Income inequality: Atkinson index in Ireland
Ireland: Income inequality: Atkinson index was 0.1396 in 2023. ▼ Falling
Income inequality: Atkinson index in Ireland, 2010–2023
Source: UNDP, Human Development Report (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data.
Analysis
The most recent figure for income inequality: atkinson index in Ireland is 0.1396, measured in 2023.
That represents a change of down 16.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, income inequality: atkinson index in Ireland peaked at 0.1729 in 2014 and was at its lowest, 0.1289, in 2021.
That places Ireland 157th out of 174 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 14 years of available data.
Income inequality: Atkinson index in Ireland, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2010 | 0.1693 | — |
| 2011 | 0.1658 | -2.1% |
| 2012 | 0.1685 | +1.7% |
| 2013 | 0.1675 | -0.6% |
| 2014 | 0.1729 | +3.2% |
| 2015 | 0.1567 | -9.4% |
| 2016 | 0.1574 | +0.4% |
| 2017 | 0.1639 | +4.2% |
| 2018 | 0.1498 | -8.6% |
| 2019 | 0.1388 | -7.3% |
| 2020 | 0.1426 | +2.7% |
| 2021 | 0.1289 | -9.6% |
| 2022 | 0.1396 | +8.3% |
| 2023 | 0.1396 | +0.0% |
Ireland compared with similar countries
- Ireland's 0.1396 is below the median for high income countries, which is 0.1703, 82% of the median. (54 countries reporting)
- Ireland's 0.1396 is below the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 0.1561, 89% of the median. (47 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010s | 0.1611 | 0.1388 | 0.1729 | 10 |
| 2020s | 0.1377 | 0.1289 | 0.1426 | 4 |
Countries ranked near Ireland
More poverty & inequality data for Ireland
- Number of income/consumption surveys in the past decade available via the World Bank 8 surveys (2025)
- Number of income/consumption surveys in the past decade available via 0 surveys per person (2025)
- Number of income/consumption surveys in the past decade available via 0 surveys per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Fertility rate vs. share living in extreme poverty 1.6 live births per woman (2023)
- Cereal yield vs. share in extreme poverty 7,325 kg per hectare (2024)
- Cereal yield vs extreme poverty, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Cereal yield vs extreme poverty, annual growth rate 3.71 % change on previous year (2024)
- Tax revenues vs income inequality, gaps filled 21.9 (2023)
- Tax revenue as share of GDP vs. income inequality 21.9% (2023)
- Tax revenues vs income inequality, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is income inequality: atkinson index in Ireland?
- Income inequality: atkinson index in Ireland was 0.1396 in 2023, according to UNDP, Human Development Report (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest income inequality: atkinson index recorded in Ireland?
- The highest recorded value was 0.1729 in 2014.
- What is the lowest income inequality: atkinson index recorded in Ireland?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.1289 in 2021.
- How does Ireland rank for income inequality: atkinson index?
- Ireland ranks 157th out of 174 countries with data for 2023.
- Is income inequality: atkinson index rising or falling in Ireland?
- Over the last ten years it is down 16.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Ireland data come from?
- The figures come from UNDP, Human Development Report (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Income inequality: Atkinson index. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 14 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
The Atkinson index measures inequality on a scale from 0 to 1. Higher values indicate higher inequality. Depending on the country and year, the data relates to income measured after taxes and benefits, or to consumption, per capita.