| € million | ||||
| Merchandise Balance | Invisibles Balance | Current Account Balance | Current Account Balance as % of GDP | |
| Q3 2018 | 26,378 | -17,274 | 9,104 | 11.2 |
| Q3 2017 | 28,915 | -15,154 | 13,760 | 17.7 |
| Q1-Q3 2018 | 82,433 | -53,616 | 28,818 | 12.3 |
| Q1-Q3 2017 | 77,492 | -61,977 | 15,513 | 7.2 |
The Balance of Payments current account, a measure of Ireland’s economic flows with the rest of the world, continued to show a large surplus in the third quarter of 2018 at €9.1bn. The current account balance for the first three quarters of 2018, at €28.8bn, is larger than the balance in year 2017 of €24.9bn (see Table 1).
| X-axis label | Merchandise | Services | Primary Income | Secondary Income | Balance on Current Account |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Q3 2015 | 29.755 | -7.431 | -17.792 | -0.593 | 3.939 |
| Q4 2015 | 29.955 | -16.466 | -15.558 | -0.965 | -3.035 |
| Q1 2016 | 27.29 | -14.564 | -11.001 | -1.02 | 0.705 |
| Q2 2016 | 24.44 | -16.885 | -11.342 | -0.768 | -4.555 |
| Q3 2016 | 26.315 | -12.294 | -14.425 | -0.82 | -1.224 |
| Q4 2016 | 28.043 | -19.992 | -13.144 | -1.205 | -6.299 |
| Q1 2017 | 25.032 | -5.356 | -13.684 | -0.936 | 5.056 |
| Q2 2017 | 23.545 | -9.642 | -15.647 | -1.558 | -3.303 |
| Q3 2017 | 28.915 | 0.681 | -14.829 | -1.006 | 13.76 |
| Q4 2017 | 30.147 | -4.034 | -15.613 | -1.089 | 9.411 |
| Q1 2018 | 27.078 | -1.25 | -14.971 | -1.306 | 9.552 |
| Q2 2018 | 28.977 | -1.97 | -15.429 | -1.416 | 10.162 |
| Q3 2018 | 26.378 | 0.61 | -16.696 | -1.188 | 9.104 |
Other points of note in the Quarter 3 2018 results are:
Merchandise exports were €51,403m in the third quarter of 2018, an increase of €2,976m compared with the third quarter of 2017. Merchandise imports were €25,025m in the third quarter of 2018, an increase of €5,513m compared with the same period in 2017.
Service exports at €45,764m increased by €5,502m compared to the third quarter of 2017, mainly due to higher computer services exports.
Service imports at €45,154m were up €5,573m over the same period in 2017. These figures were largely affected by increased payments of royalties from the ICT sector.
Ireland’s Trade Balance at €26,998m, a measure of all goods and services exports less all goods and services imports, decreased by €2,608m in the third quarter of 2018 over the same period in 2017.
Investment income earned abroad at €22,336m, increased by €3,559m compared with one year earlier while investment income payable to foreign investors at €39,319m increased by €5,435m. The overall Income balance at -€17,884m for the quarter was €2,048m lower than the same period in 2017.
| X-axis label | Direct Investment | Portfolio Investment | Other Investment | Reserve Assets | Balance on Financial Account |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Q3 2015 | 9.983 | -17.663 | 14.477 | -0.024 | 6.773 |
| Q4 2015 | -90.174 | -11.856 | 97.039 | 0.103 | -4.889 |
| Q1 2016 | 12.279 | -7.497 | 1.42 | 1.095 | 7.297 |
| Q2 2016 | -0.293 | 2.933 | -14.069 | -0.224 | -11.653 |
| Q3 2016 | -10.522 | 10.385 | -7.662 | 0.379 | -7.420 |
| Q4 2016 | -9.894 | 21.89 | -8.762 | 0.206 | 3.441 |
| Q1 2017 | -4.669 | -13.224 | -1.406 | -0.101 | -19.4 |
| Q2 2017 | 4.186 | -45.62 | 37.482 | 0.163 | -3.789 |
| Q3 2017 | 4.069 | 0.598 | 6.773 | 0.235 | 11.675 |
| Q4 2017 | -37.167 | 2.931 | 50.327 | 0.102 | 16.192 |
| Q1 2018 | 26.339 | 7.45 | -20.09 | -0.022 | 13.677 |
| Q2 2018 | 10.209 | -29.445 | 33.781 | 0.005 | 14.55 |
| Q3 2018 | 10.96 | -2.86 | 1.002 | 0.209 | 9.311 |
Direct investment in Ireland decreased by €9,079m in the third quarter of 2018. This change was driven by a decrease in other capital of €22,700m, partially offset by increased reinvested earnings of €15,073m. Direct investment abroad increased by €1,882m in the quarter, mainly due to increased reinvested earnings of €5,004m.
Portfolio investment in foreign assets increased by €25,264m in the quarter. Investment in foreign equity increased by €11,920m and investment in foreign debt instruments increased by €13,344m. Portfolio investment in Ireland increased by €28,124m, with Irish equity up €25,634m.
| X-axis label | Merchandise | Services | Income | Current Account |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Q1 2016 | 0.881 | 1.758 | -2.848 | -0.209 |
| Q2 2016 | 0.245 | 2.351 | -3.545 | -0.949 |
| Q3 2016 | 0.44 | 2.722 | -3.702 | -0.54 |
| Q4 2016 | 1.052 | 2.438 | -2.414 | 1.076 |
| Q1 2017 | 0.706 | 2.137 | -2.076 | 0.767 |
| Q2 2017 | 0.382 | 2.78 | -3.039 | 0.124 |
| Q3 2017 | -0.091 | 2.915 | -2.826 | -0.002 |
| Q4 2017 | -0.536 | 1.959 | -1.888 | -0.465 |
| Q1 2018 | -0.27 | 1.772 | -2.279 | -0.778 |
| Q2 2018 | -0.278 | 2.289 | -4.058 | -2.047 |
| Q3 2018 | -0.172 | 2.694 | -3.388 | -0.865 |
| Table 1 Summary of Current, Capital and Financial Account Balances | € million | ||||||||||||||||
| Period | Balance on Current Account | Balance on Capital Account | Direct Investment | Portfolio Investment | Other2 Investment | Reserve Assets | Balance on Financial Account | Net errors and omissions | |||||||||
| Merchandise1 | services and income balance | ||||||||||||||||
| Services | Primary Income | Secondary Income | Total | ||||||||||||||
| 1998 | Year | 17,510 | -8,426 | -9,776 | 1,319 | -16,883 | 627 | 840 | -4,422 | 8,466 | -7,459 | 2,280 | -1,135 | -2,602 | |||
| 1999 | Year | 22,170 | -9,723 | -13,398 | 1,177 | -21,944 | 226 | 560 | -11,359 | 14,342 | 974 | -1,746 | 2,211 | 1,425 | |||
| 2000 | Year | 28,312 | -13,312 | -15,327 | 994 | -27,645 | 667 | 1,182 | -22,957 | 5,358 | 9,037 | 142 | -8,420 | -10,269 | |||
| 2001 | Year | 31,464 | -12,412 | -17,762 | -1,075 | -31,249 | 215 | 779 | -6,241 | 25,158 | -19,183 | 441 | 175 | -819 | |||
| 2002 | Year | 36,982 | -13,619 | -21,910 | -1,116 | -36,645 | 337 | 588 | -19,444 | 37,979 | -19,425 | -343 | -1,233 | -2,158 | |||
