Turnover of €238bn for Irish-owned foreign affiliates in 2020 was down 7% compared with 2019.
The United States generated more than 39% of Irish-owned foreign affiliate turnover, while almost 17% was generated from the United Kingdom.
Irish-owned foreign affiliates employed more than 1.2 million people in 2020, almost a 3% increase compared with 2019.
Almost 22% of persons employed by Irish-owned foreign affiliates were in the United States and almost 10% were in the United Kingdom.
The Services sector (excluding Distribution) accounted for the highest turnover and employment in Irish-owned foreign affiliates in 2020.
Outward Foreign Affiliates Statistics (OFATS) covers the activities of Irish multinationals abroad. The purpose of the survey is to allow analysis of the sectoral and geographical composition of the affiliates controlled by Irish multinationals. Care should be taken when analysing the OFATS as the register of Irish multinationals abroad can be subject to significant change in the short term.
An enterprise is deemed to be Irish owned if more than 50% of its controlling interest is in Ireland. The population of foreign affiliates is subject to fluctuation based on international market conditions and the buying and selling of affiliates by Irish multinationals. Any enterprise that redomiciles their controlling operations to Ireland will have a bearing on the results, provided the above criteria are satisfied, as it would from that point be considered an Irish enterprise.
Please click the following link to access details of the methodology used:
Compiling Foreign Affiliates Statistics OFATS 2020
| Number of persons engaged and turnover in Irish-owned foreign affiliates, 2018 - 2020 | |||||||||||
| Number of persons engaged | Breakdown (%) | Turnover (€millions) | Breakdown (%) | ||||||||
| 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2020 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2020 | ||||
| United States | 233,236 | 263,009 | 259,000 | 21.6% | 94,329 | 101,903 | 92,951 | 39.1% | |||
| United Kingdom | 120,631 | 125,476 | 116,955 | 9.7% | 44,965 | 42,730 | 39,387 | 16.6% | |||
| Germany | 36,033 | 34,324 | 30,523 | 2.5% | 12,227 | 10,583 | 9,103 | 3.8% | |||
| France | 27,808 | 28,638 | 26,243 | 2.2% | 9,700 | 10,283 | 9,567 | 4.0% | |||
| Netherlands | 20,119 | 16,578 | 16,265 | 1.4% | 7,331 | 6,347 | 6,955 | 2.9% | |||
| Other countries | 647,184 | 700,708 | 751,356 | 62.6% | 81,333 | 83,840 | 79,709 | 33.5% | |||
| All countries | 1,085,011 | 1,168,733 | 1,200,342 | 100.0% | 249,885 | 255,686 | 237,672 | 100.0% | |||
Over 1.2 million persons employed in Irish multinationals abroad
Of the 1.2 million persons employed in Irish multinationals abroad in 2020, almost a third (31.3%) were in the United States or the United Kingdom. Irish affiliates in Germany, France, and the Netherlands together accounted for 6.1% of persons employed in Irish multinationals abroad in 2020. See Figure 1, Headline Table & Table 1.
Irish multinationals abroad had turnover of almost €238bn in 2020, with affiliates in the United States (€93.0bn) and the United Kingdom (€39.4bn) accounting for 55.7% of this. Irish affiliates in Germany, France, and the Netherlands together accounted for 10.8% (€25.6bn) of turnover. See Figure 2, Headline Table & Table 2.
Asia had the highest number of persons employed in Irish multinationals abroad
In terms of employment in Irish multinationals abroad by continent in 2020, Asia (401,786), the Americas (400,732), and Europe (including Russia) (373,759) each accounted for around a third of total persons engaged. Employment in the Oceania and Polar regions and Africa combined accounted for the remaining 2.0%. See Figure 3.
| For long labels below use to display on multiple lines | Persons engaged |
|---|---|
| United States | 21.6 |
| United Kingdom | 9.7 |
| Germany | 2.5 |
| Other countries | 62.6 |
| Netherlands | 1.4 |
| France | 2.2 |
| For long labels below use to display on multiple lines | Turnover |
|---|---|
| United States | 39.1 |
| United Kingdom | 16.6 |
| Germany | 3.8 |
| Other countries | 33.5 |
| Netherlands | 2.9 |
| France | 4 |
China and Spain show highest percentage growth of employment in Irish affiliates
Between 2019 and 2020, Irish affiliates in China had an increase of 16.5% in persons engaged, while turnover decreased by 17.1%. Spain had the second largest increase in persons engaged at 9.5% and saw a decrease of 12.2% in turnover.
Aside from the United Kingdom and the United States, a number of other countries had a significant contribution to the employment numbers in 2020. The number of people employed in 2020 in Irish affiliates in China was more than 45,000, while it was more than 30,500 in Germany, almost 29,100 in Spain and almost 28,100 in Brazil. Employment levels rose in just four countries selected in Figure 4.
