DS SILC > Methodology EN REVAMP

The EU-SILC methodology is defined in a legislative framework as to ensure comparability of data across EU, EFTA and candidate countries.

In addition, Eurostat issues yearly methodological guidelines which provide extended explanations and recommendations on the implementation of the data collection.

Information on the calculation of the indicators is provided in the Statistics Explained online publication on EU statistics on income and living conditions (EU-SILC) methodology. You may also consult our metadata  income and living conditions.

Main concepts and definitions

EU-SILC is based on common concepts and definitions.

Each country may implement the most efficient solution from a national perspective to deliver the the complete datasets, which are required.

Most data are directly collected from respondents via interview or web survey. Data are complemented by administrative sources or imputations. For more details, please see the national questionnaires on our quality page.

Private household membership

The target population of EU-SILC is people living in private households. Private households are defined as: 

  • ‘one-person private household’: This refers to a private household where a person 
    • usually resides either alone in a separate housing unit or 
    • occupies, as a lodger, a separate room or rooms of a housing unit but does not join with any of the other occupants of the housing unit to form a multi-person household;
  • ‘multi-person private household’: This refers to a private household where a group of two or more persons usually reside together in a housing unit or part of a housing unit. They share income or household expenses with the other household members.

Household income

The total disposable income of a household is calculated by:

  • adding together the personal income received by all household members 
  • adding income received at household level
  • deducting taxes paid and inter-household cash transfers paid.

Countries impute missing income information.

Disposable household income includes:

  • all income from work, meaning employee or self-employment income
  • private income from investment and property
  • transfers between households
  • all social transfers received in cash, including old-age and survivors’ pensions.

The following are deducted:

  • taxes paid
  • inter-household cash transfers paid