Reduction in income inequality before and after tax in Ireland
Ireland: Reduction in income inequality before and after tax was 41.2% in 2023. ▲ Rising
Reduction in income inequality before and after tax in Ireland, 2003–2023
Source: OECD (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
The most recent figure for reduction in income inequality before and after tax in Ireland is 41.2%, measured in 2023.
The figure is down 2.5% on the previous year and down 10.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, reduction in income inequality before and after tax in Ireland peaked at 48.3% in 2010 and was at its lowest, 35.2%, in 2003.
That places Ireland 8th out of 39 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 21 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 39.8% | 35.2% | 46.1% | 7 |
| 2010s | 45.1% | 42.4% | 48.3% | 10 |
| 2020s | 42.6% | 41.2% | 44.5% | 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)
- 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)
- Tax revenue as share of GDP vs. income inequality 21.9% (2023)
- Gender Inequality Index 0.054 (2023)
- Share of government consumption in GDP vs. share of population living in extreme poverty 8.7% (2023)
- Lifespan inequality: Gini coefficient in women 0.0763 (2023)
- Lifespan inequality: Gini coefficient by sex 0.0763 (2023)
- Lifespan inequality: Gini coefficient in men 0.0878 (2023)
- Income inequality: Atkinson index 0.1396 (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is reduction in income inequality before and after tax in Ireland?
- Reduction in income inequality before and after tax in Ireland was 41.2% in 2023, according to OECD (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest reduction in income inequality before and after tax recorded in Ireland?
- The highest recorded value was 48.3% in 2010.
- What is the lowest reduction in income inequality before and after tax recorded in Ireland?
- The lowest recorded value was 35.2% in 2003.
- How does Ireland rank for reduction in income inequality before and after tax?
- Ireland ranks 8th out of 39 countries with data for 2023.
- Is reduction in income inequality before and after tax rising or falling in Ireland?
- Over the last ten years it is down 10.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Ireland data come from?
- The figures come from OECD (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Reduction in income inequality before and after tax. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 21 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
This is the percentage difference between the Gini coefficient before taxes and benefits and the Gini coefficient after taxes and benefits.