In terms of turnover, affiliates in France and Germany accounted for more than €9bn each, while Japan accounted for over €7.2bn. The Netherlands was the only country (from those selected in Figure 5) where affiliates showed a growth in turnover (+9.6%) between 2019 and 2020. See Figures 4 & 5 and Tables 1 & 2.
| For long labels below use to display on multiple lines | Persons engaged |
|---|---|
| Europe (excluding Russia) | 370055 |
| Russian Federation | 3704 |
| Americas | 400732 |
| Asia | 401786 |
| Oceania and Polar regions | 12690 |
| Africa | 11375 |
| X-axis label | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 |
|---|---|---|---|
| China | 39427 | 38637 | 45012 |
| Germany | 36033 | 34324 | 30523 |
| Spain | 23777 | 26561 | 29079 |
| Brazil | 26319 | 29900 | 28064 |
| France | 27808 | 28638 | 26243 |
| Italy | 20503 | 26888 | 24895 |
| Japan | 16813 | 21050 | 22982 |
| Poland | 18951 | 20967 | 22090 |
| Canada | 16720 | 21103 | 20894 |
| Netherlands | 20119 | 16578 | 16265 |
| X-axis label | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 |
|---|---|---|---|
| France | 9.7 | 10.283 | 9.567 |
| Germany | 12.227 | 10.583 | 9.103 |
| Japan | 6.306 | 7.252 | 7.225 |
| Netherlands | 7.331 | 6.347 | 6.955 |
| Canada | 5.691 | 6.222 | 5.852 |
| Spain | 5.232 | 5.399 | 4.738 |
| Italy | 4.056 | 4.987 | 4.56 |
| China | 4.744 | 5.012 | 4.155 |
| Poland | 3.289 | 3.548 | 2.693 |
| Brazil | 3.342 | 3.114 | 2.631 |
Services sector had highest employment and turnover abroad in Irish multinationals
Services, which excludes Distribution, was the dominant sector for employment in Irish affiliates abroad in 2020 with 56.1% of total persons engaged. Manufacturing affiliates accounted for 26.1% of total foreign affiliate employment, while Distribution and Other sectors employed 15.5% and 2.3% respectively. See Figure 6 and Table 3.
The Services sector (excluding Distribution) was also the sector with the highest turnover for Irish-owned foreign affiliates in 2020 with 33.6% of total turnover generated. Distribution affiliates generated 31.7% of total foreign affiliate turnover, while Manufacturing and Other sectors generated 26.1% and 8.6% respectively. See Figure 7 and Table 4.
| For long labels below use to display on multiple lines | Persons engaged |
|---|---|
| Services | 56.1 |
| Distribution | 15.5 |
| Other | 2.3 |
| Manufacturing | 26.1 |
| For long labels below use to display on multiple lines | Persons engaged |
|---|---|
| Services | 33.6 |
| Distribution | 31.7 |
| Other | 8.6 |
| Manufacturing | 26.1 |
European multinational employment outside EU in 2019 dominated by affiliates of France and Germany
Almost 825,000 persons were engaged in Irish-owned foreign affiliates outside the EU in 2019 (latest EU data available), representing 6.1% of the 13.6 million persons employed by European multinationals outside the EU. EU multinationals making the largest contribution to employment were French-owned foreign affiliates at 31.3%, German-owned foreign affiliates at 24.4%, and Italian-owned foreign affiliates at 7.5%. See Figure 8.
In 2019, turnover of Irish-owned foreign affiliates outside the EU was almost €154 billion, representing 3.6% of the €4,255 billion turnover of European multinationals outside the EU. The largest contributors to turnover were German-owned foreign affiliates at 32.2%, French-owned foreign affiliates at 22.4%, followed by Dutch-owned foreign affiliates at 15.7%. See Figure 9.
| For long labels below use to display on multiple lines | % Employment |
|---|---|
| Irish | 6.1 |
| Dutch | 6.1 |
| Italian | 7.5 |
| Other | 24.6 |
| German | 24.4 |
| French | 31.3 |
| For long labels below use to display on multiple lines | % Employment |
|---|---|
| Irish | 3.6 |
| Dutch | 15.7 |
| Italian | 6.8 |
| Other | 19.4 |
| German | 32.2 |
| French | 22.4 |
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Statistician's Comment
Commenting on the release, Devin Zibulsky, Statistician in the Business Statistics Division, said: “Irish-owned foreign affiliates reported a lower overall turnover in 2020 than in the three previous years. Turnover of €238bn was down 7% when compared with €256bn recorded in 2019. Many enterprises were impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, including multinationals. Yet, the total number of persons employed in 2020 was slightly higher than the previous year. There were more than 1.2 million people employed by Irish multinationals abroad, an increase of almost 3% when compared with 2019.
The Services sector (excluding Distribution) was the dominant sector for employment in Irish affiliates abroad in 2020 with more than 56% of total persons engaged, and also had the highest turnover for Irish-owned foreign affiliates with almost 34% or €80bn of total turnover generated.
In the most recent EU27-wide data from 2019, Irish-owned affiliates generated 3.6% of turnover among affiliates located outside of the EU and represented 6.1% of persons employed, which both represent large proportions of the total relative to the population of the state*".
*Note that Eurostat did not include the UK in the outside-EU figures to maintain trend with previous years.