Archive:The EU in the world - living conditions

Data extracted in March 2015. Most recent data: Further Eurostat information, Main tables and Database. Planned article update: May 2016.

Households with five or more members (% of total)
Source: Eurostat

Figure 1: Analysis of households by the number of household members (¹)
(% of total)
Source: Eurostat (ilc_lvph03), the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (Demographic statistics) and national surveys

Figure 2: Final consumption expenditure of households (¹)
(EUR per inhabitant)
Source: Eurostat (), (nama_10_gdp) and (demo_gind), the United Nations Statistics Division (Economic Statistics Branch, National Accounts Official Country Data) and the World Bank (Health Nutrition and Population Statistics)

Table 1: Analysis of household consumption expenditure (¹)
(% of total household consumption expenditure)
Source: Eurostat (nama_10_co3_p3), the United Nations Statistics Division (Economic Statistics Branch, National Accounts Official Country Data) and national household surveys

Figure 3: Gross household adjusted disposable income per inhabitant, 2013 (¹)
(USD converted with purchasing power parities)
Source: OECD (National Accounts at a Glance)

Figure 4: Income quintile shares (¹)
(%)
Source: Eurostat (ilc_di01) and the World Bank (Poverty and Inequality Database)

Figure 5: Development of the income quintile share ratio in the last decade (¹)
(ratio)
Source: Eurostat (ilc_di11), the World Bank (Poverty and Inequality Database) and OECD (Income Distribution and Poverty)

Figure 6: Public expenditure on social protection benefits, 2000 and 2012 (¹)
(% of GDP)
Source: Eurostat (spr_exp_sum) and OECD (Social Expenditure Database)

Figure 7: Development of the poverty rates after taxes and transfers in the last decade (¹)
(%)
Source: Eurostat (ilc_li02) and OECD (Income Distribution and Poverty)

Figure 8: Accommodation — average number of rooms, 2012 (¹)
(average number of rooms per person per dwelling)
Source: OECD (Social Protection and Well-being; Better Life Index — Edition 2014)

This article is part of a set of statistical articles based on Eurostat’s publication The EU in the world 2015.

The article focuses on living conditions and social protection in the European Union (EU) and in the 15 non-EU members of the Group of Twenty (G20). It covers indicators related to income, expenditure, poverty and social protection and gives an insight into society in the EU in comparison with the major economies in the rest of the world, such as its counterparts in the so-called Triad — Japan and the United States — and the BRICS composed of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.

Main statistical findings

Households

More than three quarters of households in India had four or more persons, compared with one fifth in the EU-28

Many statistical analyses of social and living conditions focus on households, in other words a person or group of persons living together (but separate from others), regardless of whether they are family members or not. Many factors influence household formation, for example, marriage, divorce, fertility and life expectancy, as well as geographical mobility, and economic and cultural factors.

Figure 1 shows that more than half of all households in the EU-28, the United States, Canada, Japan and Australia were one and two person households, whereas the majority of households in India, Mexico, Indonesia and Turkey had four or more persons. More than three quarters (76.2 %) of households in India had four or more persons, compared with one fifth (20.3 %) in the EU-28 and less than one quarter in Canada, the United States and Japan.

In Japan and South Africa the most common type of households were one-person households, whereas in Argentina, South Korea, Russia, the EU-28, the United States, Canada and Australia two-person households were most common. In Mexico, Brazil and China three-person households were most common, while four-person households were most common in Indonesia, five and more person households were most common in Turkey, and six and more person households were most common in India.

Household expenditure and income

Household consumption expenditure is the expenditure made by households to acquire goods and services and includes indirect taxes (VAT and excise duties). Figure 2 shows that among the G20 members household consumption expenditure per inhabitant was highest in Australia, the United States, Japan and Canada, followed by the EU-28. It should be noted that these data do not reflect differences in purchasing power and that countries with high levels of household consumption expenditure per inhabitant tend to have higher prices.

The share of expenditure on food and non-alcoholic beverages was particularly low in the United States

Table 1 provides an analysis of the distribution of household consumption expenditure for various purposes. Factors such as culture, income, weather, household composition, economic structure and degree of urbanisation can all influence expenditure patterns. In most G20 members the highest proportion of expenditure was normally devoted to food and non-alcoholic beverages on one hand or housing (including also expenditure for water and fuels) on the other. A notable exception to this general pattern was the United States where household expenditure on health had the highest share. The share of expenditure on food and non-alcoholic beverages was particularly low in the United States, as it was to a lesser extent in Canada and Australia.

Figure 3 presents information on income levels compiled by the OECD. Household adjusted disposable income reflects a household’s gross income including social transfers in-kind received (such as education and healthcare) minus taxes on income and wealth and social security contributions. Furthermore, these data have been adjusted to reflect differences in purchasing power (in other words differences in price levels). The adjustment to reflect price level differences is done by converting data in national currencies to a common currency unit using purchasing power parities (PPPs) rather than market exchange rates. The United States had the highest annual household adjusted income per inhabitant, followed at some distance by Australia, Canada, Japan and the EU.

