Points Frog guide
Ireland vs United Kingdom
Ireland's GDP per person at PPP is 2.4 times the United Kingdom's, and a dollar goes 5% further in Ireland.
Compare two countries
A UN member state, or a continent's average.
The page updates.
In US dollars, spent in each country.
$100 spent in Ireland buys about what
$105
buys in the United Kingdom, at purchasing power parity
And $100 in the United Kingdom buys what $95.17 buys in Ireland. Prices across Ireland's economy average 95% of the United Kingdom's, so a dollar goes 5% further in Ireland.
| Measure | Ireland | United Kingdom |
|---|---|---|
| Economy | ||
| Population | 5.48 million | 69.5 million |
| GDPUS dollars, market exchange rates | $722 billion | $4.00 trillion |
| GDP per personUS dollars | $131,592 | $57,602 |
| GDP per person at PPPInternational dollars | $155,089 | $64,606 |
| Prices | ||
| Price levelUS prices = 100% | 85% | 89% |
| A US dollar goes as far as | $1.18 in the US | $1.12 in the US |
| Income | ||
| Median income or consumptionPer person, international dollars | $50.49 a day2023 survey · $18,429 a year · income | $54.55 a day2021 survey · $19,911 a year · income |
More figures: GDP at PPP, conversion factor and GNI
| Measure | Ireland | United Kingdom |
|---|---|---|
| GDP at PPPInternational dollars | $851 billion | $4.49 trillion |
| PPP conversion factorLocal currency per international dollar | 0.7509Euro | 0.6771Pound sterling |
| GNI per person, Atlas methodUS dollars | $87,360 | $54,550 |
| GNI per person at PPPInternational dollars | $106,310 | $64,210 |
World Bank income groups: Ireland, high income; United Kingdom, high income.
- Ireland
- United Kingdom
Year-by-year table
| Year | Ireland | United Kingdom |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | $131,338 | $53,993 |
| 2024 | $118,833 | $53,412 |
| 2023 | $117,660 | $53,423 |
| 2022 | $123,007 | $53,980 |
| 2021 | $116,703 | $51,840 |
| 2020 | $101,793 | $47,931 |
| 2019 | $96,206 | $53,374 |
| 2018 | $93,116 | $52,983 |
| 2017 | $87,732 | $52,429 |
| 2016 | $80,760 | $51,168 |
| 2015 | $80,816 | $50,463 |
| 2014 | $65,463 | $49,763 |
| 2013 | $60,285 | $48,601 |
| 2012 | $59,303 | $48,100 |
| 2011 | $59,797 | $47,714 |
| 2010 | $59,107 | $47,683 |
| 2009 | $58,447 | $46,996 |
| 2008 | $62,214 | $49,629 |
| 2007 | $66,476 | $50,046 |
| 2006 | $64,975 | $49,001 |
| 2005 | $63,580 | $48,305 |
| 2004 | $61,453 | $47,317 |
| 2003 | $58,608 | $46,505 |
| 2002 | $57,828 | $45,265 |
| 2001 | $55,535 | $44,694 |
| 2000 | $53,583 | $43,818 |
World Bank figures, updated October 8, 2026. An educational estimate, not financial advice.
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<script async src="https://www.pointsfrog.com/embed.js"></script>Ireland vs United Kingdom: questions
Is Ireland richer than the United Kingdom?
Ireland's GDP per person at purchasing power parity was $155,089 in 2025, 2.4 times the United Kingdom's $64,606, so Ireland is the richer of the two by this measure. At market exchange rates, GDP per person was $131,592 in Ireland and $57,602 in the United Kingdom. Ireland ranks 3rd and the United Kingdom 26th of the 186 countries with figures.
How far does a dollar go in Ireland compared with the United Kingdom?
