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Country guide· 24 min read

Ireland rankings 2026: where Ireland places in 170 global Top 10s

Ireland is #1 in Biggest exporters of ICT services, #1 in 3 rankings and inside the top 10 of 52 rankings. Every position, value and source, regenerated as the data refreshes.

Ireland appears in 170 of the 491 live country rankings on Top10Earth. This guide walks through every one of them: where Ireland is number one, where it makes the top 10, where it sits further down the table, and what has moved since the previous snapshot. Its best position is #1 in Biggest exporters of ICT services, where it is measured at 358.8k BoP, current US$ million (ICT service exports) as of 2026-10-29. Ireland holds the #1 spot in 3 rankings and finishes inside the top 10 in 52 rankings.

Where Ireland is number one

These are the rankings Ireland currently tops. The next country in each table is listed too, because a #1 by a whisker and a #1 by a mile are different stories.

Top 10 finishes

Ireland is inside the top 10 of 49 further rankings beyond the ones it leads. Each entry names the country directly above it, which is the position to beat at the next refresh.

The remaining 37 top-10 positions are in the full list at the end of this guide.

Ireland by theme

The rankings are grouped by category below, so the economic picture, the health picture and the environmental picture can be read separately. Positions are out of the number of countries each source reports, which differs by ranking.

Finance and crypto

In finance and crypto, Ireland holds 49 positions: #1 of 50 in Biggest exporters of ICT services (358.8k BoP, current US$ million), #1 of 50 in Countries by charges for the use of intellectual property, payments (209.5k BoP, current US$ million), #2 of 50 in Countries by net trade in goods (221.97 BoP, current US$ bn) and #2 of 50 in Countries by net trade in goods and services (243.59 BoP, current US$ bn). 45 more rankings are listed below.

Environment and energy

In environment and energy, Ireland holds 33 positions: #6 of 50 in Countries with the highest plug-in hybrid share of car sales (15.02 %), #8 of 50 in Countries generating the most plastic waste per person (0.43 kg per person per day), #11 of 50 in Countries with the largest share of global plastic waste exports (2.21 %) and #16 of 50 in Countries with the highest CO2 emissions from cement per person (0.35 tonnes per person). 29 more rankings are listed below.

Food and agriculture

In food and agriculture, Ireland holds 28 positions: #2 of 50 in Countries using the most cereals for animal feed (83.55 %), #2 of 50 in Countries with the highest dry pea yields (5.74 tonnes per hectare), #2 of 50 in Countries with the highest rapeseed yields (4.08 tonnes per hectare) and #2 of 50 in Countries with the highest wheat yields (8.14 tonnes per hectare). 24 more rankings are listed below.

Health and wellbeing

In health and wellbeing, Ireland holds 25 positions: #2 of 50 in Countries with the most adults who drank alcohol in the last year (83.21 %), #4 of 50 in Countries with the most nurses and midwives per 1,000 people (14.78 per 1,000 people), #8 of 50 in Countries spending the most on health per person (7,394.85 US$) and #8 of 50 in Countries with the highest drug-related death rates (4.86 per 100,000 people). 21 more rankings are listed below.

World and society

In world and society, Ireland holds 21 positions: #2 of 50 in Countries with the highest share of adults with a bachelor's degree (41.85 % of population 25+), #5 of 50 in Countries with the highest share of adults with post-secondary education (63.32 %), #6 of 41 in Countries with the oldest liberal democracies (102 years) and #8 of 50 in Countries with the highest share of adults with tertiary education (50.3 %). 17 more rankings are listed below.

Education and science

In education and science, Ireland holds 7 positions: #2 of 50 in Countries with the most students reaching minimum reading level (lower sec.) (88.56 %), #7 of 50 in Countries with the most students reaching minimum maths level (lower sec.) (80.97 %), #16 of 50 in Countries with the most researchers per million people (5,752.8 per million people) and #18 of 50 in Countries with the highest primary school completion rates (99.8 %). 3 more rankings are listed below.

Travel

In travel, Ireland holds 4 positions: #3 of 50 in Countries with the most air passengers (192.53 million), #4 of 50 in Countries with the most airline departures (1,108.61 thousand), #23 of 50 in Most-visited countries by international arrivals (10.95 million) and #40 of 50 in Countries earning the most from tourism (4.16 US$ bn).

Consumer tech

In consumer tech, Ireland holds 3 positions: #1 of 50 in Countries by communications, computer, etc. (84.64 % of service imports, BoP), #16 of 50 in Countries with the highest share of people using the internet (97.19 %) and #18 of 50 in Countries with the most internet users (share of population) (97.19 % of population).

What changed at the latest refresh

Comparing each ranking's newest snapshot with the one before it, Ireland moved in 153 rankings:

Since the first snapshot

Top10Earth keeps every snapshot it publishes. Where a ranking has been captured at least three times, the first recorded position can be compared with today's:

Where Ireland ranks lowest

A guide that only listed wins would be misleading. Ireland's lowest current positions are 50th of 50 in Countries producing the most farmed fish (37.63 thousand metric tons), 50th of 50 in Countries with the highest nitrous oxide emissions (8.32 Mt CO2e) and 50th of 50 in Countries with the highest share of people using safely managed sanitation (81.26 %). Whether a low position is good or bad depends on the metric: being near the bottom of an emissions or mortality ranking is the better place to be.

Every ranking that includes Ireland

How to read these numbers

Each ranking measures one metric from one named source at one time, so a #3 in one table and a #3 in another are not directly comparable. Countries also report in different years: the capture date is when Top10Earth fetched the data, while the source's own year is stated on each ranking page under methodology. For a side-by-side with another country on the same measures, open any ranking and use the head-to-head links, or visit Ireland's entity page for the live table and rank-history chart.

Top10Earth never estimates or edits a value. Each number is fetched from its source on a schedule, hashed, stored and ranked by software, then checked by a quality gate before it is published. If a refresh fails that gate the previous snapshot stays live and a person looks at why. Every past snapshot is kept, which is what makes the rank-history charts on each ranking page possible.

Questions people ask about Ireland

What is Ireland's best ranking on Top10Earth?

#1 in Biggest exporters of ICT services, with 358.8k BoP, current US$ million (ICT service exports) as of 2026-10-29.

How many rankings include Ireland?

170 current country rankings out of 491 on the site, including 3 rankings where it is #1.

Is Ireland in the top 10 of anything?

Yes: 52 rankings, including #1 in Biggest exporters of ICT services, #1 in Countries by charges for the use of intellectual property, payments and #1 in Countries by communications, computer, etc..

Where do the numbers come from?

From World Bank Open Data and Our World in Data. Each ranking page names its source, metric definition and capture date.

When was this guide last updated?

The newest snapshot used here was captured on 2026-11-02. The guide is regenerated automatically as rankings refresh.

Live table and history →

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