Ireland: Total natural resources rents (% of GDP)

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2021, Ireland's total natural resources rents (% of GDP) rose 0.06 percentage points on 2020 (from 0.04% to 0.1%).

Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1991 to 2020), the average change was −0.01 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 0.08 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.9 standard deviations above that average, so it was an ordinary year: it sits within the range of normal year-to-year movement.

On record, the biggest yearly rise was 0.53 percentage points in 1988 and the biggest yearly fall was 0.76 percentage points in 1975. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those years.

From 2012 to 2021 there is no clear straight-line trend: a straight line explains 21% of the movement over 10 observed years, so the value is moving around more than it is heading anywhere.

Worked out from the yearly values above. How the checks work: standard deviation, z-scores and straight-line trends.

How it compares

In 2021, Ireland had the 151st highest value of the 196 economies reporting that year. Higher is not always better: for some indicators the lowest value is the one to aim for. See the full ranking.

Closest to Ireland in the 2021 ranking

• Austria — 148th of 196: 0.12%
• Spain — 149th of 196: 0.12%
• Italy — 150th of 196: 0.11%
• Greece — 152nd of 196: 0.09%
• Sri Lanka — 153rd of 196: 0.08%
• Jordan — 154th of 196: 0.08%

What this measures

Total natural resources rents are the sum of oil rents, natural gas rents, coal rents (hard and soft), mineral rents, and forest rents.

Regional and income-group figures are computed by the World Bank as a weighted average.

All 52 values

Total natural resources rents (% of GDP) in nearby economies

• Albania — 1.44% (2021)
• Andorra — 0% (2021)
• Armenia — 7.05% (2021)
• Austria — 0.12% (2021)
• Azerbaijan — 29.94% (2021)
• Belarus — 1.86% (2021)
• Belgium — 0.04% (2021)
• Bosnia and Herzegovina — 0.81% (2021)
• Bulgaria — 0.92% (2021)
• Croatia — 0.68% (2021)

More environment data for Ireland

• Population in largest city — 1.3 million (2025)
• Population in the largest city (% of urban population) — 36.68% (2025)
• Population in urban agglomerations of more than 1 million — 1.3 million (2025)
• Population in urban agglomerations of more than 1 million (% of total population) — 23.69% (2025)
• Rural population — 1.94 million (2025)
• Rural population (% of total population) — 35.41% (2025)
• Urban population — 3.54 million (2025)
• Urban population (% of total population) — 64.59% (2025)
• Aquaculture production (metric tons) — 37,632 (2024)
• Capture fisheries production (metric tons)

Reading data like this

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Questions people ask

What is Ireland's total natural resources rents (% of GDP)?

0.1% in 2021, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 1970?

It is down 0.33 percentage points from 0.43% in 1970. The highest value was 0.94% in 1974 and the lowest 0.02% in 2015.

How does Ireland rank?

151st highest of 196 economies with data for 2021.

Is the latest change in total natural resources rents (% of GDP) unusual for Ireland?

In 2021, Ireland's total natural resources rents (% of GDP) rose 0.06 percentage points on 2020 (from 0.04% to 0.1%). Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1991 to 2020), the average change was −0.01 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 0.08 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.9 standard deviations above that average, so it was an ordinary year: it sits within the range of normal year-to-year movement.

Source

World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator NY.GDP.TOTL.RT.ZS, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: The Changing Wealth of Nations, World Bank (WB), uri: https://www.worldbank.org/en/publication/changing-wealth-of-nations/data, note: World Bank staff estimates based on sources and methods described in the World Bank's The Changing Wealth of Nations., publisher: World Bank (WB); Staff estimates, Wo… Figures are fetched from the World Bank API and refreshed monthly; see the series on data.worldbank.org. The full definition and method are in the World Bank's metadata glossary. Comparisons use the same World Bank release.

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