Quality of life comparison
If you lived in Romania instead of Ireland, you would:
Health
live 6.6 years less
In Ireland, the average life expectancy is 83 years (81 years for men, 85 years for women) as of 2024. In Romania, that number is 76 years (73 years for men, 80 years for women) as of 2024.
be 16.3% more likely to be obese
In Ireland, 27.9% of adults are obese as of 2024. In Romania, that number is 32.4% of people as of 2024.
see 70.2% less spent on your healthcare
Ireland spends $8,772 per person on healthcare as of 2024 (international dollars, adjusted for prices). Romania spends $2,614 as of 2023.
be 12.5% more likely to die by suicide
Ireland has a suicide rate of 8.6 per 100,000 people as of 2021. In Romania, it is 9.6 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Economy
be 29.4% more likely to be unemployed
In Ireland, 4.6% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In Romania, that number is 6.0% as of 2025.
be 31.4% more likely to live below the poverty line
In Ireland, 14.0% live below the poverty line as of 2021. In Romania, however, that number is 18.4% as of 2024.
make 82.9% less money
Ireland has a GDP per capita of $131,592 as of 2025, while in Romania, the GDP per capita is $22,538 as of 2025.
Life
be 3.0 times more likely to die during childbirth
In Ireland, approximately 4.0 women die from pregnancy or childbirth per 100,000 live births as of 2023. In Romania, 12.0 women do as of 2023.
be 76.5% more likely to die during infancy
In Ireland, approximately 3.4 children (per 1,000 live births) die before they reach the age of one as of 2024. In Romania, on the other hand, 6.0 children do as of 2024.
have 25.0% fewer children
In Ireland, there are approximately 10.0 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Romania, there are 7.5 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.
Expenditures
spend 16.6% less on healthcare
Ireland spends 6.8% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2024. In Romania, that number is 5.7% of GDP as of 2023.
spend 13.1% more on education
Ireland spends 2.9% of its total GDP on education as of 2021. Romania spends 3.3% of total GDP on education as of 2022.
Geography
see 84.5% less coastline
Ireland has a total of 1,448 km of coastline. In Romania, that number is 225 km.
Safety
be 70.8% more likely to be murdered
Ireland has a homicide rate of 0.7 per 100,000 people as of 2023. In Romania, that number is 1.1 per 100,000 as of 2023.
be 3.4 times more likely to die in a road accident
In Ireland, road accidents kill 2.8 people per 100,000 as of 2021. In Romania, they kill 9.6 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Infrastructure
find 10.8% more home broadband
Ireland has 32.3 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people as of 2024. Romania has 35.8 as of 2024.
use 59.0% less electricity
Ireland uses 6,298 kWh of electricity per person each year as of 2024. Romania uses 2,585 kWh as of 2023.
Environment
emit 38.4% less CO2
Ireland emits 6.0 tonnes of CO2 per person each year as of 2024. Romania emits 3.7 tonnes as of 2024.
be 3.5 times more likely to die from air pollution
In Ireland, air pollution causes 13.0 deaths per 100,000 people as of 2019. In Romania, it causes 46.0 as of 2019.
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. Romania
Romania: At a glance
How big is Romania compared to Ireland? See an in-depth size comparison.