As much as a quarter of the 7.8pc economic growth recorded here last year was simply down to iPhone sales, the IMF has claimed.

The extraordinary figure, given without detailed support, is tucked away in a side note to the latest International Monetary Fund global outlook.

Smartphone sales totalled 1.5 billion units last year - one for every five people on the planet - although shipments declined for the first time on record, the IMF said.

Ireland, Korea, and Taiwan are estimated to be the main beneficiaries of the new tech cycle in value added terms.

In Ireland, Apple's famously convoluted structure is the main reason.

"In Ireland, where the intellectual property of Apple Inc resides, staff estimate the contribution in value-added terms of iPhone exports to account for one-fourth of the country's economic expansion in 2017."

"At the same time, it is important to note that the income generated from smartphone sales does not fully contribute to the Irish economy," the IMF report said.

Online Editors