If you lived in Ireland instead of France, you would:

Health

see 27.7% more spent on your healthcare

France spends $6,868 per person on healthcare as of 2024 (international dollars, adjusted for prices). Ireland spends $8,772 as of 2024.

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have 18.1% more doctors per person

France has 32.8 doctors per 10,000 people as of 2022. Ireland has 38.8 as of 2023.

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be 48.4% less likely to die by suicide

France has a suicide rate of 16.6 per 100,000 people as of 2021. In Ireland, it is 8.6 per 100,000 as of 2021.

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be 2.5 times more likely to be obese

In France, 11.2% of adults are obese as of 2024. In Ireland, that number is 27.9% of people as of 2024.

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Economy

be 38.6% less likely to be unemployed

In France, 7.5% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In Ireland, that number is 4.6% as of 2025.

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be 10.3% less likely to live below the poverty line

In France, 15.6% live below the poverty line as of 2021. In Ireland, however, that number is 14.0% as of 2021.

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make 2.7 times more money

France has a GDP per capita of $48,986 as of 2025, while in Ireland, the GDP per capita is $131,592 as of 2025.

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Life

be 42.9% less likely to die during childbirth

In France, approximately 7.0 women die from pregnancy or childbirth per 100,000 live births as of 2023. In Ireland, 4.0 women do as of 2023.

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Expenditures

spend 45.5% less on education

France spends 5.3% of its total GDP on education as of 2022. Ireland spends 2.9% of total GDP on education as of 2021.

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spend 40.6% less on healthcare

France spends 11.5% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2024. In Ireland, that number is 6.8% of GDP as of 2024.

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Geography

see 70.2% less coastline

France has a total of 4,853 km of coastline. In Ireland, that number is 1,448 km.

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Safety

be 51.5% less likely to be murdered

France has a homicide rate of 1.3 per 100,000 people as of 2023. In Ireland, that number is 0.7 per 100,000 as of 2023.

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be 40.4% less likely to die in a road accident

In France, road accidents kill 4.7 people per 100,000 as of 2021. In Ireland, they kill 2.8 per 100,000 as of 2021.

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Infrastructure

live with 62.3% less strain on fresh water

France withdraws 21% of its available fresh water each year as of 2022. Ireland withdraws 8% as of 2022.

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find 34.0% less home broadband

France has 48.9 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people as of 2024. Ireland has 32.3 as of 2024.

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Environment

be 30.0% more likely to die from air pollution

In France, air pollution causes 10.0 deaths per 100,000 people as of 2019. In Ireland, it causes 13.0 as of 2019.

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emit 51.0% more CO2

France emits 4.0 tonnes of CO2 per person each year as of 2024. Ireland emits 6.0 tonnes as of 2024.

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Sources: World Bank (2021–2025), United Nations SDG Indicators (2019–2021), World Health Organization (2024), The World Factbook. How we calculate this

Ireland: At a glance

Ireland is a sovereign country in Europe, with a total land area of approximately 68,883 sq km. Celtic tribes arrived on the island between 600 and 150 B.C. Invasions by Norsemen that began in the late 8th century were finally ended when King Brian BORU defeated the Danes in 1014. Norman invasions began in the 12th century and set off more than seven centuries of Anglo-Irish struggle marked by fierce rebellions and harsh repressions. The Irish famine of the mid-19th century saw the population of the island drop by one third through starvation and emigration. For more than a century after that the population of the island continued to fall only to begin growing again in the 1960s. Over the last 50 years, Ireland's high birthrate has made it demographically one of the youngest populations in the EU. The modern Irish state traces its origins to the failed 1916 Easter Monday Uprising which touched off several years of guerrilla warfare resulting in independence from the UK in 1921 for 26 southern counties; six northern counties remained part of the UK. Unresolved issues in Northern Ireland erupted into years of violence known as the "Troubles" that began in the 1960s. The Government of Ireland was part of a process along with the UK and US Governments that helped broker what is known as The Good Friday Agreement in Northern Ireland in 1998. This initiated a new phase of cooperation between Irish and British governments. Ireland was neutral in World War II and continues its policy of military neutrality. Ireland joined the European Community in 1973 and the Eurozone currency union in 1999. The economic boom years of the Celtic Tiger (1995-2007) saw rapid economic growth, which came to an abrupt end in 2008 with the meltdown of the Irish banking system. Today the economy is recovering, fueled by large and growing foreign direct investment, especially from US multi-nationals.
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