| 2003 | Year | 32,954 | -10,903 | -20,035 | -1,303 | -32,241 | 713 | 445 | -15,270 | 39,977 | -22,751 | -1,770 | 186 | -972 | |||
| 2004 | Year | 34,588 | -12,141 | -21,345 | -1,255 | -34,741 | -153 | 355 | 23,095 | -14,287 | -12,170 | -1,177 | -4,539 | -4,741 | |||
| 2005 | Year | 32,184 | -13,655 | -22,786 | -1,769 | -38,210 | -6,026 | 340 | 37,660 | -52,698 | 15,364 | -1,472 | -1,147 | 4,539 | |||
| 2006 | Year | 27,194 | -12,313 | -22,723 | -2,063 | -37,099 | -9,905 | 299 | 15,841 | -8,135 | -16,635 | -87 | -9,016 | 590 | |||
| 2007 | Year | 28,698 | -12,384 | -26,630 | -2,510 | -41,524 | -12,826 | 115 | -1,621 | 7,283 | -20,086 | 12 | -14,413 | -1,702 | |||
| 2008 | Year | 32,622 | -16,468 | -25,141 | -2,729 | -44,339 | -11,716 | 119 | 23,288 | 45,749 | -85,932 | 78 | -16,817 | -5,220 | |||
| 2009 | Year | 38,752 | -15,823 | -27,885 | -2,948 | -46,656 | -7,904 | 14 | -245 | -22,626 | 19,433 | -79 | -3,517 | 4,373 | |||
| 2010 | Year | 41,288 | -13,421 | -27,178 | -2,701 | -43,300 | -2,012 | 91 | -16,318 | -85,965 | 90,883 | -5 | -11,404 | -9,484 | |||
| 2011 | Year | 41,257 | -9,096 | -32,312 | -2,660 | -44,067 | -2,810 | 234 | -18,698 | -26,908 | 31,086 | -329 | -14,849 | -12,272 | |||
| 2012 | Year | 36,896 | -6,282 | -33,939 | -2,609 | -42,830 | -5,934 | 86 | -20,497 | -767 | 10,952 | -12 | -10,324 | -4,476 | |||
| 2013 | Year | 34,506 | -718 | -28,069 | -2,931 | -31,718 | 2,787 | -936 | -16,137 | 35,737 | -15,467 | 10 | 4,143 | 2,289 | |||
| 2014 | Year | 40,731 | -5,546 | -30,341 | -2,750 | -38,637 | 2,093 | -6,769 | -5,279 | -27,862 | 20,506 | 136 | -12,498 | -7,824 | |||
| 2015 | Year | 113,394 | -37,715 | -60,785 | -3,338 | -101,838 | 11,556 | -1,303 | -44,510 | -88,281 | 138,621 | 494 | 6,321 | -3,930 | |||
| 2016 | Year | 106,088 | -63,735 | -49,912 | -3,813 | -117,460 | -11,373 | -4,331 | -8,430 | 27,711 | -29,073 | 1,456 | -8,335 | 7,368 | |||
| 2017 | Year | 107,639 | -18,351 | -59,773 | -4,589 | -82,713 | 24,924 | -28,168 | -33,581 | -55,315 | 93,176 | 399 | 4,678 | 7,922 | |||
| 2011 | Quarter 1 | 10,624 | -2,926 | -8,278 | -841 | -12,046 | -1,422 | 24 | -8,453 | -7,063 | 11,286 | -65 | -4,295 | -2,897 | |||
| Quarter 2 | 9,576 | -1,580 | -8,820 | -513 | -10,913 | -1,336 | 1 | -7,601 | -22,344 | 27,157 | 29 | -2,759 | -1,424 | ||||
| Quarter 3 | 11,547 | -1,862 | -8,307 | -641 | -10,810 | 736 | -1 | -6,802 | 19,456 | -16,652 | -24 | -4,022 | -4,757 | ||||
| Quarter 4 | 9,510 | -2,729 | -6,906 | -664 | -10,299 | -789 | 210 | 4,158 | -16,957 | 9,295 | -269 | -3,772 | -3,194 | ||||
| 2012 | Quarter 1 | 8,969 | -1,805 | -9,051 | -814 | -11,670 | -2,702 | 61 | -13,176 | 44,957 | -32,626 | -12 | -857 | 1,784 | |||
| Quarter 2 | 9,275 | -2,603 | -8,488 | -603 | -11,694 | -2,419 | 1 | 3,238 | -33,254 | 20,949 | 6 | -9,061 | -6,643 | ||||
| Quarter 3 | 10,072 | -327 | -8,632 | -643 | -9,602 | 471 | 5 | -14,231 | -6,315 | 17,833 | -1 | -2,714 | -3,190 | ||||
| Quarter 4 | 8,580 | -1,547 | -7,768 | -549 | -9,864 | -1,284 | 19 | 3,672 | -6,155 | 4,796 | -5 | 2,308 | 3,573 | ||||
| 2013 | Quarter 1 | 7,726 | -578 | -7,146 | -828 | -8,552 | -826 | -207 | -5,114 | 6,365 | 1,731 | 0 | 2,982 | 4,015 | |||
| Quarter 2 | 9,638 | -564 | -8,095 | -700 | -9,359 | 279 | -244 | -8,296 | 11,868 | -4,657 | 1 | -1,084 | -1,120 | ||||
| Quarter 3 | 9,816 | 634 | -7,154 | -663 | -7,183 | 2,632 | -259 | -1,371 | 932 | 1,709 | 4 | 1,274 | -1,100 | ||||
| Quarter 4 | 7,326 | -210 | -5,674 | -740 | -6,624 | 702 | -226 | -1,356 | 16,572 | -14,250 | 5 | 971 | 494 | ||||
| 2014 | Quarter 1 | 8,939 | -1,820 | -7,567 | -899 | -10,286 | -1,347 | -1,691 | 2,726 | -12,658 | 3,620 | 0 | -6,312 | -3,274 | |||
| Quarter 2 | 11,286 | -1,449 | -8,117 | -608 | -10,174 | 1,112 | -1,717 | -3,671 | -4,567 | 12,119 | 1 | 3,882 | 4,487 | ||||
| Quarter 3 | 10,985 | 151 | -7,891 | -545 | -8,285 | 2,700 | -1,649 | -485 | -15,427 | 9,887 | 2 | -6,023 | -7,075 | ||||
| Quarter 4 | 9,521 | -2,428 | -6,766 | -698 | -9,892 | -372 | -1,712 | -3,849 | 4,790 | -5,120 | 133 | -4,045 | -1,962 | ||||
| 2015 | Quarter 1 | 26,790 | -5,794 | -16,013 | -986 | -22,793 | 3,998 | -707 | 38,272 | -72,519 | 36,581 | 108 | 2,441 | -849 | |||
| Quarter 2 | 26,894 | -8,024 | -11,422 | -794 | -20,240 | 6,654 | -226 | -2,591 | 13,757 | -9,476 | 307 | 1,996 | -4,432 | ||||
| Quarter 3 | 29,755 | -7,431 | -17,792 | -593 | -25,816 | 3,939 | 100 | 9,983 | -17,663 | 14,477 | -24 | 6,773 | 2,735 | ||||
| Quarter 4 | 29,955 | -16,466 | -15,558 | -965 | -32,989 | -3,035 | -470 | -90,174 | -11,856 | 97,039 | 103 | -4,889 | -1,384 | ||||
| 2016 | Quarter 1 | 27,290 | -14,564 | -11,001 | -1,020 | -26,585 | 705 | -2,670 | 12,279 | -7,497 | 1,420 | 1,095 | 7,297 | 9,262 | |||
| Quarter 2 | 24,440 | -16,885 | -11,342 | -768 | -28,995 | -4,555 | -586 | -293 | 2,933 | -14,069 | -224 | -11,653 | -6,513 | ||||
| Quarter 3 | 26,315 | -12,294 | -14,425 | -820 | -27,539 | -1,224 | 161 | -10,522 | 10,385 | -7,662 | 379 | -7,420 | -6,357 | ||||
| Quarter 4 | 28,043 | -19,992 | -13,144 | -1,205 | -34,341 | -6,299 | -1,236 | -9,894 | 21,890 | -8,762 | 206 | 3,441 | 10,976 | ||||
| 2017 | Quarter 1 | 25,032 | -5,356 | -13,684 | -936 | -19,976 | 5,056 | -14,100 | -4,669 | -13,224 | -1,406 | -101 | -19,400 | -10,355 | |||
| Quarter 2 | 23,545 | -9,642 | -15,647 | -1,558 | -26,847 | -3,303 | -6,237 | 4,186 | -45,620 | 37,482 | 163 | -3,789 | 5,751 | ||||
| Quarter 3 | 28,915 | 681 | -14,829 | -1,006 | -15,154 | 13,760 | -5,971 | 4,069 | 598 | 6,773 | 235 | 11,675 | 3,886 | ||||
| Quarter 4 | 30,147 | -4,034 | -15,613 | -1,089 | -20,736 | 9,411 | -1,860 | -37,167 | 2,931 | 50,327 | 102 | 16,192 | 8,640 | ||||
| 2018 | Quarter 1 | 27,078 | -1,250 | -14,971 | -1,306 | -17,527 | 9,552 | -437 | 26,339 | 7,450 | -20,090 | -22 | 13,677 | 4,562 | |||
| Quarter 2 | 28,977 | -1,970 | -15,429 | -1,416 | -18,815 | 10,162 | -363 | 10,209 | -29,445 | 33,781 | 5 | 14,550 | 4,751 | ||||
