Ireland’s economy grew an unprecedented 26.3% in 2015, according to the country’s Central Statistics Office, rising significantly above the nation’s previous estimate of 6.8%. It even exceeded each of China’s annual growth rates since 1989.
Though that doesn’t mean its time to brace for the rise of an Irish superpower… quite yet.
The unbelievably high figure owes largely to Ireland’s low tax rate of 12.5%. Those low taxes have been the motivation behind several notable recent mergers and acquisitions, such as the attempted $160 billion deal between U.S.-based Allergan to the smaller, Ireland-based Pfizer, or the 2013 acquisition of Irish biotech firm, Elan, by Perrigo for $8.6 billion.
