The most popular babies' names were Sean and Sarah.

One-person households are the fastest growing ownership group, up 51,877 or 18.7% since 2002.