Belgium - Households and NPISHs final consumption expenditure (% of GDP)

Households and NPISHs final consumption expenditure (% of GDP) in Belgium was 49.67 as of 2020. Its highest value over the past 50 years was 57.60 in 1983, while its lowest value was 49.65 in 2007.

Definition: Household final consumption expenditure (formerly private consumption) is the market value of all goods and services, including durable products (such as cars, washing machines, and home computers), purchased by households. It excludes purchases of dwellings but includes imputed rent for owner-occupied dwellings. It also includes payments and fees to governments to obtain permits and licenses. Here, household consumption expenditure includes the expenditures of nonprofit institutions serving households, even when reported separately by the country. This item also includes any statistical discrepancy in the use of resources relative to the supply of resources.

Source: World Bank national accounts data, and OECD National Accounts data files.

See also:

Year Value
1970 51.14
1971 51.57
1972 51.53
1973 51.92
1974 51.31
1975 52.58
1976 52.41
1977 53.29
1978 53.04
1979 54.18
1980 54.71
1981 56.28
1982 57.08
1983 57.60
1984 56.51
1985 57.27
1986 56.41
1987 56.09
1988 54.79
1989 54.20
1990 54.18
1991 54.78
1992 54.13
1993 53.66
1994 53.31
1995 53.06
1996 53.48
1997 52.66
1998 52.92
1999 52.07
2000 52.31
2001 52.41
2002 51.54
2003 51.19
2004 50.24
2005 50.19
2006 50.05
2007 49.65
2008 50.72
2009 51.37
2010 51.44
2011 51.54
2012 51.94
2013 52.46
2014 51.81
2015 51.34
2016 51.29
2017 51.47
2018 51.78
2019 51.40
2020 49.67

Limitations and Exceptions: Because policymakers have tended to focus on fostering the growth of output, and because data on production are easier to collect than data on spending, many countries generate their primary estimate of GDP using the production approach. Moreover, many countries do not estimate all the components of national expenditures but instead derive some of the main aggregates indirectly using GDP (based on the production approach) as the control total. Household final consumption expenditure is often estimated as a residual, by subtracting all other known expenditures from GDP. The resulting aggregate may incorporate fairly large discrepancies. When household consumption is calculated separately, many of the estimates are based on household surveys, which tend to be one-year studies with limited coverage. Thus the estimates quickly become outdated and must be supplemented by estimates using price- and quantity-based statistical procedures. Complicating the issue, in many developing countries the distinction between cash outlays for personal business and those for household use may be blurred. Informal economic activities pose a particular measurement problem, especially in developing countries, where much economic activity is unrecorded. A complete picture of the economy requires estimating household outputs produced for home use, sales in informal markets, barter exchanges, and illicit or deliberately unreported activities. The consistency and completeness of such estimates depend on the skill and methods of the compiling statisticians.

Statistical Concept and Methodology: Gross domestic product (GDP) from the expenditure side is made up of household final consumption expenditure, general government final consumption expenditure, gross capital formation (private and public investment in fixed assets, changes in inventories, and net acquisitions of valuables), and net exports (exports minus imports) of goods and services. Such expenditures are recorded in purchaser prices and include net taxes on products.

Aggregation method: Weighted average

Periodicity: Annual

Classification

Topic: Economic Policy & Debt Indicators

Sub-Topic: National accounts