Ireland

Overview

Ireland lands at #69 of 72 on the Cooked Index — 4th Least Cooked. The clearest fault line runs through political institutions: political polarization (Polarization 45/100) is worse than 13% of countries tracked. Housing policy isn't far behind — housing cost burden trails 25% of the field. And economic policy rounds out the picture: income inequality (Gini 30.1) sits worse than 21% of countries. Same scoreboard, different departments.

Overall score: 13/100 — 14 points below the global median of 27 (higher = more cooked). Where the system is holding up: homicide rate (Homicide 0.8/100k) — better than 76% of countries tracked. The story here isn't the country — it's the political institutions stack behind these numbers.

Sources: V-Dem + Global Peace Index (2025) · OECD Affordable Housing Database (HC1.2) (2024) · World Bank — Gini Index (SI.POV.GINI) (2018–2022)