Ireland's economy produced €602.4 billion of goods and services in 2025, measured by Gross Domestic Product (GDP). The Central Statistics Office (CSO), Ireland's statistics agency, also publishes a modified measure of national income. It removes the effects of global companies. On that measure, Ireland's income was €334.0 billion, or 55.4% of GDP.
GDP counts what is produced inside a country's borders. Gross National Product (GNP) and Gross National Income (GNI) count what the country's residents earn, wherever they earn it. In the US and the UK, these measures sat within 1.2% of each other in 2025. This guide explains each one, plus GDP per capita and purchasing power parity (PPP), with 2025 figures for the US, the UK and Ireland.
What is the difference between GDP and GNP? GDP measures the output produced inside a country's borders, whoever owns the business. GNP measures the output of a country's residents, wherever they earn it: GDP plus income earned abroad, minus income paid to foreigners.
Gross National Income (GNI) is the same idea as GNP, added up from incomes instead of spending. In 2025, US GNI was $46.4 billion higher than US GNP, because the two data sources differ slightly.
GDP per capita is GDP divided by the population. Purchasing power parity (PPP) converts it into dollars at rates that allow for local prices. UK GDP per capita in 2025 was $57,602 at market exchange rates and $64,606 at PPP.
Ireland shows the largest gap between output and income. Its modified GNI (GNI*) removes the effects of global companies. It was 55.4% of GDP in 2025.
GDP vs GNP: where output is made vs who earns it
GDP counts everything produced inside a country's borders, whoever owns the business. We explain how it is built in What Is GDP?
A factory in Ohio owned by a Japanese company adds to US GDP. The profit it sends back to Japan does not count in US GNP. It counts in Japan's GNP instead.
The formula links the two:
GNP = GDP + income residents earn abroad − income paid to people and companies abroad.
The income here is wages, interest, dividends and company profits that cross borders.
The US Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) defines GNP as output "produced by labor and property supplied by U.S. residents, regardless of where they are located". GNP was the main US measure of production until 1991, when GDP replaced it.
GNP vs GNI: the same income, measured another way
GNI covers the same ground as GNP. The difference is in how it is added up.
In the US accounts, GNP starts from spending on goods and services. GNI starts from the incomes earned in producing them. In theory the two match. In practice, the BEA's data on spending and on incomes give slightly different totals.
That gap is called the statistical discrepancy. In 2025, it made US GNI $46.4 billion higher than US GNP.
In European Union (EU) countries, one more item separates the two. Ireland's GNI adds the subsidies Ireland receives from the EU to GNP, then takes off the taxes it pays to the EU. In 2025, those came to €1.2 billion in and €0.6 billion out.
The UK's Office for National Statistics (ONS) and the World Bank publish GNI. The BEA publishes both GNP and GNI.
US and UK figures for 2025 on each measure
Measure, 2025 | United States | United Kingdom |
|---|---|---|
Gross Domestic Product (GDP) | $30.86 trillion | £3.04 trillion |
Gross National Product (GNP) | $30.85 trillion | Not shown: the ONS publishes GNI |
Gross National Income (GNI) | $30.89 trillion | £3.01 trillion |
GNI as a % of GDP | 100.1% | 98.8% |
GDP per capita | $90,252 | £43,815 |
Source: BEA; ONS; YX Insights
US GDP was $30.86 trillion in 2025. GNP was $30.85 trillion, while GNI was $30.89 trillion.
US residents received $1,564.6 billion of income from abroad in 2025. They paid $1,579.8 billion to people and companies abroad. So US GNP was $15.2 billion below GDP, a gap of 0.05%.
The UK paid out more income abroad than it took in. Its GNI was £35.3 billion below its GDP, or 98.8% of it. Both countries' figures come from the latest official releases, published on 30 September 2026.
GDP vs GNI in the US, the UK and Ireland
Source: BEA; ONS; CSO; YX Insights
The chart shows GNI as a % of GDP. In the US it was 100.1% in 2025. In the UK it was 98.8%. In Ireland it was 71.4%.
Ireland paid a net €173.0 billion of income abroad in 2025, or 28.7% of its GDP. The CSO says GDP growth of 8.0% in 2025 was "driven by multinational-dominated sectors".
In the CSO's words, "a lot of Ireland's GDP includes profits that are generated here but then go straight out to the owners of companies abroad".
Ireland's modified GNI (GNI*)
Global companies still affect Ireland's GNI. So the CSO also publishes Modified Gross National Income, or GNI*. In the CSO's words, it is "designed to exclude globalisation effects". The CSO makes three cuts to GNI:
Wear and tear on intellectual property, €69.4 billion. Patents and similar rights lose value each year, much like machines. The CSO notes that these assets are "easily moved", so they can make GNI jump.
