You might not be surprised to learn that we’re quite high on the list.
Ireland is the third most expensive country in the European Union, according to a report by the Central Statistics Office (CSO) titled ‘Measuring Ireland’s Progress’.
Data from the release, published by the CSO on Wednesday, revealed that only Denmark (36.8% above average) and the United Kingdom (31.3% above average) are more expensive than Ireland in the European Union, with prices (for final consumption by private households) in Ireland 22.5% above the EU average.
That figure is actually an improvement from Celtic Tiger times, when prices were approximately 25% above the EU average between 2006 and 2009, reaching a spike in 2008, when prices were 30% above average.
Image via CSO.ie
They dropped as low as 18.1% above average in 2010, but have risen steadily since, reaching the figure of 22.5% above the EU average two years ago.
Some of the other key findings in the report included that Ireland has:
- the third highest proportion of the population aged 25-34 that has completed third-level education in the EU
- the second highest fertility rate in the EU at 1.94, well above the EU average of 1.58
- the lowest divorce rate in the EU at 0.6 per 1,000 population
- the eleventh lowest rate of employment in the EU in 2015
- the tenth highest rate of unemployment
- the fifth smallest increase in inflation in the EU between 2011 and 2015
You can read the report in full on the CSO website here.
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