Prices across Ireland's economy averaged 95% of the United Kingdom's in 2025, so $100 spent in Ireland buys about what $105 buys in the United Kingdom, and a dollar goes 5% further in Ireland. Against the United States, prices averaged 85% of US prices in Ireland and 89% in the United Kingdom. The World Bank's PPP conversion factor was 0.7509 (Euro) per international dollar in Ireland and 0.6771 (Pound sterling) in the United Kingdom.
How big is Ireland's economy compared with the United Kingdom's?
In 2025, Ireland's GDP was $722 billion at market exchange rates and $851 billion at PPP; the United Kingdom's GDP was $4.00 trillion at market exchange rates and $4.49 trillion at PPP. At market rates Ireland's economy is 18% of the United Kingdom's, and at PPP 19%. Ireland has 5.48 million people and the United Kingdom 69.5 million.
Do people earn more in Ireland or the United Kingdom?
In 2025, gross national income per person by the World Bank's Atlas method was $87,360 in Ireland and $54,550 in the United Kingdom; at PPP it was $106,310 and $64,210. The World Bank classes both as high income. In household surveys, the median person's income was $50.49 a day ($18,429 a year) in Ireland, from a 2023 survey, and $54.55 a day ($19,911 a year) in the United Kingdom, from a 2021 survey, in 2021 international dollars.
How has GDP per person changed since 2000?
After inflation, GDP per person at PPP grew 145% in Ireland from 2000 to 2025, 3.7% a year, and grew 23% in the United Kingdom, 0.8% a year. Ireland's was 1.22 times the United Kingdom's in 2000 and 2.4 times in 2025.
What is purchasing power parity (PPP)?
A rate that converts money between countries by what it buys rather than by the exchange rate. An international dollar buys in any country what a US dollar buys in the United States. The World Bank's International Comparison Program prices the same goods and services around the world to set these rates, so GDP at PPP compares how much economies actually produce, without exchange rate swings or price gaps.
What's the difference between GDP and GNI?
GDP is the value of everything produced inside a country. GNI, gross national income, adds income residents earn abroad and takes away income sent to foreign owners and workers. They differ most where foreign companies or workers take a large share, as in Ireland or Luxembourg, so GNI per person is closer to what a country's residents earn.
What is the World Bank Atlas method?
A way of converting GNI to US dollars that averages a country's exchange rate over three years, adjusted for inflation, so one year's currency swing doesn't jump it from one income group to another. The World Bank uses it to sort countries into low, lower-middle, upper-middle and high income each July.
Why is the median income missing or old for some countries?
Median income or consumption comes from household surveys, which most countries run every few years and some haven't run in a long time. Many lower-income countries measure what households spend rather than what they earn. This page shows the latest survey from the past 15 years in the World Bank's Poverty and Inequality Platform, with its year, and says when there isn't one.
Where do these figures come from?
From the World Bank's World Development Indicators, last updated October 8, 2026, with figures through 2025, and median income or consumption from its Poverty and Inequality Platform (September 22, 2026 release). Each figure is the latest the World Bank has for that country, from 2015 on; an older one is left out. The IMF publishes its own estimates, which usually differ by a few percent.
Is this comparison financial advice?
No. It's an educational comparison of official statistics. A country's average price level covers its whole economy, so your own costs in either place depend on where you live and what you buy.
How does the comparison work?
- GDP and GNI in US dollars use market exchange rates; at PPP they use the World Bank's purchasing power parities, in international dollars.
- The price level is a country's GDP at market rates divided by its GDP at PPP: its prices against US prices, across the whole economy, not just what households buy. What $100 buys elsewhere is $100 times the ratio of the two price levels.
- GNI per person uses the Atlas method, the measure behind the World Bank's income groups.
- The chart is GDP per person at PPP in constant 2021 international dollars, so it shows growth after inflation.
- Figures: World Development Indicators, updated October 8, 2026; median income or consumption: Poverty and Inequality Platform, September 22, 2026 release. Series: GDP, GDP at PPP, GDP per person at PPP, PPP conversion factor, GNI per person (Atlas), GNI per person at PPP.