ALMOST THREE QUARTERS of the top 1% of earners in Ireland last year were male, according to figures released by the Central Statistics Office (CSO).

The figures indicate an almost even split between those in active employment in Ireland, with 51.3% male and 48.7% female.

But in the category of the top 10% of earners, 70.3% were male and 29.7% were female.

Of those with earnings in the top 1%, 74.8% were male and 25.2% were female.

The median annual earnings by gender, meaning the number in the middle of the data set, was €45,537 a year for males and €37,782 a year for females.

For those within the top 10% of earnings, €121,426 was the median earning for male earners and €115,950 was the median earnings for female earners.

For those within the top 1% of earnings, the median earnings were €285,672 for men and €277,613 for women.

The median annual earnings by county were highest in Dublin at €46,136 a year, lowest in Donegal at €33,523, with an average of €41,823 nationally.

The lowest median annual earnings were recorded among those in the 15-24 years age group, while those in the 40-49 years age cohort had the highest median annual earnings across all counties.