Conor Stewart
Research expert covering health & pharmaceuticals in the UK & Europe
State of health in Ireland - statistics & facts
In Ireland, the average life expectancy at birth in 2021 was almost 83 years. As is the case across the world, life expectancy was higher among women compared to men. Variations in healthy life expectancies can also depend on socioeconomic factors and geography. Steady yearly increases in life expectancy were undone in the COVID-19 pandemic affected year of 2020 when life expectancy fell in Ireland for the first time in many years.
General health
Ireland and many developed countries alike are confronted with an aging population. As well as the economic issues that can arise from an aging population, aging also brings an increased individual risk of developing chronic diseases and illnesses. Furthermore, the risk of developing chronic diseases is raised by risk factors such as alcohol use, tobacco use, unhealthy diet, and/or lack of physical activity. In Ireland, just under seven percent of GDP is spent on health, which is one of the lowest shares in Europe. Over 90 percent of 15- to 24-year-olds in Ireland class themselves as in good or very good health. On the other hand, around 70 percent of those aged 65 years and older categorized themselves in the same regard. In 2020, 56 percent of adults were classed as overweight or obese, defined as having a body mass index greater than 25.Health care facilities
In 2020, Ireland had 86 hospitals in operation with around 14.4 thousand hospital beds. Ireland has a comprehensive health system with a government funded public health service as well as a private health care service. Anyone who has been a resident of Ireland for at least one year is eligible to receive health care publicly. The Irish health system has experienced overcrowding in hospitals in recent years, and this has led to many patients having to wait on trolleys while waiting for a hospital bed. This ‘trolley crisis’ saw a peak of 9.6 thousand patients on hospital trolleys in a month in 2019. Post-COVID these high numbers of patients returned and in August 2022, over 9.6 thousand patients were once again forced to wait on trolleys due to a lack of hospital beds. This issue, which may be exacerbated by an aging population, will need to be addressed otherwise health experts warn of a public health crisis.
