The Irish economy recorded strong growth in 2021, according to new figures released by the Central Statistics Office (CSO).
Gross domestic product (GDP) increased by an estimated 13.5 per cent while gross national product (GNP) grew by 11.5 per cent.
Meanwhile, modified domestic demand, which is a broad measure of underlying domestic activity that covers personal, government and investment spending, increased by 6.5 per cent in 2021.
According to the CSO, personal spending on goods and services increased by 5.7 per cent in the year.
However, it was multinational dominated sectors which experienced the most significant growth of 21.9 per cent while other sectors increased by 5 per cent.
Here is the International Accounts infographic to accompany today's release of Quarterly National Accounts and International Accounts Q4 2021 and year 2021https://t.co/Ngd5D7Z9Eh #CSOIreland #Ireland #NationalAccounts #BalanceofPayments #EconomicIndicators#GovernmentAccounts pic.twitter.com/z2FduWLZV5
Advertisement— Central Statistics Office Ireland (@CSOIreland) March 4, 2022
In international accounts results, the current account of the balance of payments recorded a surplus of €58.8 billion in flows with the rest of the world in 2021, driven by improvements in the merchandise and services balances.
The improvement of €58.8 billion in the services balance between 2020 and 2021 reflects the lower levels of intellectual property products imports in 2021. Multinational profit net outflows were €90.7 billion in the year, an increase of €21.0 billion on 2020 levels.
Commenting on the figures, Minister for Finance Paschal Donohoe said: “The main takeaway for me from today’s figures is the confirmation of the robust growth in the domestic economy in 2021, notwithstanding the lockdown in the first part of the year and ongoing Covid challenges over the course of last year.
“Looking beyond these data, the post-Covid recovery is now taking place at a time 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, has imposed on Russia will have a severe and lasting impact on the Russian economy.
“However, the sanctions and broader 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 spill-over effects.
“Indeed, some of our key trading partners are highly reliant on Russia and Ukraine for certain goods and Russia plays an outsized role in global energy and commodities markets, which is likely to lead to higher inflation in the short term.
“My department will continue to analyse and monitor these developments closely and produce an updated set of economic forecasts in the Stability Programme Update in April that will be published next month.”
