Nearly one-in-ten Irish people of working age has left the country for another EU state.
Figures from Eurostat reveal that Ireland has the seventh highest rate of emigration to Europe among citizens of working age.
However the country is the only one in the top ten to have seen a reduction in the percentage between 2007 and 2017.
Some 9% of Irish people between the ages of 20 and 64 are living in a different EU member state – significantly higher than the EU average of just 3.8%.
Image: EU Commission
Grace Bolton of the EU Commission in Ireland says Romania has the most people working outside its own country while Germany and the UK have the least:
“These figures tell us that 9% people of working age are living in another EU member state,” she said.
“This compares with 4% of the EU average; one-in-five (19.7%) from Romania - and the UK and Germany where only 1% of all citizens of working age are living in another EU state.”
The figures also reveal that 30.1% of EU nationals have a third level education.
The total EU employment rate sits at 72.1%.