| Quarter 3 | 26,378 | 610 | -16,696 | -1,188 | -17,274 | 9,104 | -35 | 10,960 | -2,860 | 1,002 | 209 | 9,311 | 242 | ||||
| 1Adjusted for balance of payments purposes. | |||||||||||||||||
| 2Includes financial derivatives and also life insurance liabilities to non-residents. Occasionally includes large capital transactions which cannot be shown in the Capital Account Balance due to confidentiality constraints. | |||||||||||||||||
| Table 2a Current and Capital Accounts | € million | |||||||||||
| 2016 | 2017 | 2017 | 2018 | |||||||||
| Item | Year | Quarter 1 | Quarter 2 | Quarter 3 | Quarter 4 | Quarter 1 | Quarter 2 | Quarter 3 | ||||
| Current Account | ||||||||||||
| Merchandise1 | Exports | 193,160 | 192,854 | 45,963 | 45,793 | 48,427 | 52,671 | 48,485 | 52,283 | 51,403 | ||
| Imports | 87,072 | 85,214 | 20,931 | 22,248 | 19,512 | 22,523 | 21,407 | 23,306 | 25,025 | |||
| International trade | Exports | 119,267 | 122,539 | 32,134 | 31,030 | 28,921 | 30,454 | 33,514 | 35,482 | 33,929 | ||
| Imports | 71,934 | 76,677 | 18,639 | 20,519 | 17,278 | 20,241 | 19,327 | 20,506 | 22,566 | |||
| Goods for processing | Exports | 67,436 | 64,668 | 15,672 | 12,985 | 15,872 | 20,139 | 13,821 | 14,855 | 16,276 | ||
| Imports | 8,379 | 5,575 | 1,601 | 975 | 1,508 | 1,491 | 1,629 | 2,087 | 1,756 | |||
| Other conceptual adjustments | Exports | 115 | -1,947 | -4,096 | -203 | 2,307 | 45 | -721 | 165 | -361 | ||
| Imports | 6,758 | 2,961 | 690 | 753 | 727 | 791 | 451 | 714 | 703 | |||
| Merchanting (net export) | Exports | 6,341 | 7,593 | 2,253 | 1,980 | 1,327 | 2,033 | 1,871 | 1,781 | 1,559 | ||
| Services | Exports | 135,076 | 159,701 | 36,234 | 39,477 | 40,262 | 43,728 | 38,205 | 42,118 | 45,764 | ||
| Imports | 198,809 | 178,054 | 41,591 | 49,120 | 39,581 | 47,762 | 39,455 | 44,088 | 45,154 | |||
| Repairs and Processing | Exports | 2,527 | 2,254 | 527 | 545 | 605 | 577 | 476 | 370 | 336 | ||
| Imports | 3,904 | 4,855 | 1,169 | 1,136 | 1,049 | 1,501 | 1,077 | 1,092 | 1,273 | |||
| Transport | Exports | 7,225 | 8,086 | 1,190 | 2,147 | 3,099 | 1,650 | 1,228 | 2,111 | 2,832 | ||
| Imports | 2,689 | 2,540 | 623 | 663 | 583 | 671 | 642 | 678 | 734 | |||
| Tourism and Travel 2 | Exports | 4,685 | 4,972 | 708 | 1,433 | 1,762 | 1,069 | 817 | 1,500 | 1,847 | ||
| Imports | 5,623 | 5,814 | 1,077 | 1,407 | 2,063 | 1,267 | 1,239 | 1,566 | 2,106 | |||
| Insurance | Exports | 9,296 | 9,913 | 2,496 | 2,451 | 2,373 | 2,593 | 2,526 | 2,398 | 2,275 | ||
| Imports | 6,695 | 7,079 | 1,734 | 1,801 | 1,689 | 1,855 | 2,088 | 1,998 | 1,906 | |||
| Financial services | Exports | 13,287 | 15,309 | 3,764 | 3,637 | 3,865 | 4,043 | 3,886 | 3,784 | 3,770 | ||
| Imports | 11,549 | 13,246 | 3,278 | 3,162 | 3,320 | 3,486 | 3,386 | 3,307 | 3,276 | |||
| Royalties/Licences | Exports | 8,052 | 9,608 | 1,783 | 1,974 | 2,946 | 2,905 | 2,716 | 3,464 | 3,191 | ||
| Imports | 69,202 | 66,588 | 16,690 | 16,700 | 15,198 | 18,000 | 16,237 | 17,869 | 17,896 | |||
| of which: Pharmaceutical products and preparations | Exports | 365 | 184 | 46 | 45 | 45 | 48 | 30 | 14 | 13 | ||
| Imports | 24,025 | 15,898 | 4,475 | 4,544 | 3,486 | 3,393 | 2,873 | 3,474 | 2,954 | |||
| Information and communication | Exports | 837 | 2,472 | 177 | * | * | 1,069 | 1,121 | 1,406 | 1,009 | ||
| Imports | 27,647 | 34,105 | 7,888 | 8,315 | 7,752 | 10,150 | 8,845 | 9,768 | 10,234 | |||
| Communications | Exports | 719 | 617 | 156 | 157 | 152 | 152 | 147 | 142 | 138 | ||
| Imports | 1,165 | 1,145 | 256 | 289 | 292 | 308 | 268 | 268 | 274 | |||
| Computer services3 | Exports | 58,079 | 69,323 | 15,851 | 17,045 | 16,492 | 19,935 | 18,477 | 20,211 | 21,274 | ||
| Imports | 1,385 | 3,353 | 550 | 787 | 859 | 1,157 | 839 | 1,086 | 1,085 | |||
| Business services | Exports | 30,093 | 37,075 | 9,304 | 9,547 | 8,570 | 9,654 | 7,445 | 7,895 | 9,278 | ||
| Imports | 96,081 | 72,868 | 16,073 | 23,033 | 14,388 | 19,374 | 13,536 | 16,082 | 16,463 | |||
| Research and development | Exports | 3,978 | 4,907 | 1,178 | 1,161 | 1,041 | 1,527 | 537 | 540 | 517 | ||
| Imports | 58,052 | 26,832 | 5,866 | 12,192 | 3,297 | 5,477 | 3,403 | 3,944 | 4,232 | |||
| of which: IP related | Exports | 1,967 | 3,086 | * | * | 586 | 1,162 | 50 | 13 | 12 | ||
| Imports | 46,053 | 14,034 | 2,839 | 9,139 | * | * | 104 | * | 67 | |||
| Operational leasing | Exports | 13,169 | 13,105 | 3,295 | 3,225 | 3,357 | 3,228 | 2,994 | 3,022 | 3,206 | ||
| Imports | 1,074 | 696 | 304 | 143 | 131 | 118 | 122 | 124 | 154 | |||
| Misc. business services4 | Exports | 12,946 | 19,062 | 4,830 | 5,161 | 4,172 | 4,899 | 3,914 | 4,334 | 5,555 | ||
| Imports | 36,955 | 45,340 | 9,903 | 10,697 | 10,960 | 13,780 | 10,012 | 12,014 | 12,077 | |||
| Other services n.e.s. | Exports | 1,113 | 2,546 | 456 | 541 | 399 | 1,150 | 488 | 244 | 823 | ||
| Imports | 517 | 564 | 140 | 142 | 140 | 142 | 141 | 142 | 141 | |||
| Merchandise and Services - Total | Exports | 328,235 | 352,555 | 82,197 | 85,270 | 88,689 | 96,399 | 86,690 | 94,402 | 97,167 | ||
| Imports | 285,882 | 263,268 | 62,521 | 71,367 | 59,094 | 70,286 | 60,862 | 67,395 | 70,178 | |||
| Trade Balance | Net | 42,353 | 89,289 | 19,676 | 13,903 | 29,596 | 26,114 | 25,829 | 27,007 | 26,988 | ||
| Primary Income | Inflows | 70,346 | 78,224 | 17,934 | 20,516 | 19,294 | 20,480 | 18,162 | 23,448 | 22,855 | ||
| Outflows | 120,260 | 137,996 | 31,617 | 36,163 | 34,123 | 36,093 | 33,133 | 38,877 | 39,552 | |||
| Compensation of Employees | Inflows | 520 | 528 | 131 | 131 | 135 | 131 | 131 | 131 | 135 | ||
| Outflows | 627 | 645 | 160 | 161 | 160 | 164 | 159 | 158 | 160 | |||
| Investment Income | Inflows | 68,346 | 76,189 | 17,456 | 20,037 | 18,777 | 19,919 | 17,672 | 22,963 | 22,336 | ||
| Outflows | 119,322 | 137,035 | 31,384 | 35,933 | 33,884 | 35,834 | 32,897 | 38,654 | 39,319 | |||
