This release was compiled during the COVID-19 crisis. The results contained in this release reflect some of the economic impacts of the COVID-19 situation. For further information see Information Note - Implications of COVID-19 on the Quarterly National Accounts Quarter 2 2021.
| Table 1.1 GDP and GNP at constant 2019 prices, Q2 20211 | ||
| Amount €m | Quarterly % change | |
| GDP | 109,378 | 6.3 |
| GNP | 78,562 | 6.7 |
| 1Constant Market Prices, chain linked annually and referenced to year 2019, seasonally adjusted | ||
Updated estimates for the second quarter of 2021 indicate that there was an increase of 6.3% in GDP in real terms in Q2 2021 compared to the previous quarter while GNP rose by 6.7%. Looking at the first half of 2021, the economy grew by approximately 16% in GDP terms and 9% in terms of GNP compared with H1 2020. Compared with H1 2019, GDP has increased by 21% and almost 13% in GNP terms.
| GDP | GNP | |
| Q1 2019 | 1.03252799857043 | 5.25457485704581 |
| Q2 2019 | 2.80157068201292 | 1.13973792610249 |
| Q3 2019 | -0.413541706661524 | 0.627168175167658 |
| Q4 2019 | 1.66611839919792 | 3.18227423284856 |
| Q1 2020 | 2.64166496553646 | 1.57920700204854 |
| Q2 2020 | -2.92547534694114 | -5.38137902113445 |
| Q3 2020 | 9.84899408465547 | 0.739139348688256 |
| Q4 2020 | -4.57527553623918 | 10.5248137951065 |
| Q1 2021 | 8.72752050596133 | -2.962456784849 |
| Q2 2021 | 6.27871329970673 | 6.70964819011153 |
| Industry (excl. Construction) | Information and Communication | Professional, Admin and Support Services | Public Admin, Education and Health | Distribution, Transport, Hotels and Restaurants | Real Estate Activities | Financial and Insurance Activities | Construction | Arts, Entertainment and Other Services | Agriculture Forestry and Fishing | |
| Q2 2021 | 44.399330491 | 16.742996126 | 9.176415089 | 9.093614488 | 7.652658526 | 5.179101006 | 3.813211104 | 1.795135913 | 0.926887863 | 0.736318811 |
| Q1 2021 | 42.857791876 | 15.767538443 | 8.816048014 | 8.845304395 | 7.602254551 | 5.132643016 | 3.722131004 | 1.460795148 | 0.898407431 | 0.763367224 |
The Construction sector recorded strong growth in Q2 compared with the previous quarter, a rebound of 22.9% following the easing of COVID related restrictions. The MNE dominated Information & Communication sector grew by 6.2% while Industry (excluding Construction) rose by 3.6% in the period. Quarter-on-quarter increases were recorded in Professional & Administrative services (4.1%), Arts & Entertainment (3.2%), Public Administration, Education & Health (2.8%), Finance & Insurance (2.4%) and Real Estate (0.9%). The domestically dominated Distribution, Transport, Hotels & Restaurants sector increased by 0.7% over the same period. The Agriculture sector decreased by 3.5% over the period compared with Q1 2021. (See Table 2.5)
| Personal Consumption Expenditure | Government Expenditure | Gross Fixed Capital Formation | Value of Physical Changes in Stocks | Net Exports | Modified Final Domestic Demand | GDP | |
| Q1 2019 | 27.922691125 | 8.9050372228 | 18.660852297 | 2.211871466 | 29.974467382 | 46.365670167 | 87.072767418 |
| Q2 2019 | 27.845101426 | 8.9401775252 | 62.402556569 | -0.1815074862 | -10.24038778 | 46.202452005 | 89.512172542 |
| Q3 2019 | 27.67176379 | 9.0938487066 | 21.258836841 | 0.9594943391 | 28.394351249 | 47.055973426 | 89.142002376 |
| Q4 2019 | 27.495253823 | 8.950385231 | 88.626454905 | 0.9648944785 | -35.87310364 | 46.072184952 | 90.627213679 |
| Q1 2020 | 26.604121604 | 9.0806064416 | 81.3549687 | 1.3580355274 | -25.69666497 | 45.429656722 | 93.021281032 |
| Q2 2020 | 22.312753487 | 10.1629549 | 21.019276123 | 1.9828515231 | 36.626204115 | 40.351228165 | 90.299966388 |
| Q3 2020 | 25.473287181 | 10.108914297 | 19.714580035 | 0.3417368528 | 45.683466828 | 45.7928311 | 99.193604736 |
| Q4 2020 | 25.03165343 | 10.444758991 | 24.85758299 | 1.2314620139 | 31.94718334 | 45.082918003 | 94.655224005 |
| Q1 2021 | 23.605227014 | 10.269780563 | 18.476189807 | 0.783275339 | 51.205268573 | 42.843829808 | 102.91627809 |
| Q2 2021 | 26.569172148 | 10.357182867 | 19.546222182 | 1.2970727129 | 55.422750632 | 46.440421573 | 109.37809613 |
On the expenditure side of the accounts (Table 3.5), Personal Consumption Expenditure grew strongly by 12.6% quarter-on-quarter. Exports increased by 6.4% in Q2 2021 compared with Q1 2021 while Imports rose by 5.4% which meant that overall net exports for the quarter were 8.2% higher in Q2 compared with Q1 or €4.2 billion higher in money terms quarter-on-quarter. Capital Investment exhibited an increase of €1.6 billion in Q2 compared with the previous quarter and accounted for 36.1% of domestic demand in Q2 2021. These impacts when combined resulted in an overall increase in the real GDP growth rate in Q2 2021 of 6.3%. Final Domestic Demand was up by 7.9% in Q2 compared with Q1 while Modified Domestic Demand increased by 8.4% over the same period.
| GDP | Net Factor Income from Rest of World | GNP | |
| Q1 2019 | 87.072767418 | -19.560139 | 67.512628419 |
| Q2 2019 | 89.512172542 | -21.23007709 | 68.28209545 |
| Q3 2019 | 89.142002376 | -20.43166335 | 68.710339022 |
| Q4 2019 | 90.627213679 | -19.73032324 | 70.896890436 |
| Q1 2020 | 93.021281032 | -21.00478194 | 72.016499094 |
| Q2 2020 | 90.299966388 | -22.15894807 | 68.14101832 |
| Q3 2020 | 99.193604736 | -30.54892934 | 68.644675399 |
| Q4 2020 | 94.655224005 | -18.78582434 | 75.869399665 |
| Q1 2021 | 102.91627809 | -29.29447661 | 73.621801487 |
| Q2 2021 | 109.37809613 | -30.81653077 | 78.561565358 |
Factor income outflows were €1,522m higher than in the previous quarter leading to an overall increase in GNP of 6.7% for the second quarter compared with the previous quarter.
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The calculation methods for quarterly accounts are similar to those used in the annual National Income and Expenditure. As some of the available sources are of lesser reliability than those used for the annual national accounts, the quarterly estimates are subject to a greater margin of error than the annual figures. These preliminary estimates will therefore be revised when the next detailed annual results are published. |
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