Family budget surveys
The family budget surveys (FBS) are organised by Eurostat amongst staff of international organisations in various duty stations in the EU countries.
These surveys are implemented in the context of the wider work done to compare the relative cost of living of international civil servants between their place of employment and the reference city, Brussels.
These surveys are organised at intervals of 5-7 years and participation is voluntary. However, it is very important that staff take the time to provide accurate answers to the questions about their consumption habits, as the results will have a direct impact on the calculation of correction coefficients.
The following table summarises the source of expenditure weights used to calculate CC for the most recent annual report. You can also consult our explanations of the country codes used.
Duty stations | Source |
---|---|
BE-Brussels | 2017 and 2018 Eurostat-ISRP FBS |
BG - Sofia | 2016-2017 Eurostat FBS - Pool BG, CY, RO |
CZ-Prague | 2017 Eurostat FBS - Pool CZ, SK |
DK-Copenhagen | 2017 Eurostat FBS - Pool DK,SE |
DE-Berlin | 2011 and 2013 Eurostat-ISRP FBS |
DE-Bonn | 2011 and 2013 Eurostat-ISRP FBS |
DE-Munich | 2011 and 2013 Eurostat-ISRP FBS |
DE-Karlsruhe | 2011 and 2013 Eurostat-ISRP FBS |
EE-Tallinn | 2017 Eurostat FBS - Pool EE, LT, LV |
IE-Dublin | 2018 Eurostat FBS |
EL-Athens | 2016 Eurostat-ISRP FBS covering various locations in the country |
ES-Madrid | 2016 Eurostat-ISRP FBS covering various locations in the country |
FR-Paris | 2011 and 2013 Eurostat-ISRP FBS |
HR-Zagreb | 2017 Eurostat FBS - Pool HR, SI |
IT-Rome | 2016 Eurostat-ISRP FBS |
IT-Varese | 2016 Eurostat-ISRP FBS |
CY-Nicosia | 2016-2017 Eurostat FBS - Pool BG, CY, RO |
LT-Vilnius | 2017 Eurostat FBS - Pool EE, LT, LV |
LV-Riga | 2017 Eurostat FBS - Pool EE, LT, LV |
HU-Budapest | 2017 Eurostat FBS |
MT-Valetta | 2017 Eurostat FBS |
NL-Den Haag | 2011 and 2013 Eurostat-ISRP FBS |
AT-Vienna | 2016 Eurostat FBS |
PL-Warsaw | 2017 Eurostat FBS |
PT-Lisbon | 2016 Eurostat FBS |
RO-Bucarest | 2016-2017 Eurostat FBS - Pool BG, CY, RO |
SI-Ljubljana | 2017 Eurostat FBS - Pool HR, SI |
SK-Bratislava | 2017 Eurostat FBS - Pool CZ, SK |
FI-Helsinki | 2017 Eurostat FBS |
SE-Stockholm | 2017 Eurostat FBS - Pool DK,SE |
Pensioners EU28 | 2013 Eurostat FBS - Pensioners |
Extra-EU duty stations | 2010 global pool |
UK-London (Extra-EU duty station) | 2011 Eurostat FBS |
UK-Culham (Extra-EU duty station) | 2006 European Pool |
Year | Country coverage |
---|---|
2016 | BG, HR, EL, ES, IT, AT, PT |
2017 | CZ, DK, EE, CY, LV, LT, HU, MT, PL, RO, SI, SK, FI, SE, BE |
2018 | IE |
2019-2021 | Surveys postponed due to impact of COVID pandemic |
2022 | FR |
2023 | NL, DE |
2024 | Pensioners EU27 and UK, Extra-EU 143 |
2025 | Start of new Intra-EU cycle |
Note: in the absence of survey weights for an individual country, pool weights are used.
Since 2016, a harmonised questionnaire is used by Eurostat, the United Nations International Civil Service Commission, and the International Service on Remuneration and Pensions of the Coordinated Organisations.
Staff of the following organisations are invited to participate in the FBS:
- EU institutions and EU agencies from the European Commission, European Parliament, Council, Court of Justice, European Court of Auditors, European Investment Bank, European Central Bank
- organisations with linked terms and conditions of employment, such as European Schools, EuroControl, European Patent Office, European Southern Observatory
- coordinated organisations, namely the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OCED), the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), the Council of Europe (CoE), the European Space Agency (ESA), the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF), and the European Organisation for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites (EUMETSAT)
- United Nations
- other international organisations, such as the European Free Trade Association (EFTA), the Conseil Européen pour la Recherche Nucléaire (CERN)
- EU countries diplomatic embassies and consulates.
If there is an insufficient number of replies to enable a robust statistic to be established for an individual location, an average ‘pool‘ weighting structure is applied instead, combining replies for duty stations where the number of replies is insufficient.
A particular adjustment is made for housing expenditure to reflect the importance of this item in the consumption basket.
- 2023 family budget survey
- 2023 enquête sur les dépenses des ménages
- 2023 Erhebung über den privaten Haushaltsverbrauch
PDF version of questionnaire for survey amongst staff
PDF version of questionnaire for survey amongst pensionners