The annual overview of Irish life was published today, with experts claiming we are healthier, wealthier and wiser than ever.
The population grew by 5,000 in 2006 to 4,239,848, and Irish people are living longer, with the death rate falling steadily and life expectancy up to 81 for women and 76 for men.
The figures were included in the Statistical Yearbook of Ireland 2007from the Central Statistics Office.
More than two million people are working in Ireland and the average industrial wage is €31,252.
SSIAs were worth in the region of €15 billion when they finally matured, and one-third of savers spent the cash on home improvements, foreign holidays and cars.
Personal lending by banks and finance houses has more than trebled from €39 billion in 2000 to €134 billion in 2006.
The number of people getting illness, disability and caring payments rose by 43 per cent between 1999 and 2006 with €13 billion spent on social welfare.
But the wealth generated by years of successful business at home and abroad has not reached everyone. Almost a fifth 19 per cent of the population, 847,969 people, were estimated to be at risk of poverty", while 7 per cent, 296,789, were considered to be in consistent poverty.
The Statistical Yearbooknoted the improvements in education, with almost a quarter of those aged 15-64 in 2006 holding a third-level qualification. Females are more likely to go on to higher or further education.
A total of 103,924 headline offences were recorded in 2006, up from 102,258 in 2005.
PA