Share of electricity generation from hydropower in Ireland
Ireland: Share of electricity generation from hydropower was 2.1% in 2025. ▼ Falling
Share of electricity generation from hydropower in Ireland, 1985–2025
Source: Ember (2026) and other sources – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
In 2025, share of electricity generation from hydropower in Ireland stood at 2.1%.
That represents a change of down 15.2% on the previous year and down 27.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of electricity generation from hydropower in Ireland peaked at 7.3% in 1986 and was at its lowest, 2.1%, in 2022.
Ireland ranks 132nd of 213 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 41 years of available data.
Share of electricity generation from hydropower in Ireland, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1985 | 6.9% | — |
| 1986 | 7.3% | +4.8% |
| 1987 | 5.3% | -27.7% |
| 1988 | 6.6% | +25.5% |
| 1989 | 5.0% | -23.5% |
| 1990 | 4.9% | -2.3% |
| 1991 | 5.0% | +2.1% |
| 1992 | 5.2% | +3.4% |
| 1993 | 4.7% | -9.4% |
| 1994 | 5.5% | +16.2% |
| 1995 | 4.0% | -26.3% |
| 1996 | 3.8% | -5.6% |
| 1997 | 3.5% | -9.3% |
| 1998 | 4.4% | +27.5% |
| 1999 | 3.9% | -11.3% |
| 2000 | 3.6% | -8.1% |
| 2001 | 2.4% | -32.2% |
| 2002 | 3.7% | +50.4% |
| 2003 | 2.4% | -34.1% |
| 2004 | 2.5% | +3.5% |
| 2005 | 2.5% | -1.6% |
| 2006 | 2.7% | +8.0% |
| 2007 | 2.4% | -11.1% |
| 2008 | 3.2% | +37.2% |
| 2009 | 3.2% | -0.8% |
| 2010 | 2.1% | -33.8% |
| 2011 | 2.6% | +22.5% |
| 2012 | 2.9% | +12.8% |
| 2013 | 2.3% | -20.5% |
| 2014 | 2.7% | +17.2% |
| 2015 | 2.9% | +4.8% |
| 2016 | 2.2% | -22.0% |
| 2017 | 2.2% | -0.1% |
| 2018 | 2.2% | -0.8% |
| 2019 | 2.9% | +29.7% |
| 2020 | 2.9% | +0.3% |
| 2021 | 2.4% | -18.3% |
| 2022 | 2.1% | -12.3% |
| 2023 | 3.0% | +43.8% |
| 2024 | 2.5% | -16.8% |
| 2025 | 2.1% | -15.2% |
Ireland compared with similar countries
- Ireland's 2.1% is above the median for high income countries, which is 1.0%, 2.1× the median. (75 countries reporting)
- Ireland's 2.1% is below the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 11.5%, 18% of the median. (51 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 6.2% | 5.0% | 7.3% | 5 |
| 1990s | 4.5% | 3.5% | 5.5% | 10 |
| 2000s | 2.9% | 2.4% | 3.7% | 10 |
| 2010s | 2.5% | 2.1% | 2.9% | 10 |
| 2020s | 2.5% | 2.1% | 3.0% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Ireland
More energy & mining data for Ireland
- Fossil fuel consumption by fuel, per unit of GDP 0 terawatt-hours per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Primary energy use, annual growth rate -1.01 % change on previous year (2025)
- Coal consumption, per capita 0 terawatt-hours per person (2025)
- Coal consumption, per unit of GDP 0 terawatt-hours per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Primary energy use, per unit of GDP 0 terawatt-hours per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Primary energy use, per capita 0 terawatt-hours per person (2025)
- Coal production, per capita 0 terawatt-hours per person (2024)
- Coal production, per unit of GDP 0 terawatt-hours per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Fossil fuel consumption by fuel, per capita 0 terawatt-hours per person (2025)
- Fuel imports 6.2% (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of electricity generation from hydropower in Ireland?
- Share of electricity generation from hydropower in Ireland was 2.1% in 2025, according to Ember (2026) and other sources – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest share of electricity generation from hydropower recorded in Ireland?
- The highest recorded value was 7.3% in 1986.
- What is the lowest share of electricity generation from hydropower recorded in Ireland?
- The lowest recorded value was 2.1% in 2022.
- How does Ireland rank for share of electricity generation from hydropower?
- Ireland ranks 132nd out of 213 countries with data for 2025.
- Is share of electricity generation from hydropower rising or falling in Ireland?
- Over the last ten years it is down 27.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Ireland data come from?
- The figures come from Ember (2026) and other sources – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Share of electricity generation from hydropower. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 41 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Measured as a percentage of total electricity produced in the country or region.