The share of income accounted for by the highest income quintile was lowest in the EU-28 and highest in South Africa

Income generally has a major impact on an individual’s living conditions. Figure 4 presents the distribution of income based on income shares, showing the proportion of all income received by the 20 % of the population with the highest income (the highest quintile), the proportion received by the 20 % of the population with the lowest income (the lowest quintile), and the proportion received by the three intermediate quintiles. Whereas in the EU-28 the proportion of income received by the highest quintile was 38.6 %, in all other G20 members for which data are available this proportion exceeded two fifths (40 %) of the total. The highest quintile received 70 % of all income in South Africa, by far the highest proportion among the G20 members.

A commonly used measure for studying income distribution is the income quintile share ratio, which is calculated as the ratio of the proportion of income received by the highest quintile compared with the proportion received by the lowest quintile. Between the two years shown in Figure 5 (see footnotes for exceptions), the income quintile share ratio nearly halved in Argentina and fell by 30 % in Brazil, while it increased by more than one third in Indonesia and South Africa.

Social protection expenditure and poverty

Social protection encompasses all actions by public or private bodies intended to relieve households and individuals from the burden of a defined set of risks or needs. Figure 6 shows the level of social protection expenditure in the G20 members relative to GDP. The EU-28 recorded the highest expenditure on social protection (using this measure) in 2012, ahead of Japan which was the only other G20 member (among the members for which data are available) with a ratio above 20 %. South Korea and Mexico recorded social protection expenditure of 10 % of GDP or lower. In general, social protection expenditure relative to GDP increased between 2000 and 2012.

Poverty rate lower in the EU members of the G20 than in most of the other G20 members

Figure 7 shows the poverty rate, calculated as the proportion of the population with an income (after taxes and transfers) below the poverty threshold, where the threshold is set independently in each country as 60 % of the median income level. The four EU members of the G20 shown in the figure rank among the five G20 members (for which data are available) with the lowest poverty rates, joined by Canada. By this measure the highest poverty rates were in Mexico and Turkey. Between 2000 and 2013 the poverty rate rose most strongly in Germany, from 10.0 % to 16.1 %.

Housing

Overcrowding is an issue related to housing quality: Figure 8 shows an indicator compiled by the OECD as part of its Better Life Initiative (launched in 2011) based on the number of rooms per person in a dwelling. Canada, Australia and the United States had the highest ratio, averaging over two rooms per person, followed by three of the EU G20 members (Italy was the exception) and Japan with ratios of 1.8 or 1.9. The lowest ratios, where there was an average of one room or less per person, were recorded for Mexico and Russia. More information on housing conditions in the EU Member States is available on Eurobase (Eurostat’s online database) in the living conditions databases which form part of the income and living conditions subtheme.

Data sources and availability

The statistical data in this article were extracted during March 2015.

The indicators are often compiled according to international — sometimes global — standards. Although most data are based on international concepts and definitions there may be certain discrepancies in the methods used to compile the data.

EU data

Most of the indicators presented for the EU have been drawn from Eurobase, Eurostat’s online database. Eurobase is updated regularly, so there may be differences between data appearing in this article and data that is subsequently downloaded.

G20 members from the rest of the world

For the 15 non-EU G20 members, the data presented have been extracted from a range of international sources, namely the OECD, the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, the United Nations Statistics Division, and the World Bank. For some of the indicators shown a range of international statistical sources are available, each with their own policies and practices concerning data management (for example, concerning data validation, correction of errors, estimation of missing data, and frequency of updating). In general, attempts have been made to use only one source for each indicator in order to provide a comparable analysis between the members.

Context

The data on living conditions and social protection shown in this article aim to provide a picture of the social situation covering indicators related to income, expenditure, poverty and social protection. The distribution of income is often used to measure inequalities in society. On the one hand, differences in income may provide an incentive to individuals to improve their situation (for example, through looking for a new job or acquiring new skills). On the other hand, crime, poverty and social exclusion are often linked to income inequalities.

Further Eurostat information

Publications

Database

Income and living conditions (ilc), see:

Income distribution and monetary poverty (ilc_ip)

Monetary poverty (ilc_li)

At-risk-of-poverty rate by poverty threshold, age and sex (source: SILC) (ilc_li02)

Distribution of income (ilc_di)

Distribution of income by quantiles (source: SILC) (ilc_di01)

S80/S20 income quintile share ratio by sex and selected age group (Source: SILC) (ilc_di11)

Social protection (spr), see:

Social protection expenditure (spr_expend)

Expenditure: main results (spr_exp_sum)

Annual national accounts (nama_10), see:

Main GDP aggregates (nama_10_ma)

GDP and main components (output, expenditure and income) (nama_10_gdp)

Detailed breakdowns of main GDP aggregates (by industry and consumption purpose) (nama_10_dbr)

Final consumption expenditure of households by consumption purpose (COICOP 3 digit) (nama_10_co3_p3)

Dedicated section

Source data for tables and figures (MS Excel)

Living conditions: tables and figures

External links

OECD

United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs

United Nations Statistics Division

World Bank

Poverty and Inequality Database