Wealth share of the richest 1% in Ireland
Ireland: Wealth share of the richest 1% was 23.3% in 2024. ▲ Rising
Wealth share of the richest 1% in Ireland, 1980–2024
Source: World Inequality Database (WID.world) (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
Ireland recorded 23.3% for wealth share of the richest 1% in 2024.
That represents a change of up 4.1% on the previous year and down 14.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, wealth share of the richest 1% in Ireland peaked at 27.3% in 2014 and was at its lowest, 22.4%, in 2023.
Ireland ranks 186th of 215 countries on this measure, in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 45 years of available data.
Wealth share of the richest 1% in Ireland, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1980 | 23.4% | — |
| 1981 | 23.4% | -0.2% |
| 1982 | 23.5% | +0.4% |
| 1983 | 23.5% | +0.2% |
| 1984 | 23.4% | -0.4% |
| 1985 | 23.4% | -0.2% |
| 1986 | 23.4% | -0.1% |
| 1987 | 23.4% | +0.2% |
| 1988 | 23.4% | -0.1% |
| 1989 | 23.4% | +0.0% |
| 1990 | 23.4% | +0.1% |
| 1991 | 23.5% | +0.4% |
| 1992 | 23.6% | +0.3% |
| 1993 | 23.5% | -0.1% |
| 1994 | 24.2% | +3.0% |
| 1995 | 24.2% | -0.0% |
| 1996 | 24.2% | -0.3% |
| 1997 | 24.0% | -0.7% |
| 1998 | 24.4% | +1.7% |
| 1999 | 24.9% | +2.1% |
| 2000 | 25.3% | +1.4% |
| 2001 | 24.6% | -2.6% |
| 2002 | 24.7% | +0.2% |
| 2003 | 24.8% | +0.5% |
| 2004 | 24.7% | -0.4% |
| 2005 | 25.1% | +1.5% |
| 2006 | 25.4% | +1.2% |
| 2007 | 25.2% | -0.5% |
| 2008 | 25.7% | +1.9% |
| 2009 | 24.6% | -4.2% |
| 2010 | 25.7% | +4.3% |
| 2011 | 26.3% | +2.4% |
| 2012 | 26.4% | +0.3% |
| 2013 | 26.6% | +0.6% |
| 2014 | 27.3% | +2.7% |
| 2015 | 27.0% | -1.3% |
| 2016 | 25.3% | -6.1% |
| 2017 | 24.7% | -2.4% |
| 2018 | 23.9% | -3.4% |
| 2019 | 23.7% | -0.9% |
| 2020 | 23.5% | -0.9% |
| 2021 | 23.6% | +0.8% |
| 2022 | 24.1% | +1.9% |
| 2023 | 22.4% | -6.9% |
| 2024 | 23.3% | +4.1% |
Ireland compared with similar countries
- Ireland's 23.3% is below the median for high income countries, which is 27.5%, 85% of the median. (79 countries reporting)
- Ireland's 23.3% is below the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 24.1%, 97% of the median. (55 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 23.4% | 23.4% | 23.5% | 10 |
| 1990s | 24.0% | 23.4% | 24.9% | 10 |
| 2000s | 25.0% | 24.6% | 25.7% | 10 |
| 2010s | 25.7% | 23.7% | 27.3% | 10 |
| 2020s | 23.4% | 22.4% | 24.1% | 5 |
Countries ranked near Ireland
More reference data data for Ireland
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 1.45 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 1.19 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 4.37 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.0921 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 4.37 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 4.87 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure Management 3.37 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 5.6 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 21.02 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.5015 (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is wealth share of the richest 1% in Ireland?
- Wealth share of the richest 1% in Ireland was 23.3% in 2024, according to World Inequality Database (WID.world) (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest wealth share of the richest 1% recorded in Ireland?
- The highest recorded value was 27.3% in 2014.
- What is the lowest wealth share of the richest 1% recorded in Ireland?
- The lowest recorded value was 22.4% in 2023.
- How does Ireland rank for wealth share of the richest 1%?
- Ireland ranks 186th out of 215 countries with data for 2024.
- Is wealth share of the richest 1% rising or falling in Ireland?
- Over the last ten years it is down 14.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Ireland data come from?
- The figures come from World Inequality Database (WID.world) (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Wealth share of the richest 1%. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
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About this data
Share of wealth owned by the richest 1% of the population. Wealth is defined as the total value of non-financial and financial assets (housing, land, deposits, bonds, equities, etc.) held by households, minus their debts.