| Direct investment income | Inflows | 18,383 | 20,728 | 4,258 | 4,498 | 5,142 | 6,830 | 3,868 | 5,832 | 5,955 | ||
| Outflows | 61,056 | 72,048 | 16,749 | 17,322 | 18,108 | 19,869 | 17,374 | 18,070 | 21,072 | |||
| Income on equity | Inflows | 15,193 | 18,079 | 3,511 | 3,762 | 4,495 | 6,311 | 3,599 | 5,187 | 5,252 | ||
| Outflows | 55,285 | 65,966 | 15,081 | 15,757 | 16,646 | 18,482 | 16,145 | 16,716 | 19,570 | |||
| Dividends & distributed | Inflows | 3,420 | 630 | 33 | 294 | 59 | 244 | 44 | * | 248 | ||
| branch profits | Outflows | 18,603 | 12,936 | 3,046 | 2,854 | 4,277 | 2,759 | 3,963 | 3,744 | 4,497 | ||
| Reinvested earnings | Inflows | 11,774 | 17,450 | 3,478 | 3,469 | 4,436 | 6,067 | 3,555 | * | 5,004 | ||
| Outflows | 36,682 | 53,029 | 12,034 | 12,903 | 12,369 | 15,723 | 12,182 | 12,972 | 15,073 | |||
| Income on debt | Inflows | 3,190 | 2,649 | 746 | 736 | 647 | 520 | 269 | 645 | 702 | ||
| Outflows | 5,771 | 6,084 | 1,668 | 1,565 | 1,463 | 1,388 | 1,229 | 1,354 | 1,502 | |||
| Portfolio investment income | Inflows | 40,784 | 45,557 | 10,653 | 12,966 | 11,177 | 10,761 | 11,351 | 14,350 | 13,145 | ||
| Outflows | 48,036 | 54,714 | 12,170 | 16,089 | 13,188 | 13,267 | 13,068 | 17,722 | 15,254 | |||
| Income on equity | Inflows | 12,834 | 14,619 | 3,261 | 5,032 | 3,500 | 2,826 | 3,388 | 5,754 | 4,357 | ||
| Outflows | 40,541 | 48,043 | 10,434 | 14,380 | 11,552 | 11,677 | 11,566 | 16,194 | 13,735 | |||
| Income on debt | Inflows | 27,948 | 30,939 | 7,393 | 7,934 | 7,677 | 7,935 | 7,963 | 8,595 | 8,788 | ||
| Outflows | 7,494 | 6,672 | 1,737 | 1,709 | 1,636 | 1,590 | 1,502 | 1,528 | 1,519 | |||
| Other investment income | Inflows | 9,177 | 9,904 | 2,545 | 2,573 | 2,458 | 2,328 | 2,453 | 2,782 | 3,237 | ||
| Outflows | 10,231 | 10,272 | 2,464 | 2,522 | 2,588 | 2,698 | 2,456 | 2,861 | 2,993 | |||
| Other primary income | Inflows | 1,480 | 1,504 | 346 | 347 | 382 | 429 | 360 | 354 | 384 | ||
| Outflows | 310 | 317 | 74 | 69 | 79 | 95 | 77 | 66 | 74 | |||
| Secondary Income | Inflows | 4,504 | 5,154 | 1,277 | 1,127 | 1,431 | 1,319 | 1,370 | 1,131 | 1,115 | ||
| Outflows | 8,317 | 9,744 | 2,213 | 2,685 | 2,438 | 2,408 | 2,676 | 2,548 | 2,303 | |||
| Income Balance | Net | -53,727 | -64,363 | -14,620 | -17,205 | -15,836 | -16,702 | -16,276 | -16,846 | -17,884 | ||
| Current Account - Total | Inflows | 403,086 | 435,934 | 101,408 | 106,913 | 109,415 | 118,198 | 106,223 | 118,981 | 121,137 | ||
| Outflows | 414,458 | 411,009 | 96,352 | 110,216 | 95,655 | 108,786 | 96,671 | 108,820 | 112,033 | |||
| Current Account Balance | Net | -11,373 | 24,924 | 5,056 | -3,303 | 13,760 | 9,411 | 9,552 | 10,162 | 9,104 | ||
| Capital Account Balance | Net | -4,331 | -28,168 | -14,100 | -6,237 | -5,971 | -1,860 | -437 | -363 | -35 | ||
| Memorandum Item: | ||||||||||||
| Government Income | Inflows | 74 | 93 | 21 | 23 | 25 | 24 | 386 | 379 | 407 | ||
| Outflows | 3,909 | 3,675 | 958 | 942 | 936 | 839 | 946 | 968 | 943 | |||
| 1Adjusted for balance of payments purposes. | ||||||||||||
| 2Under the credit item, passenger fare receipts of resident carriers from foreign visitors are excluded; such receipts are included under transport credits - see Background Notes. | ||||||||||||
| 3Covers exports and imports of software that were not incorporated as part of computer hardware or physical media but separately transmitted by electronic means. The value of sales and purchases of additional software licences is also included. | ||||||||||||
| 4Covers mainly advertising and inter-affiliate management charges. | ||||||||||||
| Table 2b Financial Account¹ | € million | |||||||||||
| 2016 | 2017 | 2017 | 2018 | |||||||||
| Item | Year | Quarter 1 | Quarter 2 | Quarter 3 | Quarter 4 | Quarter 1 | Quarter 2 | Quarter 3 | ||||
| Direct Investment | Abroad | 27,180 | -34,690 | 127 | 15,417 | 8,118 | -58,352 | 3,520 | -33,811 | 1,882 | ||
| In Ireland | 35,607 | -1,109 | 4,796 | 11,231 | 4,049 | -21,185 | -22,818 | -44,020 | -9,079 | |||
| Equity | Abroad | 43,782 | -65,888 | -23,160 | 27,062 | -8,271 | -61,519 | -7,605 | -63,486 | -1,603 | ||
| In Ireland | 97,986 | -35,529 | 19,279 | -13,025 | 260 | -42,043 | -10,882 | -50,392 | -1,452 | |||
| Reinvested Earnings | Abroad | 11,774 | 17,450 | 3,478 | 3,469 | 4,436 | 6,067 | 3,555 | * | 5,004 | ||
| In Ireland | 36,682 | 53,029 | 12,034 | 12,903 | 12,369 | 15,723 | 12,182 | 12,972 | 15,073 | |||
| Other Capital | Abroad | -28,377 | 13,749 | 19,809 | -15,113 | 11,953 | -2,900 | 7,571 | * | -1,520 | ||
| In Ireland | -99,059 | -18,608 | -26,517 | 11,354 | -8,580 | 5,135 | -24,118 | -6,601 | -22,700 | |||
| Portfolio Investment | Assets | 116,439 | 253,689 | 79,441 | 40,091 | 64,731 | 69,426 | 80,507 | 8,341 | 25,264 | ||
| Liabilities | 88,727 | 309,004 | 92,665 | 85,711 | 64,133 | 66,495 | 73,057 | 37,785 | 28,124 | |||
| Equity | Assets | 3,705 | 94,474 | 24,400 | 25,928 | 26,227 | 17,919 | 29,066 | 11,896 | 11,920 | ||
| Liabilities | 130,304 | 306,047 | 76,748 | 91,641 | 69,791 | 67,867 | 62,573 | 37,444 | 25,634 | |||
| Debt Instruments | Assets | 112,732 | 159,213 | 55,041 | 14,163 | 38,503 | 51,506 | 51,442 | -3,555 | 13,344 | ||
| Liabilities | -41,577 | 2,957 | 15,917 | -5,930 | -5,658 | -1,372 | 10,484 | 341 | 2,490 | |||
| Bonds and notes | Assets | 83,755 | 115,363 | 33,236 | 37,623 | 21,698 | 22,806 | 33,949 | 9,374 | 21,720 | ||
| Liabilities | -37,624 | -816 | 12,119 | -9,263 | -4,729 | 1,057 | 7,658 | 866 | 7,516 | |||
| Money market instruments | Assets | 28,978 | 43,850 | 21,805 | -23,460 | 16,805 | 28,700 | 17,493 | -12,929 | -8,376 | ||
| Liabilities | -3,955 | 3,775 | 3,799 | 3,333 | -928 | -2,429 | 2,826 | -524 | -5,025 | |||
| Other Investment | Assets | -43,731 | 94,497 | -22,578 | 33,470 | 33,034 | 50,571 | 31,514 | 89,705 | 38,898 | ||
| Liabilities | -14,657 | 1,321 | -21,173 | -4,011 | 26,261 | 244 | 51,604 | 55,925 | 37,896 | |||
