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This release is part of the CSO’s Business in Ireland Series which provides comprehensive insight and information to aid users in understanding the detailed structure, economic activity, and performance of businesses in Ireland in 2022 and over time. For more information on this new series, please refer to the Editor’s Note.
The CSO would welcome feedback from users on this new initiative, which we will continue to review and develop. Please contact us at enterprise_stats@cso.ie.
In 2022, foreign-owned multinational enterprises (MNEs) in Ireland generated 71.4% (€921 billion) of total turnover and 71.0% (€301 billion) of total Gross Value Added (GVA) in the Irish business economy.
These foreign-owned MNEs represented just 3.2% of total enterprises in the Irish business economy, and 27% of people employed in 2022.
United States-owned enterprises accounted for the largest share (74%) of all turnover generated by foreign-owned MNEs, and 53% of total turnover generated in the Irish business economy.
For Irish MNEs, which are Irish-owned companies with enterprises abroad, total turnover was €259 billion in 2022, a decrease of 1.6% when compared with 2021 (€263 billion).
More than half (51%) of total turnover was generated in Irish MNEs in the United States (€93 billion) and the United Kingdom (€38 billion) combined in 2022.
Irish MNEs employed 1.36 million people abroad in 2022, with 22% employed in the United States and 7% employed in the United Kingdom.
This is the full list of releases due to be published in this new series in Q4 2024:
• Business in Ireland 2022 – Summary Results
• Business in Ireland 2022 – Insights on Multinationals
• Business in Ireland 2022 – Insights on the Lifecycle of Businesses
• Business in Ireland 2022 – Insights on Economic Activity and Performance
• Business in Ireland 2022 – Insights on Small and Medium Enterprises
The CSO would welcome feedback from users on this new initiative, which we will continue to review and develop. Please contact us at enterprise_stats@cso.ie.
The United States and the United Kingdom were the top two partners in terms of employment and turnover among both enterprises in Ireland owned by foreign MNEs and Irish MNEs with enterprises abroad.
| Share of employment and turnover in foreign multinationals in Ireland and Irish multinationals abroad by selected country and sector, 2022 | |||||||||||||
| Foreign multinationals in Ireland | Irish multinationals abroad | ||||||||||||
| Persons employed | Turnover | Persons employed | Turnover | ||||||||||
| (No.) | % breakdown | (€m) | % breakdown | (No.) | % breakdown | (€m) | % breakdown | ||||||
| Total | 623,128 | 920,635 | 1,358,699 | 258,753 | |||||||||
| Selected country | |||||||||||||
| United States | 219,816 | 35.3% | 679,774 | 73.8% | 295,834 | 21.8% | 93,366 | 36.1% | |||||
| United Kingdom | 126,767 | 20.3% | 49,317 | 5.4% | 98,171 | 7.2% | 37,687 | 14.6% | |||||
| Germany | 29,042 | 4.7% | 20,424 | 2.2% | 40,327 | 3.0% | 12,463 | 4.8% | |||||
| France | 31,619 | 5.1% | 27,915 | 3.0% | 28,709 | 2.1% | 12,345 | 4.8% | |||||
| China | 1,494 | 0.2% | 2,530 | 0.3% | 48,526 | 3.6% | 7,592 | 2.9% | |||||
| Mexico | * | * | * | * | 54,997 | 4.0% | 3,786 | 1.5% | |||||
| Selected sector | |||||||||||||
| Manufacturing (C) | 136,433 | 21.9% | 367,958 | 40.0% | 262,360 | 19.3% | 59,727 | 23.1% | |||||
| Wholesale & Retail Trade (G) | 120,154 | 19.3% | 117,303 | 12.7% | 179,774 | 13.2% | 79,035 | 30.5% | |||||
| Information & Communication (J) | 89,955 | 14.4% | 292,823 | 31.8% | 2,293 | 0.2% | 273 | 0.1% | |||||
| Professional, Scientific & Technical Activities (M) | 41,567 | 6.7% | 34,923 | 3.8% | 860,328 | 63.3% | 76,022 | 29.4% | |||||
| Source: CSO Ireland | |||||||||||||
| * Data suppressed for confidentiality reasons. | |||||||||||||
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Statistician's Comment
The Central Statistics Office (CSO) has today (22 October 2024) released Business in Ireland 2022 - Insights on Multinationals.
This release is the second in a new CSO enterprise series which provides comprehensive insight and information to aid users in understanding the detailed structure, economic activity, and performance of businesses in Ireland in 2022 and over time. The Editor’s Note provides the full list of releases due to be published in this new series.
This release on Multinational Enterprises provides statistics and insights on both the activities of enterprises in Ireland owned by foreign multinationals and Irish multinationals with enterprises based abroad. The data in this release is also known as Foreign Affiliates Statistics (FATS).
Commenting on the release, Devin Zibulsky, Statistician in the Business Statistics Division, said: “Multinational enterprises (MNEs) play an important role in the economy of many countries worldwide. Having a presence in multiple countries can benefit multinationals in several ways, including providing access to consumer markets and diverse workforces, while also increasing economic activity in the countries where they are located.
Insights on Foreign Multinational Activity in Ireland
While only about 3% of enterprises in Ireland were owned by foreign multinationals in 2022, these enterprises accounted for 71% of the total turnover (€921 billion) and Gross Value Added (GVA) (€301 billion), and 27% of employment (623,128 people) in the Irish business economy. The impact of enterprises owned by foreign MNEs was particularly notable in the Industry sector, where they made up 88% of turnover, 87% of GVA, and 48% of employment despite comprising only 5% of enterprises in the sector.
Among enterprises in Ireland owned by foreign MNEs, United States-owned enterprises accounted for the largest share by far in 2022, making up 74% of turnover, 78% of GVA, and 35% of employment, followed by United Kingdom-owned enterprises with 5% of turnover, 6% of GVA, and 20% of employment.
Insights on Irish-Owned Multinational Activity Abroad
Irish MNEs, which are Irish-owned companies with enterprises abroad in 2022, reported a total turnover of €259 billion, a decrease of 1.6% compared with 2021. Irish MNEs employed 1.36 million people in other countries in 2022, an increase of 9.5% when compared with 2021.
The largest share of turnover and employment in Irish MNEs in 2022 was in the United States, which accounted for 36% of turnover and 22% of employment, while the United Kingdom had the second highest share of both turnover (15%) and employment (7%).
Insights into the Balance of MNE Activity Across Economic Partners and Sectors of Economic Activity
The United States and the United Kingdom were the top two partners in terms of employment and turnover among both enterprises in Ireland owned by foreign MNEs and Irish MNEs with enterprises abroad. Mexico and China had the third and fourth largest employment in Irish multinationals with enterprises abroad at 54,997 and 48,526 respectively. This represented a larger share of employment (4.0% and 3.6% respectively) than of turnover (1.5% and 2.9%).
Looking across sectors of the economy in 2022, Manufacturing and Wholesale & Retail Trade represented among the largest proportions of both turnover and employment in enterprises abroad owned by Irish MNEs and enterprises in Ireland owned by foreign MNEs.
However, while Professional, Scientific & Technical Activities had the largest share of employment (63.3%) and the second largest share of turnover (29.4%) among Irish MNEs, it represented only 6.7% of employment and 3.8% of turnover among enterprises in Ireland owned by foreign MNEs.
In contrast, in 2022, the Information & Communication sector was balanced in the other direction, contributing 14.4% of employment and 31.8% of turnover in enterprises in Ireland owned by foreign MNEs versus only 0.2% of employment and 0.1% of turnover in Irish MNEs.”