Quality of life comparison
If you lived in Germany instead of Ireland, you would:
Health
be 26.0% less likely to be obese
In Ireland, 27.9% of adults are obese as of 2024. In Germany, that number is 20.6% of people as of 2024.
have 17.0% more doctors per person
Ireland has 38.8 doctors per 10,000 people as of 2023. Germany has 45.3 as of 2022.
live 2.2 years less
In Ireland, the average life expectancy is 83 years (81 years for men, 85 years for women) as of 2024. In Germany, that number is 81 years (78 years for men, 83 years for women) as of 2024.
be 50.9% more likely to die by suicide
Ireland has a suicide rate of 8.6 per 100,000 people as of 2021. In Germany, it is 12.9 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Economy
be 19.9% less likely to be unemployed
In Ireland, 4.6% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In Germany, that number is 3.7% as of 2025.
make 54.0% less money
Ireland has a GDP per capita of $131,592 as of 2025, while in Germany, the GDP per capita is $60,496 as of 2025.
Life
have 19.0% fewer children
In Ireland, there are approximately 10.0 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Germany, there are 8.1 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.
Expenditures
spend 80.7% more on education
Ireland spends 2.9% of its total GDP on education as of 2021. Germany spends 5.2% of total GDP on education as of 2022.
spend 79.1% more on healthcare
Ireland spends 6.8% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2024. In Germany, that number is 12.3% of GDP as of 2024.
Geography
see 65.0% more coastline
Ireland has a total of 1,448 km of coastline. In Germany, that number is 2,389 km.
Safety
be 40.0% more likely to be murdered
Ireland has a homicide rate of 0.7 per 100,000 people as of 2023. In Germany, that number is 0.9 per 100,000 as of 2023.
be 17.9% more likely to die in a road accident
In Ireland, road accidents kill 2.8 people per 100,000 as of 2021. In Germany, they kill 3.3 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Infrastructure
find 41.2% more home broadband
Ireland has 32.3 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people as of 2024. Germany has 45.6 as of 2024.
live with 4.4 times more strain on fresh water
Ireland withdraws 8% of its available fresh water each year as of 2022. Germany withdraws 35% as of 2022.
Environment
be 15.4% more likely to die from air pollution
In Ireland, air pollution causes 13.0 deaths per 100,000 people as of 2019. In Germany, it causes 15.0 as of 2019.
emit 14.9% more CO2
Ireland emits 6.0 tonnes of CO2 per person each year as of 2024. Germany emits 6.9 tonnes as of 2024.
Sources: World Bank (2021–2025), United Nations SDG Indicators (2019–2021), World Health Organization (2024), The World Factbook. How we calculate this
Compare further: Ireland vs. Germany
Germany: At a glance
How big is Germany compared to Ireland? See an in-depth size comparison.