| Loans, currency and deposits | Assets | -7,471 | 105,547 | 5,018 | 32,982 | 19,579 | 47,968 | 22,547 | 36,938 | 14,950 | ||
| Liabilities | 20,151 | 24,897 | 15,171 | 1,169 | 16,012 | -7,455 | 34,571 | 24,687 | 17,948 | |||
| Other2 | Assets | -36,260 | -11,049 | -27,596 | 488 | 13,456 | 2,603 | 8,967 | 52,768 | 23,948 | ||
| Liabilities | -34,807 | -23,577 | -36,344 | -5,180 | 10,248 | 7,699 | 17,032 | 31,238 | 19,948 | |||
| Reserve Assets | 1,456 | 399 | -101 | 163 | 235 | 102 | -22 | 5 | 209 | |||
| Monetary gold | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||
| Special drawing rights | 113 | -43 | 12 | 0 | -39 | -16 | -16 | 5 | 15 | |||
| Reserve position in the IMF | 730 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -11 | 10 | 0 | |||
| Foreign exchange | 416 | 158 | 43 | 148 | 90 | -123 | -14 | 1 | -37 | |||
| Other | 198 | 285 | -156 | 15 | 185 | 241 | 19 | -11 | 231 | |||
| Balance on Financial Account | -8,335 | 4,678 | -19,400 | -3,789 | 11,675 | 16,192 | 13,677 | 14,550 | 9,312 | |||
| Net errors and omissions | 7,368 | 7,922 | -10,355 | 5,751 | 3,886 | 8,640 | 4,562 | 4,751 | 243 | |||
| Memorandum Item: | ||||||||||||
| Government financial | Assets | -966 | 426 | 46 | 407 | 27 | -54 | -1,095 | 4,367 | 9,886 | ||
| transactions | Liabilities | -6,495 | 1,377 | 6,543 | 2,995 | -631 | -7,530 | 5,771 | 7,549 | 9,749 | ||
| 1Financial account transactions are categorised under two headings 'Assets' and 'Liabilities' for Portfolio Investment, Other Investment and Reserve Assets. For Direct Investment, a 'directional' categorisation is used: 'Abroad' indicates direct investment by Irish investors in foreign companies; Direct investment into Ireland is indicated by the heading 'In Ireland'. | ||||||||||||
| 2Includes financial derivatives; in the case of liabilities this category also includes life insurance liabilities to non-residents. Occasionally includes large capital transactions which cannot be shown in the Capital Account Balance due to confidentiality constraints. | ||||||||||||
| Table 2c Current Account with UK | € million | |||||||||||
| 2016 | 2017 | 2017 | 2018 | |||||||||
| Item | Year | Quarter 1 | Quarter 2 | Quarter 3 | Quarter 4 | Quarter 1 | Quarter 2 | Quarter 3 | ||||
| Current Account | ||||||||||||
| Merchandise1 | Exports | 24,005 | 23,464 | 6,007 | 6,213 | 5,508 | 5,736 | 5,315 | 5,348 | 5,695 | ||
| Imports | 21,387 | 23,003 | 5,301 | 5,831 | 5,599 | 6,272 | 5,585 | 5,626 | 5,867 | |||
| of which: Merchanting (net export) | Exports | 4,156 | 3,853 | 1,039 | 868 | 926 | 1,020 | 1,081 | 1,121 | 1,058 | ||
| Services | Exports | 24,055 | 26,266 | 5,973 | 6,632 | 6,921 | 6,740 | 6,148 | 6,790 | 7,325 | ||
| Imports | 14,786 | 16,475 | 3,836 | 3,852 | 4,006 | 4,781 | 4,376 | 4,501 | 4,631 | |||
| Transport | Exports | 2,285 | 2,349 | 369 | 631 | 866 | 483 | 392 | 640 | 872 | ||
| Imports | 505 | 531 | 128 | 132 | 127 | 144 | 134 | 133 | 135 | |||
| Tourism and Travel 2 | Exports | 1,094 | 1,032 | 204 | 273 | 310 | 245 | 236 | 269 | 299 | ||
| Imports | 1,185 | 1,266 | 303 | 281 | 334 | 348 | 351 | 309 | 345 | |||
| Insurance | Exports | 2,403 | 2,507 | 649 | 613 | 599 | 646 | 640 | 600 | 588 | ||
| Imports | 1,613 | 1,613 | 407 | 392 | 382 | 432 | 411 | 426 | 449 | |||
| Financial services | Exports | 4,853 | 5,595 | 1,364 | 1,304 | 1,452 | 1,475 | 1,453 | 1,403 | 1,372 | ||
| Imports | 3,751 | 4,355 | 1,071 | 1,027 | 1,127 | 1,130 | 1,184 | 1,201 | 1,186 | |||
| Royalties/Licences | Exports | 819 | 1,088 | 263 | 260 | 261 | 304 | 259 | 252 | 233 | ||
| Imports | 603 | 463 | 131 | 104 | 122 | 106 | 76 | 72 | 75 | |||
| Computer services3 | Exports | 6,088 | 6,327 | 1,443 | 1,564 | 1,579 | 1,741 | 1,541 | 1,808 | 2,229 | ||
| Imports | 157 | 277 | 56 | 74 | 71 | 76 | 80 | 63 | 68 | |||
| Business services | Exports | 3,721 | 4,212 | 1,001 | 1,175 | 987 | 1,049 | 923 | 1,162 | 1,119 | ||
| Imports | 5,953 | 6,954 | 1,492 | 1,593 | 1,577 | 2,292 | 1,875 | 2,045 | 2,127 | |||
| (of which: Operational leasing) | Exports | 726 | 711 | 173 | 189 | 168 | 181 | 153 | 185 | 169 | ||
| Imports | 38 | 28 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 9 | |||
| Other | Exports | 2,792 | 3,156 | 680 | 813 | 866 | 797 | 704 | 656 | 614 | ||
| Imports | 1,017 | 1,015 | 249 | 248 | 265 | 253 | 265 | 250 | 246 | |||
| Merchandise and Services Total | Exports | 48,060 | 49,730 | 11,980 | 12,845 | 12,429 | 12,476 | 11,463 | 12,138 | 13,020 | ||
| Imports | 36,173 | 39,478 | 9,137 | 9,683 | 9,606 | 11,053 | 9,961 | 10,127 | 10,497 | |||
| Trade balance | Net | 11,887 | 10,252 | 2,843 | 3,162 | 2,823 | 1,423 | 1,502 | 2,011 | 2,523 | ||
| Primary Income | Inflows | 13,532 | 16,686 | 4,025 | 4,125 | 4,083 | 4,453 | 4,360 | 5,005 | 5,037 | ||
| Outflows | 25,850 | 26,086 | 6,022 | 7,045 | 6,794 | 6,225 | 6,521 | 8,938 | 8,300 | |||
| (of which : Investment Income) | Inflows | 13,308 | 16,461 | 3,969 | 4,070 | 4,025 | 4,397 | 4,304 | 4,950 | 4,979 | ||
| Outflows | 25,519 | 25,749 | 5,937 | 6,961 | 6,712 | 6,139 | 6,438 | 8,854 | 8,217 | |||
| Direct investment income | Inflows | 1,118 | 2,216 | 581 | 397 | 449 | 789 | 618 | 759 | 765 | ||
| Outflows | 4,473 | 2,846 | 811 | 459 | 854 | 722 | 638 | 1,085 | 969 | |||
| Portfolio investment income | Inflows | 9,045 | 10,658 | 2,566 | 2,790 | 2,635 | 2,667 | 2,727 | 3,089 | 3,034 | ||
| Outflows | 18,003 | 20,668 | 4,610 | 5,946 | 5,266 | 4,846 | 5,197 | 6,965 | 6,263 | |||
| Other investment income | Inflows | 3,145 | 3,586 | 822 | 882 | 941 | 941 | 960 | 1,102 | 1,180 | ||
| Outflows | 3,044 | 2,232 | 516 | 555 | 591 | 570 | 604 | 804 | 985 | |||
| Secondary Income | Inflows | 1,823 | 2,037 | 542 | 523 | 556 | 416 | 530 | 488 | 390 | ||
| Outflows | 2,014 | 2,466 | 621 | 642 | 671 | 532 | 648 | 613 | 515 | |||
| Income balance | Net | -12,509 | -9,829 | -2,076 | -3,039 | -2,826 | -1,888 | -2,279 | -4,058 | -3,388 | ||
