Dubliners have far higher disposable income than the rest of the country

Only six counties in the State exceeded the average per capita disposable income in 2018

Per capita incomes is a measure of money earned per person in a region. File photo

Dublin has by far the highest disposable income in the country, increasing every year and pulling away from counties closest to it in figures, the latest available data has found.

Central Statistics Office (CSO) figures for 2018 showed that both the city and county of Dublin were far and away ahead of the next highest county of Kildare when it came to spending power for each worker after taxes and social insurance contributions were deducted.

Average disposable income in the Dublin region was €24,969, the CSO said, which is 17.4% higher than the State average of €21,270.

The latest average available saw a year-on-year increase of 5.7% for Dublin, where incomes were 6.2% higher than those of the next highest county, Kildare which in turn was 10% above the average.

Statistician John Milne said: "Dublin, Kildare, Limerick, Wicklow, Meath and Cork in that order, are the only counties where per capita disposable income exceeded the State average of €21,270 in 2018."

Average Income Highest in Dublin Region in 2018https://t.co/fkcUb85b2u #CSOIreland #Ireland #NationalAccounts #Economy #Macroeconomics #EconomicIndicators #CapitalStocks #FixedAssets #GovernmentFinances #GovernmentAccounts #RegionalGDP #CountyIncomes pic.twitter.com/C1023FmsiX

— Central Statistics Office Ireland (@CSOIreland) February 24, 2021

Per capita incomes is a measure of money earned per person in a region.

The gap between the regions widened to €7,578 in 2018, due to Dublin regional incomes increasing by 5.7%, or almost €1,350, while those of the lowest region, around the border, increased by only €199, or 1.2%, Mr Milne said.

Some counties have never had per capita disposable income greater than the State average during the entire period 2004 to 2018, the CSO added.

Meanwhile, Ireland emerged as the leader across the EU in 2018 when it came to the percentage of graduates in the so-called STEM subjects, the CSO data shows.

Science, technology, engineering and maths graduates accounted for just over 35 per 1,000 people aged between 20 and 29 in Ireland, while the EU average was under 20.

More than half of people aged between 25 and 34 in Ireland had a third-level qualification in 2019, above the EU average of 38.5%, and the fourth highest rate in the bloc.

Ireland had the highest rate of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) graduates in the EU27 in 2018https://t.co/xWr4FVCURF #CSOIreland #Ireland #MeasuringProgress #Population #HouseholdConsumption #Health #Healthcare #STEM #STEMgraduates #graduates #Education pic.twitter.com/Xp585ljMWJ

— Central Statistics Office Ireland (@CSOIreland) February 24, 2021

When it comes to remaining healthy overall, women in Ireland could on average expect to live just over 70 years in a relatively healthy state in 2018, or just over six years above the EU average. 

Men in Ireland in 2018 could expect to live around 68.5 years in relatively good health, or nearly five years above the EU average.

Irish women should expect to spend around 16% of their life expectancy in poor health, the fourth lowest rate in the EU. Slovenia, Finland and Estonia had the highest rates, expecting to spend at least a third of their life in poor health.

Irish men can expect to spend 15% of their life expectancy in poor health, also the fourth lowest rate in the EU. Estonia, Austria, Slovenia, Latvia and Finland can anticipate spending over a quarter of their life expectancy in poor health, the CSO said.

When it came to domestic transport in 2018, Ireland had 445 passenger cars per 1,000 inhabitants, the seventh-lowest in the EU.