The "Celtic Tiger" (Irish: An Tíogar Ceilteach) is a term referring to the economy of Ireland from the mid-1990s to the late 2000s, a period of rapid real economic growth fuelled by foreign direct investment. The boom was dampened by a subsequent property bubble which resulted in a severe economic downturn.
At the start of the 1990s, Ireland was a relatively poor country by Western European standards, with high poverty, high unemployment, inflation, and low economic growth.[1] The Irish economy expanded at an average rate of 9.4% between 1995 and 2000, and continued to grow at an average rate of 5.9% during the following decade until 2008, when it fell into recession. Ireland's rapid economic growth has been described as a rare example of a Western country matching the growth of East Asian nations, i.e. the 'Four Asian Tigers'.[2]
The economy underwent a dramatic reversal from 2008,[3] affected by the Great Recession and ensuing European debt crisis, with GDP contracting by 14%[4] and unemployment levels rising to 14% by 2011.[5] The recession lasted until 2014. In 2015, the economy posted a growth rate of 6.7% marked the beginning of a new period of strong economic growth.[6]
- ^ Alvarez, Lizette (2 February 2005). "Suddenly Rich, Poor Old Ireland Seems Bewildered". The New York Times. Retrieved 5 April 2018.
- ^ "The luck of the Irish". The Economist. Retrieved 5 April 2018.
- ^ [1] [dead link]
- ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 23 June 2014. Retrieved 29 April 2009.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ^ [2] [dead link]
- ^ "Doing the maths: how real is Ireland's economic growth?". Irish Independent. 3 January 2016.