Proportion of people living below 50 percent of median income in Ireland
Ireland: Proportion of people living below 50 percent of median income was 7.3% in 2023. ▼ Falling
Proportion of people living below 50 percent of median income in Ireland, 1987–2023
Source: World Bank, Poverty and Inequality Platform. Data are based on primary household survey data obtained from government statistical agencies and World Bank country departments. Data for high-income econ. Measured in %.
Analysis
In 2023, proportion of people living below 50 percent of median income in Ireland stood at 7.3%.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 4.3% on the previous year and down 36.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, proportion of people living below 50 percent of median income in Ireland peaked at 13.8% in 1987 and was at its lowest, 6.2%, in 2020.
Ireland ranks 107th of 123 countries on this measure, in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 27 years of available data.
Proportion of people living below 50 percent of median income in Ireland, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1987 | 13.8% | — |
| 1994 | 12.5% | -9.4% |
| 1995 | 11.7% | -6.4% |
| 1996 | 12.2% | +4.3% |
| 2000 | 10.9% | -10.7% |
| 2002 | 11.4% | +4.6% |
| 2003 | 11.3% | -0.9% |
| 2004 | 12.1% | +7.1% |
| 2005 | 9.9% | -18.2% |
| 2006 | 9.5% | -4.0% |
| 2007 | 8.5% | -10.5% |
| 2008 | 8.8% | +3.5% |
| 2009 | 10.3% | +17.0% |
| 2010 | 10.6% | +2.9% |
| 2011 | 11.5% | +8.5% |
| 2012 | 11.0% | -4.3% |
| 2013 | 11.4% | +3.6% |
| 2014 | 9.4% | -17.5% |
| 2015 | 9.8% | +4.3% |
| 2016 | 8.8% | -10.2% |
| 2017 | 8.4% | -4.5% |
| 2018 | 7.1% | -15.5% |
| 2019 | 6.9% | -2.8% |
| 2020 | 6.2% | -10.1% |
| 2021 | 6.5% | +4.8% |
| 2022 | 7.0% | +7.7% |
| 2023 | 7.3% | +4.3% |
Ireland compared with similar countries
- Ireland's 7.3% is below the median for high income countries, which is 11.6%, 63% of the median. (42 countries reporting)
- Ireland's 7.3% is below the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 11.0%, 66% of the median. (48 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 13.8% | 13.8% | 13.8% | 1 |
| 1990s | 12.1% | 11.7% | 12.5% | 3 |
| 2000s | 10.3% | 8.5% | 12.1% | 9 |
| 2010s | 9.5% | 6.9% | 11.5% | 10 |
| 2020s | 6.8% | 6.2% | 7.3% | 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 proportion of people living below 50 percent of median income in Ireland?
- Proportion of people living below 50 percent of median income in Ireland was 7.3% in 2023, according to World Bank, Poverty and Inequality Platform. Data are based on primary household survey data obtained from government statistical agencies and World Bank country departments. Data for high-income econ.
- What is the highest proportion of people living below 50 percent of median income recorded in Ireland?
- The highest recorded value was 13.8% in 1987.
- What is the lowest proportion of people living below 50 percent of median income recorded in Ireland?
- The lowest recorded value was 6.2% in 2020.
- How does Ireland rank for proportion of people living below 50 percent of median income?
- Ireland ranks 107th out of 123 countries with data for 2023.
- Is proportion of people living below 50 percent of median income rising or falling in Ireland?
- Over the last ten years it is down 36.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Ireland data come from?
- The figures come from World Bank, Poverty and Inequality Platform. Data are based on primary household survey data obtained from government statistical agencies and World Bank country departments. Data for high-income econ, published as part of Proportion of people living below 50 percent of median income (%). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 27 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
About this data
The percentage of people in the population who live in households whose per capita income or consumption is below half of the median income or consumption per capita. The median is measured at 2021 Purchasing Power Parity (PPP) using the Poverty and Inequality Platform (http://www.pip.worldbank.org). For some countries, medians are not reported due to grouped and/or confidential data. The reference year is the year in which the underlying household survey data was collected. In cases for which the data collection period bridged two calendar years, the first year in which data were collected is reported.