Saving statistics: Ireland 2022

Savings may have skyrocketed over the course of the pandemic, but the cost of living worldwide has increased significantly. The average household savings among Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) nations are predicted to dip by 6 percentage points from 2020 to 2022 according to Finder’s analysis of data from the OECD

Key Statistics

Quick summary:

• Ireland ranks 16th out of 29 markets for predicted savings, behind the US and Australia but ahead of Italy and New Zealand.
• Households will save about 7% of their disposable income in 2022, on par with the global average.
• The Irish savings rate dropped significantly from a high of 21% in 2020. This represents the biggest drop in household savings of the countries analysed.
• Irish household savings average at around €2,000 in 2022, €4,577 less than they would have saved in 2020.
• Household savings are predicted to drop by an average of €1,979 across all OECD nations.

Drop in Irish household savings

• Irish households are expected to save 7% of their disposable income in 2022.
• With an average disposable income of €30,762, this means that Irish households are setting aside €2,000 for their savings in 2022.
• This ranks Ireland 16th in terms of top savers across the OECD nations, a significant drop from their 2nd place spot in 2020 when average savings was 21%.

• Household savings
• Table

How Ireland compares to the rest of the world

• On average, households in countries included in the OECD are expected to save 7% of their disposable income in 2022.
• Leading the way are the Swiss who are forecasted to save a fifth (20%) of their household income. This is followed by Luxembourg at 17% and Sweden at 14%.
• In euros, this means the Swiss are saving an estimated €8,324 on average in 2022. Luxembourgers don’t fall too far behind at €8,080, followed by the Swedes at €4,856.
• Countries and regions on par with the global average are Austria, Slovenia, Estonia and the euro area whose households are expected to save 7% of their disposable income.
• On the other end of the spectrum are Polish adults who are predicted to have no savings in 2022. In fact, Polish households may go into debt in 2022, spending approximately €222 more than they earn this year. Kiwis are also expected to go into debt in 2022, with the average household spending €81 more than they earn (around 0.2% of their disposable income).

• Forecasted savings in %
• Forecasted savings in EUR

Global drop in household savings

• Globally, households are saving about 6 percentage points less of their disposable income now than they would have in 2020. In 2020, household savings averaged 13%, much higher compared to the predicted 7% for 2022.
• This means savings dropped by an average of €1,979 across the OECD nations.
• Ireland is expected to see the biggest drop in savings from 21% down to just 7% in 2022, approximately €4,577 less than their average savings in 2020.
• This is followed by the Czech Republic (-11% or €2,929), Italy (-9% or €2,822), Slovenia (-9% or €2,358) and Canada (-8% or €3,027).
• Luxembourg (1%), Latvia (1%) and the Slovak Republic (2%) are projected to have the smallest drops.

• 2020 vs. 2022 savings
• Table
• Drop in EUR