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| Source: CSO |
The Statistical Yearbook of Ireland 2009 has been published today by the Central Statistics Office (CSO). The Yearbook presents a comprehensive picture of Ireland today. It provides detailed information, tables and graphs across a wide range of topics. These include the population, labour force, education, crime, the economy, agriculture, industry, services, prices, housing, knowledge economy and the environment.
People
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There were 75,065 births registered in 2008 – 38,593 males and 36,472 females. This was the highest number of births recorded since 1896 when there were 75,332 births registered in the 26 counties.
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The most popular babies’ names in 2008 were Jack and Ava.
Work
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Employment in the construction industry in 2008 accounted for over 11% of total employment. This is down from 13% in 2007.
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In April 2008 10.7% of persons on the Live Register had a duration of continuous registration of 3 years and over.
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The average annual number on the Live Register increased from 162,000 in 2007 to 227,000 in 2008.
Health and Social Conditions
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Social welfare expenditure has increased from 8.7% of Gross National Income in 1998 to 11.4% in 2008.
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The number of recipients of Illness, Disability and Caring payments rose by 47.6% between 2001 and 2008, while the number receiving Jobseekers Supports increased by over 86% during the same period.
Education
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In 2008 29% of those aged 15 to 64 had a third level qualification.
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In 2008 there were 30,368 primary school teachers in the State, 84% of whom were female.
Crime
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Drug offences increased by over a quarter between 2007 and 2008.
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In 2008, the majority of prisoners were less than 30 years old.
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14.6% of households in urban areas were victims of crime compared with 6.3% of households in rural areas.
Economy and Finance
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A deficit of 9.4 billion was recorded in the current account of the balance of payments in 2008. The average deficit over the last three years was €8.6 billion.
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Lending by credit institutions to personal (private households) sector decreased from €148bn in 2007 to €138bn in 2008, the first such fall.
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National Debt as a percentage of GDP has fallen from 87.7% in 1990 to 27.7% in 2008.
External Trade
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Chemicals accounted for just over half of Ireland's exports in 2008. This was driven by a substantial increase in the exports of medical & pharmaceutical products,which rose from €5.3bn in 2000 to €16.7bn in 2008.
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Imports rose slightly between 2000 and 2008, from €55.9bn to €57.0bn. Imports from China have risen, while imports from the USA and Japan have fallen.
Tourism and Transport
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Irish residents made 7,877,000 trips abroad in 2008, up slightly from 2007. Total expenditure increased by 12.2% to €6,912m from 2007.
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New private cars licensed for the first time in 2008 were 19% lower than in 2007.
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The highest number of new private cars licensed for the first time in 2008, classified by make, was Toyota (20,474),followed by Ford (18,403) and Volkswagen (15,700).
Housing
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The number of new houses for which planning permission was granted decreased by 26% from 1999 to 2008. The number of new apartments for which planning permission was granted increased by 54.5% in the same period.
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The Housing, Water, Electricity, Gas and Other Fuels sector experienced the highest rate of price increase in 2008 at 9.6%.
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Between 2001 and 2008, public capital expenditure on housing increased by over 73%.
Knowledge Economy