| Current Account - Total | Inflows | 63,415 | 68,453 | 16,547 | 17,493 | 17,068 | 17,345 | 16,353 | 17,631 | 18,447 | ||
| Outflows | 64,036 | 68,028 | 15,780 | 17,369 | 17,070 | 17,809 | 17,130 | 19,678 | 19,312 | |||
| Current Account Balance with UK | -622 | 424 | 767 | 124 | -2 | -465 | -778 | -2,047 | -865 | |||
| 1Adjusted for balance of payments purposes. | ||||||||||||
| 2Under the credit item, passenger fare receipts of resident carriers from foreign visitors are excluded; such receipts are included under transport credits - see Background Notes. | ||||||||||||
| 3Covers exports and imports of software that were not incorporated as part of computer hardware or physical media but separately transmitted by electronic means. The value of sales and purchases of additional software licences is also included. | ||||||||||||
| Table 3 Current, Capital and Financial Accounts showing IFSC¹ and Non–IFSC activity | € million | |||||||||||
| 2016 | 2017 | 2017 | 2018 | |||||||||
| Item | Year | Quarter 1 | Quarter 2 | Quarter 3 | Quarter 4 | Quarter 1 | Quarter 2 | Quarter 3 | ||||
| Current Account - Total | Inflows | 403,086 | 435,934 | 101,408 | 106,913 | 109,415 | 118,198 | 106,223 | 118,981 | 121,137 | ||
| Outflows | 414,458 | 411,009 | 96,352 | 110,216 | 95,655 | 108,786 | 96,671 | 108,820 | 112,033 | |||
| Merchandise2 | Exports | 193,160 | 192,854 | 45,963 | 45,793 | 48,427 | 52,671 | 48,485 | 52,283 | 51,403 | ||
| Imports | 87,072 | 85,214 | 20,931 | 22,248 | 19,512 | 22,523 | 21,407 | 23,306 | 25,025 | |||
| Services | Exports | 135,076 | 159,701 | 36,234 | 39,477 | 40,262 | 43,728 | 38,205 | 42,118 | 45,764 | ||
| Imports | 198,809 | 178,054 | 41,591 | 49,120 | 39,581 | 47,762 | 39,455 | 44,088 | 45,154 | |||
| IFSC | Exports | 36,509 | 39,051 | 9,705 | 9,671 | 9,707 | 9,968 | 9,528 | 9,490 | 9,357 | ||
| Imports | 20,950 | 23,307 | 5,821 | 5,610 | 5,747 | 6,129 | 6,447 | 6,441 | 6,051 | |||
| Non-IFSC | Exports | 98,566 | 120,652 | 26,529 | 29,807 | 30,555 | 33,761 | 28,676 | 32,629 | 36,406 | ||
| Imports | 177,862 | 154,748 | 35,770 | 43,510 | 33,834 | 41,634 | 33,007 | 37,647 | 39,103 | |||
| Primary Income | Inflows | 70,346 | 78,224 | 17,934 | 20,516 | 19,294 | 20,480 | 18,162 | 23,448 | 22,855 | ||
| Outflows | 120,260 | 137,996 | 31,617 | 36,163 | 34,123 | 36,093 | 33,133 | 38,877 | 39,552 | |||
| IFSC | Inflows | 53,101 | 58,578 | 14,257 | 16,307 | 14,236 | 13,778 | 14,106 | 17,600 | 17,105 | ||
| Outflows | 59,166 | 64,820 | 15,466 | 18,031 | 15,800 | 15,523 | 16,622 | 19,532 | 18,571 | |||
| Non-IFSC | Inflows | 17,246 | 19,644 | 3,676 | 4,208 | 5,058 | 6,702 | 4,057 | 5,848 | 5,751 | ||
| Outflows | 61,095 | 73,176 | 16,151 | 18,132 | 18,323 | 20,570 | 16,511 | 19,346 | 20,981 | |||
| Secondary Income | Inflows | 4,504 | 5,154 | 1,277 | 1,127 | 1,431 | 1,319 | 1,370 | 1,131 | 1,115 | ||
| Outflows | 8,317 | 9,744 | 2,213 | 2,685 | 2,438 | 2,408 | 2,676 | 2,548 | 2,303 | |||
| IFSC3 | Inflows | 3,774 | 4,324 | 1,038 | 885 | 1,241 | 1,160 | 1,213 | 975 | 977 | ||
| Outflows | 3,774 | 4,324 | 1,038 | 885 | 1,241 | 1,160 | 1,213 | 975 | 977 | |||
| Non-IFSC | Inflows | 730 | 830 | 238 | 243 | 190 | 159 | 157 | 157 | 138 | ||
| Outflows | 4,542 | 5,420 | 1,175 | 1,800 | 1,197 | 1,248 | 1,463 | 1,573 | 1,326 | |||
| Balance on Current Account | -11,373 | 24,924 | 5,056 | -3,303 | 13,760 | 9,411 | 9,552 | 10,162 | 9,104 | |||
| Balance on Capital Account | -4,331 | -28,168 | -14,100 | -6,237 | -5,971 | -1,860 | -437 | -363 | -35 | |||
| Financial Account4 | ||||||||||||
| Direct investment | Abroad | 27,180 | -34,690 | 127 | 15,417 | 8,118 | -58,352 | 3,520 | -33,811 | 1,882 | ||
| In Ireland | 35,607 | -1,109 | 4,796 | 11,231 | 4,049 | -21,185 | -22,818 | -44,020 | -9,079 | |||
| IFSC | Abroad | 13,834 | 6,653 | * | * | -47 | 1,194 | -2,852 | 1,130 | 52 | ||
| In Ireland | 11,809 | 8,124 | -1,284 | -14,189 | 1,398 | 22,199 | -13,516 | -3,475 | 6,339 | |||
| Non-IFSC | Abroad | 13,345 | -41,344 | * | * | 8,165 | -59,547 | 6,373 | -34,941 | 1,830 | ||
| In Ireland | 23,800 | -9,232 | 6,080 | 25,421 | 2,651 | -43,384 | -9,302 | -40,546 | -15,418 | |||
| Portfolio investment | Assets | 116,439 | 253,689 | 79,441 | 40,091 | 64,731 | 69,426 | 80,507 | 8,341 | 25,264 | ||
| Liabilities | 88,727 | 309,004 | 92,665 | 85,711 | 64,133 | 66,495 | 73,057 | 37,785 | 28,124 | |||
| IFSC | Assets | 108,091 | 245,900 | 76,242 | 40,903 | 61,346 | 67,409 | 79,420 | 6,992 | 24,533 | ||
| Liabilities | 99,770 | 306,633 | 86,510 | 84,788 | 66,578 | 68,757 | 65,778 | 32,160 | 29,118 | |||
| Non-IFSC | Assets | 8,348 | 7,790 | 3,199 | -811 | 3,385 | 2,017 | 1,088 | 1,349 | 732 | ||
| Liabilities | -11,042 | 2,372 | 6,156 | 923 | -2,445 | -2,262 | 7,280 | 5,625 | -993 | |||
| Other investment5 | Assets | -43,731 | 94,497 | -22,578 | 33,470 | 33,034 | 50,571 | 31,514 | 89,705 | 38,898 | ||
| Liabilities | -14,657 | 1,321 | -21,173 | -4,011 | 26,261 | 244 | 51,604 | 55,925 | 37,896 | |||
| IFSC | Assets | -45,938 | 90,837 | -10,011 | 25,997 | 27,623 | 47,228 | 36,938 | 69,627 | 28,591 | ||
| Liabilities | -21,185 | 9,594 | -11,775 | -3,031 | 22,198 | 2,202 | 58,848 | 49,029 | 16,795 | |||
| Non-IFSC | Assets | 2,206 | 3,661 | -12,567 | 7,473 | 5,412 | 3,343 | -5,424 | 20,078 | 10,308 | ||
| Liabilities | 6,528 | -8,273 | -9,398 | -980 | 4,063 | -1,958 | -7,245 | 6,896 | 21,101 | |||
| Reserve Assets | 1,456 | 399 | -101 | 163 | 235 | 102 | -22 | 5 | 209 | |||
| Balance on Financial Account | -8,335 | 4,678 | -19,400 | -3,789 | 11,675 | 16,192 | 13,677 | 14,550 | 9,311 | |||
| Net errors and omissions | 7,368 | 7,922 | -10,355 | 5,751 | 3,886 | 8,640 | 4,562 | 4,751 | 242 | |||
