Archive:HICP - household consumption patterns
The consumption patterns of households determine the relative importance (weight) of household monetary expenditure that is attached to each of the categories of goods and services covered by the Harmonized index of consumer prices (HICP). The impact on the all-items index of any price change is proportional to the size of the corresponding weight. There is no uniform basket applying to all Member States. The structure of the weights may vary considerably between the HICPs for individual Member States as well as between the HICP for an individual Member State and the average weighting structure according to the European Union (EU) or the euro area.
HICP country weights are derived from national accounts data for Household final monetary consumption expenditure (HFMCE). For the euro area, country weights reflect the amount of household final monetary consumption expenditure expressed in euro, while for the other EU and EEA countries the amounts are expressed in PPS.
Main statistical findings
Consumption patterns in Member States
In 2008, the three categories food, transport and housing, each accounting for around 15% of consumption expenditure, were those with the largest weights in both country groups: the EU and the euro area. A weight of around one tenth is attached to recreation and culture, though it is a little more important for the whole EU than for the euro area. Only just below are the weights for restaurants and hotels, which again are slightly higher for the EU. Within the national HICPs the weight for food varies between 11–12% (the United Kingdom, Luxembourg, Germany) and 37% (Romania). The share for transport in HFMCE ranges from 8–10% (Romania, Poland, Slovakia) to 19–23% (Bulgaria, Portugal and Luxembourg). Consumption expenditure on recreation and culture ranges from 5% (Bulgaria, Portugal, Romania, and Greece) to 15% (the United Kingdom). The weight for housing ranges from 8-9% (Malta, Cyprus, Greece and Luxembourg) to 22–23% (Slovakia and Germany). In the housing category, it should be noted that HICPs reflect only monetary expenditure; unlike national accounts or household budget surveys, they do not cover services provided by owner occupied dwellings. This means that countries in which a larger proportion of the population lives in rented dwellings tend to have a larger weight for housing than countries in which a larger proportion of households live in their own dwellings.
Importance of Member States' consumption expenditure
Within the European aggregates (euro area and EU), the weight of a Member State is its share of household final monetary consumption expenditure (HFMCE) in the totals.
The country weights used in 2008 are based on national accounts data for 2006 updated to December 2007 prices. For the euro area, weights in national currencies are converted into euro using the irrevocably locked exchange rates. For the EU, weights in national currencies are converted into Purchasing power standards (PPPs). The weight of the euro area reflects its share in the EU total.
Data sources and availability
HICP item weights are updated each year by the National Statistical Institutes using data from the National Accounts, Household budget survey (HBS) and other administrative sources.
HICP country weights are derived from national accounts data for household final monetary consumption expenditure (HFMCE) and are also updated annually.