Choosing a country in which to base your business, whether a fully-funded multinational or a seeded start-up, inevitably comes down to numbers.

There’s no one formula that can be applied to every business and no single calculation that can make the decision simple. But, while you break down your numbers, let us show you ours.

Competitive, Educated and Young

With a population of just 4.75m, we are small but agile. We are competitive, young, and educated. We rank in first place in The IMD World Competitiveness Yearbook for Labour Productivity, Investment Incentives, National Culture, Flexibility and Adaptability, Attracting and Retaining Talent, and Attitudes Towards Globalisation – making us the second most competitive economy in the EU and 6th most competitive in the world. One-third of us are under 25 and almost 50% are under 34, making us the youngest population in the EU. More than half of our 24-34 year-olds have third-level qualifications, making us one of the most educated workforces in the world.

Our education system is considered among the best in the world , topping global rankings for quality, meeting the needs of a competitive economy and enabling the transfer of knowledge between universities and businesses. Our students are inventive, adaptable and tech-centric. Of the 220,000 students enrolled in third-level education in 2015/16, more than a quarter were studying science, technology, engineering and maths courses – about the same number as were studying social sciences, business, and law.

We’re Home to Many

Here is where 15 of the top 25 financial services companies have set down roots. Here is where more than half a million non-Irish nationals, 17% of the country’s population, call home. Our corporate tax rate of 12.5%  is competitive and transparent, and we are the only English-speaking country in the Eurozone. With more than 500 weekly flights to Britain and 150 flights to the US , we are connected by more than language.

We are Ireland, but we are proud to be European. We are strong, we are resilient, and we are growing fast. Investing in Ireland means investing in the Eurozone’s number one fastest growing economy .