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New economic indicator shows improvement in Ireland's competitiveness ranking

New economic indicator shows improvement in Ireland's competitiveness ranking

RTÉ News​15-05-2025
New research has shown that Ireland's international competitiveness ranking would improve if Modified Gross National Income (GNI*) is used as an economic indicator instead of Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
GNI* is seen as a more accurate measure of the domestic economy as it excludes much of the impact of the multinational sector.
The National Competitiveness and Productivity Council (NCPC) has published research re-estimating Ireland's performance in the IMD World Competitiveness Ranking 2024.
The study shows that the country rises by one position in the ranking, with improvements in three of the four pillars, when key metrics are recalibrated to better reflect the scale of the domestic economy.
The IMD World Competitiveness Ranking is a widely used international benchmark, assessing over 60 economies across four key pillars and 20 sub-pillars, and based on 250 individual measures.
The estimate shows notable gains in economic performance and infrastructure, business efficiency is unchanged, while Government efficiency declines slightly.
"This reassessment of Ireland's competitiveness provides a more accurate and meaningful picture of our economic strengths and vulnerabilities, and how these impact on our international competitiveness performance," said Dr Frances Ruane, the Chair of the NCPC.
"This research highlights the importance of interpreting international indices critically, and ensuring that benchmarking exercises reflect the realities of our domestic economy," Dr Ruane added.
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