| 1From the start of 2000, new international financial service projects are no longer subject to the earlier certification and licensing procedures in operation for location in the IFSC and such projects can, therefore, locate anywhere in Ireland. Additions to existing IFSC projects, however, are still subject to the formal procedures. For statistical analysis purposes this table still shows the 'IFSC/non-IFSC' breakdown and the activities of all international financial service enterprises are covered under the IFSC heading. | ||||||||||||
| 2Adjusted for balance of payments purposes. | ||||||||||||
| 3Secondary income flows to and from IFSC enterprises relate solely to non-life insurance transactions - see Background Notes. | ||||||||||||
| 4See footnote 1 on Table 2b. | ||||||||||||
| 5Includes financial derivatives; in the case of liabilities this category also includes life insurance liabilities to non-residents. Occasionally includes large capital transactions which cannot be shown in the Capital Account Balance due to confidentiality constraints. | ||||||||||||
| Table 4a Current and Capital Accounts showing geographical¹ detail | € million | |||||||||||
| 2016 | 2017 | 2017 | 2018 | |||||||||
| Item | Year | Quarter 1 | Quarter 2 | Quarter 3 | Quarter 4 | Quarter 1 | Quarter 2 | Quarter 3 | ||||
| Current Account - Total | Inflows | 403,086 | 435,934 | 101,408 | 106,913 | 109,415 | 118,198 | 106,223 | 118,981 | 121,137 | ||
| Outflows | 414,458 | 411,009 | 96,352 | 110,216 | 95,655 | 108,786 | 96,671 | 108,820 | 112,033 | |||
| Merchandise2 | Exports | 193,160 | 192,854 | 45,963 | 45,793 | 48,427 | 52,671 | 48,485 | 52,283 | 51,403 | ||
| Imports | 87,072 | 85,214 | 20,931 | 22,248 | 19,512 | 22,523 | 21,407 | 23,306 | 25,025 | |||
| EMU | Exports | 50,542 | 54,529 | 14,241 | 12,688 | 13,992 | 13,608 | 12,000 | 14,396 | 13,556 | ||
| Imports | 27,421 | 28,509 | 7,555 | 7,516 | 6,376 | 7,062 | 7,286 | 8,592 | 8,941 | |||
| Non-EMU | Exports | 142,618 | 138,326 | 31,722 | 33,105 | 34,436 | 39,063 | 36,486 | 37,887 | 37,847 | ||
| Imports | 59,651 | 56,704 | 13,375 | 14,732 | 13,136 | 15,461 | 14,120 | 14,715 | 16,084 | |||
| EU | Exports | 81,848 | 84,741 | 22,014 | 20,518 | 21,074 | 21,135 | 18,755 | 21,284 | 20,873 | ||
| Imports | 51,121 | 53,833 | 13,464 | 13,889 | 12,471 | 14,009 | 13,569 | 15,007 | 15,544 | |||
| Non-EU | Exports | 111,311 | 108,113 | 23,949 | 25,274 | 27,354 | 31,536 | 29,731 | 30,999 | 30,530 | ||
| Imports | 35,952 | 31,381 | 7,467 | 8,359 | 7,041 | 8,514 | 7,838 | 8,300 | 9,480 | |||
| Services | Exports | 135,076 | 159,701 | 36,234 | 39,477 | 40,262 | 43,728 | 38,205 | 42,118 | 45,764 | ||
| Imports | 198,809 | 178,054 | 41,591 | 49,120 | 39,581 | 47,762 | 39,455 | 44,088 | 45,154 | |||
| EMU | Exports | 34,684 | 38,818 | 9,025 | 9,638 | 9,659 | 10,496 | 9,315 | 10,510 | 11,331 | ||
| Imports | 37,956 | 43,459 | 9,483 | 11,070 | 9,631 | 13,275 | 10,233 | 11,546 | 11,657 | |||
| Non-EMU | Exports | 100,391 | 120,885 | 27,209 | 29,840 | 30,603 | 33,233 | 28,890 | 31,608 | 34,432 | ||
| Imports | 160,854 | 134,594 | 32,107 | 38,050 | 29,950 | 34,487 | 29,221 | 32,542 | 33,496 | |||
| EU | Exports | 66,263 | 74,074 | 16,998 | 18,497 | 18,784 | 19,795 | 17,741 | 19,701 | 21,180 | ||
| Imports | 54,624 | 62,191 | 13,779 | 15,491 | 14,243 | 18,678 | 15,148 | 16,647 | 16,909 | |||
| Non-EU | Exports | 68,812 | 85,629 | 19,236 | 20,981 | 21,478 | 23,934 | 20,464 | 22,418 | 24,583 | ||
| Imports | 144,185 | 115,864 | 27,812 | 33,629 | 25,339 | 29,084 | 24,307 | 27,441 | 28,245 | |||
| Primary Income | Inflows | 70,346 | 78,224 | 17,934 | 20,516 | 19,294 | 20,480 | 18,162 | 23,448 | 22,855 | ||
| Outflows | 120,260 | 137,996 | 31,617 | 36,163 | 34,123 | 36,093 | 33,133 | 38,877 | 39,552 | |||
| EMU | Inflows | 28,974 | 28,638 | 6,573 | 7,378 | 7,273 | 7,414 | 6,953 | 8,407 | 8,815 | ||
| Outflows | 41,120 | 50,331 | 9,910 | 13,731 | 13,796 | 12,894 | 13,327 | 15,466 | 15,593 | |||
| Non-EMU | Inflows | 41,373 | 49,586 | 11,361 | 13,138 | 12,021 | 13,066 | 11,209 | 15,041 | 14,040 | ||
| Outflows | 79,139 | 87,664 | 21,707 | 22,432 | 20,327 | 23,198 | 19,806 | 23,412 | 23,958 | |||
| EU | Inflows | 46,556 | 49,597 | 11,753 | 12,523 | 12,380 | 12,941 | 12,193 | 14,279 | 14,770 | ||
| Outflows | 69,148 | 79,525 | 16,728 | 21,566 | 21,399 | 19,832 | 20,393 | 25,006 | 24,474 | |||
| Non-EU | Inflows | 23,790 | 28,627 | 6,181 | 7,993 | 6,914 | 7,539 | 5,969 | 9,170 | 8,085 | ||
| Outflows | 51,111 | 58,472 | 14,890 | 14,597 | 12,725 | 16,260 | 12,740 | 13,871 | 15,078 | |||
| Secondary Income | Inflows | 4,504 | 5,154 | 1,277 | 1,127 | 1,431 | 1,319 | 1,370 | 1,131 | 1,115 | ||
| Outflows | 8,317 | 9,744 | 2,213 | 2,685 | 2,438 | 2,408 | 2,676 | 2,548 | 2,303 | |||
| EMU | Inflows | 1,470 | 1,846 | 420 | 280 | 524 | 622 | 445 | 359 | 438 | ||
| Outflows | 1,816 | 2,615 | 543 | 488 | 740 | 844 | 637 | 576 | 671 | |||
| Non-EMU | Inflows | 3,034 | 3,308 | 857 | 847 | 907 | 697 | 925 | 772 | 677 | ||
| Outflows | 6,501 | 7,128 | 1,670 | 2,197 | 1,697 | 1,564 | 2,039 | 1,972 | 1,632 | |||
| EU | Inflows | 3,474 | 4,112 | 1,015 | 853 | 1,140 | 1,104 | 1,029 | 900 | 889 | ||
| Outflows | 6,512 | 7,908 | 1,768 | 2,209 | 1,973 | 1,958 | 2,163 | 2,103 | 1,878 | |||
| Non-EU | Inflows | 1,030 | 1,041 | 261 | 274 | 291 | 215 | 341 | 231 | 226 | ||
| Outflows | 1,805 | 1,834 | 445 | 475 | 464 | 450 | 512 | 444 | 425 | |||
| Balance on Current Account | -11,373 | 24,924 | 5,056 | -3,303 | 13,760 | 9,411 | 9,552 | 10,162 | 9,104 | |||
| Balance on Capital Account | -4,331 | -28,168 | -14,100 | -6,237 | -5,971 | -1,860 | -437 | -363 | -35 | |||
| 1The term ‘EMU’ means the area represented by the 19 Member States participating in Monetary Union since the enlargement of the Euro area on 1 January 2015 to include Lithuania. The term ‘EU’ relates to transactions between residents of Ireland and other residents of the EU-28 area. All data shown on this table relates to EMU-19 and EU-28. | ||||||||||||