Income of redomiciled companies, €16.3 billion. These are companies that have moved their legal home to Ireland. The CSO says their head offices "have little interaction with the Irish economy".
Wear and tear on leased aircraft, €10.3 billion. Planes owned by leasing firms in Ireland add to GNI. The CSO says they have "a much lower impact on the domestic economy".
Together, the cuts came to €96.0 billion. They take GNI of €430.0 billion down to GNI* of €334.0 billion.
Source: CSO; YX Insights
Ireland's GDP nearly doubled from €308.2 billion in 2017 to €602.4 billion in 2025. GNI* grew more slowly, from €184.6 billion to €334.0 billion. So its share of GDP fell from 59.9% in 2017 to 55.4% in 2025.
The growth rates differ too. After stripping out price changes, GDP grew 8.0% in 2025, while GNI* grew 4.7%.
GDP per capita and GDP at purchasing power parity
GDP per capita is GDP divided by the number of people. It measures output per person, a rough guide to living standards. US GDP per capita was $90,252 in 2025, by the BEA's estimate. UK GDP per capita was £43,815, by the ONS's estimate.
To compare the two, the pounds must become dollars. There are two ways:
Market exchange rates. The World Bank's average for 2025 was £0.759 per dollar.
Purchasing power parity (PPP). This rate reflects what money buys locally. The World Bank estimates that £0.677 bought as much in the UK in 2025 as $1 bought in the US.
Source: World Bank; YX Insights
At market exchange rates, UK GDP per capita was $57,602, or 64% of the US level. At PPP it was $64,606, or 72%. The UK figure rises because prices in the UK were about 89% of US prices.
The chart uses the World Bank's figures, published in July 2026. They come from earlier estimates, so they differ slightly from the BEA and ONS figures above. The World Bank gives $90,027 for the US.
PPP is a way of converting GDP into one currency. It works alongside GDP. The World Bank calls PPP comparisons "more appropriate for comparing the output of economies and the average material well-being of their inhabitants". Market rates show what an economy's output is worth in world markets.
Which measure to use
Each measure answers a different question:
How big is the economy? How fast is it growing? Use GDP.
How much do the country's residents earn? Use GNI, or GNP. The answer differs most where foreign ownership is large.
How well off is the average person, compared with other countries? Use GDP per capita at PPP, while remembering it says nothing about how income is shared.
How is Ireland's economy doing? Use GNI*. The CSO designed it to exclude the effects of global companies.
In the US and the UK, the gap between GDP and GNI is small. In Ireland, GNI was 71.4% of GDP in 2025. GNI* was 55.4%. At PPP, UK output per person was 72% of the US level.
GDP measures what is produced inside a country, while GNP and GNI measure what its residents earn. GDP per capita divides that output by the population.
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Common questions about GDP, GNP and GNI
What is the difference between GDP and GNP?
GDP measures the output produced inside a country's borders, whoever owns it. GNP measures the output and income of a country's residents, wherever it is earned. GNP equals GDP plus income earned abroad, minus income paid abroad. In the US in 2025, GNP was $15.2 billion below GDP, a gap of 0.05%.
Is GNI the same as GNP?
GNI and GNP cover the same idea: the income of a country's residents. In the US accounts, GNI adds up incomes while GNP adds up spending, so they differ by a statistical gap. In 2025, US GNI was $46.4 billion higher than US GNP. In EU countries, GNI also adds EU subsidies and takes off taxes paid to the EU.
What is GDP per capita?
GDP per capita is a country's GDP divided by its population. It shows output per person, a rough guide to living standards. US GDP per capita was $90,252 in 2025, according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis. UK GDP per capita was £43,815, according to the Office for National Statistics.
Should you compare countries using GDP or PPP?
Use GDP at purchasing power parity (PPP) to compare living standards. Use market exchange rates to compare what output is worth in world markets. PPP is a way of converting GDP into one currency, so it works alongside GDP. UK GDP per capita in 2025 was $57,602 at market rates and $64,606 at PPP.
Why is Ireland's GDP so much higher than its GNI?
Ireland's GDP includes large profits made by global companies in Ireland, which go to their owners abroad. In 2025, Ireland paid a net €173.0 billion of income abroad. Its GNI was 71.4% of GDP. The Central Statistics Office's modified measure, GNI*, which also removes other global-company effects, was 55.4% of GDP.
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