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

Households and NPISHs final consumption expenditure (% of GDP) in European Union was 51.64 as of 2020. Its highest value over the past 50 years was 58.50 in 1982, while its lowest value was 51.64 in 2020.

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 56.41
1971 56.42
1972 56.38
1973 55.99
1974 56.05
1975 57.41
1976 57.36
1977 57.55
1978 56.94
1979 57.21
1980 57.79
1981 58.40
1982 58.50
1983 58.29
1984 57.87
1985 57.82
1986 57.18
1987 57.49
1988 56.86
1989 56.85
1990 56.51
1991 56.43
1992 56.78
1993 56.84
1994 56.46
1995 55.88
1996 56.22
1997 55.95
1998 55.78
1999 55.91
2000 55.94
2001 55.82
2002 55.52
2003 55.69
2004 55.43
2005 55.65
2006 55.12
2007 54.51
2008 54.87
2009 55.87
2010 55.60
2011 55.41
2012 55.61
2013 55.28
2014 54.73
2015 54.03
2016 53.87
2017 53.59
2018 53.45
2019 53.02
2020 51.64

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