| 2Adjusted for balance of payments purposes. | ||||||||||||
| Table 4b Financial Account¹ showing geographical² detail | € million | |||||||||||
| 2016 | 2017 | 2017 | 2018 | |||||||||
| Item | Year | Quarter 1 | Quarter 2 | Quarter 3 | Quarter 4 | Quarter 1 | Quarter 2 | Quarter 3 | ||||
| Direct Investment | Abroad | 27,180 | -34,690 | 127 | 15,417 | 8,118 | -58,352 | 3,520 | -33,811 | 1,882 | ||
| In Ireland | 35,607 | -1,109 | 4,796 | 11,231 | 4,049 | -21,185 | -22,818 | -44,020 | -9,079 | |||
| EMU | Abroad | -4,713 | -51,544 | -2,965 | 22,996 | 4,650 | -76,225 | -27,405 | -35,721 | -2,918 | ||
| In Ireland | -37,734 | 52,407 | 13,673 | 39,363 | 2,167 | -2,796 | -65,119 | -49,837 | 3,963 | |||
| Non-EMU | Abroad | 31,892 | 16,855 | 3,092 | -7,578 | 3,468 | 17,873 | 30,926 | 1,909 | 4,799 | ||
| In Ireland | 73,343 | -53,515 | -8,877 | -28,131 | 1,882 | -18,389 | 42,301 | 5,816 | -13,042 | |||
| EU | Abroad | 6,500 | -46,181 | -2,466 | 26,266 | 3,925 | -73,906 | -29,558 | -33,500 | -1,972 | ||
| In Ireland | -25,915 | 55,127 | 10,980 | 40,943 | -1,318 | 4,522 | -90,979 | -49,511 | 2,930 | |||
| Non-EU | Abroad | 20,680 | 11,491 | 2,593 | -10,848 | 4,193 | 15,553 | 33,078 | -311 | 3,854 | ||
| In Ireland | 61,523 | -56,236 | -6,184 | -29,712 | 5,367 | -25,707 | 68,161 | 5,491 | -12,009 | |||
| Portfolio Investment | Assets | 116,439 | 253,689 | 79,441 | 40,091 | 64,731 | 69,426 | 80,507 | 8,341 | 25,264 | ||
| Liabilities | 88,727 | 309,004 | 92,665 | 85,711 | 64,133 | 66,495 | 73,057 | 37,785 | 28,124 | |||
| EMU | Assets | 16,755 | 51,988 | 15,981 | 11,707 | 6,660 | 17,640 | 11,470 | -4,800 | 6,250 | ||
| Liabilities | 33,976 | 106,093 | 37,925 | 29,997 | 15,955 | 22,216 | 25,761 | 15,294 | 11,642 | |||
| Non-EMU | Assets | 99,684 | 201,700 | 63,460 | 28,384 | 58,071 | 51,785 | 69,037 | 13,141 | 19,014 | ||
| Liabilities | 54,750 | 202,911 | 54,740 | 55,714 | 48,178 | 44,279 | 47,296 | 22,491 | 16,483 | |||
| EU | Assets | 47,876 | 121,500 | 40,562 | 31,780 | 6,285 | 42,873 | 14,095 | -1,789 | 21,457 | ||
| Liabilities | 81,978 | 271,410 | 82,391 | 74,686 | 48,901 | 65,432 | 55,205 | 25,162 | 18,939 | |||
| Non-EU | Assets | 68,562 | 132,189 | 38,879 | 8,312 | 58,446 | 26,552 | 66,412 | 10,129 | 3,807 | ||
| Liabilities | 6,748 | 37,595 | 10,274 | 11,026 | 15,232 | 1,063 | 17,852 | 12,623 | 9,185 | |||
| Other Investment3 | Assets | -43,731 | 94,497 | -22,578 | 33,470 | 33,034 | 50,571 | 31,514 | 89,705 | 38,898 | ||
| Liabilities | -14,657 | 1,321 | -21,173 | -4,011 | 26,261 | 244 | 51,604 | 55,925 | 37,896 | |||
| EMU | Assets | -11,213 | 35,191 | 5,232 | 9,471 | -3,960 | 24,448 | 16,419 | 17,396 | -9,636 | ||
| Liabilities | 7,924 | -9,214 | 404 | -5,244 | 3,805 | -8,179 | 5,931 | 10,797 | 3,555 | |||
| Non-EMU | Assets | -32,517 | 59,305 | -27,811 | 23,999 | 36,994 | 26,123 | 15,094 | 72,309 | 48,534 | ||
| Liabilities | -22,580 | 10,535 | -21,577 | 1,233 | 22,456 | 8,423 | 45,672 | 45,128 | 34,341 | |||
| EU | Assets | 47,767 | 122,297 | 29,803 | 23,528 | 24,543 | 44,423 | 34,749 | 64,652 | 21,433 | ||
| Liabilities | 39,806 | 40,803 | 18,206 | 7,035 | 8,193 | 7,369 | 33,548 | 39,187 | 9,302 | |||
| Non-EU | Assets | -91,498 | -27,800 | -52,381 | 9,942 | 8,491 | 6,148 | -3,235 | 25,054 | 17,465 | ||
| Liabilities | -54,462 | -39,481 | -39,378 | -11,047 | 18,068 | -7,124 | 18,055 | 16,738 | 28,594 | |||
| Reserve Assets | 1,456 | 399 | -101 | 163 | 235 | 102 | -22 | 5 | 209 | |||
| Balance on Financial Account | -8,335 | 4,678 | -19,400 | -3,789 | 11,675 | 16,192 | 13,677 | 14,550 | 9,312 | |||
| Net errors and omissions | 7,368 | 7,922 | -10,355 | 5,751 | 3,886 | 8,640 | 4,562 | 4,751 | 243 | |||
| 1See footnote 1 on Table 2b. | ||||||||||||
| 2The term ‘EMU’ means the area represented by the 19 Member States participating in Monetary Union since the enlargement of the Euro area on 1 January 2015 to include Lithuania. The term ‘EU’ relates to transactions between residents of Ireland and other residents of the EU-28 area. All data shown on this table relates to EMU-19 and EU-28. | ||||||||||||
| 3Includes financial derivatives; in the case of liabilities this category also includes life insurance liabilities to non-residents. Occasionally includes large capital transactions which cannot be shown in the Capital Account Balance due to confidentiality constraints. | ||||||||||||
The balance of payments (BOP) is a statistical statement that summarises, for a specific time period, the economic transactions of the residents of an economy with the rest of the world.
The balance of payments presentation consists of three tables or accounts, the Current Account, the Capital Account and the Financial Account. The current account consists of trade in merchandise and services, as well as primary and secondary income account inflows and outflows. The capital account covers capital transfers and the acquisition and disposal of non-produced, non-financial assets. The financial account is concerned with transactions in foreign financial assets and liabilities, distinguishing the functional type of investment i.e. direct, portfolio and other investment (including transactions in financial derivatives) and reserve assets.
BOP transactions, in principle, should be recorded on an accruals basis using market valuation. In practice, the collection system (see below) is designed to adhere to this approach and, for the most part, the valuations reported are either market values or a close approximation.
For more detailed methodological information see Methodology Documents: BOP Quarterly Statistical Compilation Methodology Updated March 2018 (PDF 240KB)
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Show Table 1 Summary of Current, Capital, Financial Account Balances and Net Errors and Omissions
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