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Ireland

Antje Binder, Hilke Fischer / hwApril 22, 2013

National debt, youth unemployment - the economic crisis has drastically worsened the situation in many countries. There are lots of statistics on the issue, but here we consider them from a different perspective.

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Image: DW/A. Binder
Birth rate statistics for Ireland
Image: DW/A.Binder

The financial crisis has not kept the Irish from having children. Quite the opposite in fact: In the crisis year of 2009, the birth rate in the country was at its highest in the past 120 years. Experts believe that the bleak economic outlook is forcing many people to take a career break. At the same time, rents prices actually fell, making it a good time to expand families.

Youth unemployment statistics for Ireland
Image: DW/A.Binder

In 2008, the numbers of unemployed people between the ages of 15 and 24 in Germany and Ireland were roughly the same. In the meantime, four times as many young people in Ireland are now looking for work as compared to Germany. According to a study, around 70 percent of young Irish were considering leaving the country in 2011.

National debt in Ireland
Image: DW/A.Binder

National debt in Ireland wasn't a big issue until the real estate bubble burst and the country was forced to bail out its banks. Ireland invested more than 30 billion euros ($38.6 billion) in saving Anglo Irish Bank alone. The result: The budget deficit rose to an astronomical 31 percent in 2011. According to the terms of the Maastricht Treaty, only a deficit of three percent is permissible.