Press release 05/07/2024

FAMILY EXPENDITURE SURVEY. 2023

Average household expenditure in the Basque Country rose to 36,331 euros in 2023, 4% more than in 2022

The greatest increase in respect of the previous year was seen in expenditure on Leisure and culture, at 21.6%

In current terms, the average expenditure per household stood at 36,331 euros in 2023, 4.0% more than the previous year, with a notable increase in expenditure on Leisure and culture, according to Eustat data. The average expenditure per person rose by 4.5% to 15,570 euros in 2023.

By expenditure group, 8 of the 12 groups saw an upward trend in average household expenditures. In 2023, the greatest increase in average expenditure per household was recorded in Leisure and culture, with a rise of 21.6% compared to 2022, which translates into an average expenditure per household of 1,745 euros per year. This growth was based primarily on spending on Recreational, sport and cultural goods and services, which accounted for 62% of expenditure on this group, compared to 19% of expenditure on Tour packages and the remaining 19% on Audiovisual, photographic and information processing equipment, Press and books.

Spending on Leisure and culture and Restaurants and hotels represented a larger proportion of the Basque household budget

The group with the second highest growth in average household expenditure was Other goods and services (8.4%), followed by Restaurants and hotels (6.2%), with an average expenditure per household of 4,088 euros throughout the year, Healthcare (5.8%), an item on which Basque households spent an average of 1,272 euros per year, Food and non-alcoholic beverages (5.0%) and Housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels (4.5%).

In contrast, the average household expenditures that decreased in relation to the year before were Education (-15.6%), Furniture, household items and routine household maintenance items (-5.3%) and Communications (-3.2%), following the same trend as previous years.

As regards pattern of consumption, Housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels continued to account for the highest spending by households in the Basque Country, given that more than a third (35.4%) of expenditure went on this item, equivalent to 12,849 euros per year per household in 2023. Furthermore, the weight of this expenditure group in the total household expenditure budget increased by 0.2 percentage points in respect of 2022. Despite this, in 2023 there was a notable drop of 8.8% in the average expenditure per household on energy bills, owing to the 11.9% decrease in spending on electricity and the 4.1% decrease in spending on gas compared to 2022, expenditures that had increased by 9.6% and 21.5% respectively in 2022.

The average expenditure per household on Food and non-alcoholic beverages was up one tenth of a percentage point compared to the weight it had in 2022, reaching 15.7% of expenditure in 2023, 5,714 euros per household. Between them, these groups (housing with its associated costs and food) accounted for half of the average household budget (51.1%) in 2023, up from 50.8% in 2022.

The weight of expenditure on Restaurants and hotels (4,088 euros per year per household in 2023) also continued to rise, reaching 11.3%, 0.3 percentage points more than in 2022.

Total expenditure on consumption by Basque households grew by 5.0% in 2023

In absolute terms, total expenditure on consumption by Basque households reached 34,272 million euros in 2023, up 5.0% on 2022, with different trends in the various expenditure groups.

Looking at the two most significant groups in terms of volume of expenditure, spending on Housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels and Food and non-alcoholic beverages increased by 5.4% and 5.9% respectively compared to 2022.

Next, total expenditure by Basque households on Restaurants and hotels stood at over 3,856 million euros, with growth of 7.2% in respect of 2022.

In percentage terms, of particular note was the year-on-year increase of 22.8% in total household spending on Leisure and culture, which rose to 1,646 million euros.

In contrast, there was a decline in total expenditure on Education (-14.9%), Furniture, household items and routine household maintenance items (-4.4%) and Communications (-2.3%).

By province, families in Álava accounted for 15.5% of total consumption expenditure in the Basque Country in 2023, Bizkaia represented 52.9% of spending and Gipuzkoa 31.6%.

Households in Bizkaia saw the greatest increase in average household expenditure

In 2023, households in Bizkaia came in first place out of the three provinces with regard to average expenditure per household with 36,491 euros, 2,602 euros more per household than in 2022 (7.7%), the highest increase of the three provinces. This growth was primarily due to the rise in expenditure on Healthcare (23.0%), Leisure and culture (26.1%), Food and non-alcoholic beverages (12.0%) and Housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels (7.4%), among others. The expenditures that decreased compared to 2022 were Furniture and household items (-9.3%), Education (-9.0%) and Communications (-1.5%), which was down in all three provinces.

In Álava, the average expenditure per household stood at 36,330 euros, 3.3% higher than in 2022, an increase in average expenditure per household of 1,150 euros per year. The greatest increase in expenditure was seen in the Restaurants and hotels group, with growth of 29.9% in respect of the previous year, which translates into a rise in average expenditure per household in this group of 946 euros per year. The average household expenditure on Leisure and culture in Álava also improved significantly compared to 2022 (14.7%), as did spending on Furniture and household items, with an increase of 11.4%. On the other hand, the expenditure groups that decreased with regard to 2022 were Education (-29.6%), Healthcare (-9.6%), Communications (-7.9%) and Transport (-7.4%).

Households in Gipuzkoa registered a decline in average spending per household of 1.4% compared to the previous year, with an average expenditure of 36,066 euros per year per household. The province saw a rise in average household expenditures on Leisure and culture (17.3%), Restaurants and hotels (2.3%), Clothing and footwear (1.4%) and Housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels (1.3%). In contrast, there were considerable decreases in Education (-20.2%), Transport (-14.2%) and Healthcare (-8.2%).

Consumption expenditure according to household characteristics

An analysis of household expenditure in the Basque Country, according to various classification variables for the household and its members, reveals a socio-economic interpretation of the data.

With regard to household size, 1 member households had an average expenditure per person of 24,409 euros in 2023, 56.8% above the average expenditure for the Basque Country (15,570 euros). Compared to the previous year, 1 member households saw their expenditure per person increase by 1,485 euros per year on average. 2 member households stood 18.6% above the average, with an average expenditure per person of 18,462 euros. In contrast, households with 3 members (14,024 euros) and 4 or more members (11,223 euros) were below average, with 9.9% and 27.9%, respectively.

According to main household income source, households whose main source of income was self-employment and income from property and capital registered the greatest average expenditure per household in 2023, with 45,245 euros per year, 24.4% higher than the Basque Country average, with a 11.4% rise in average expenditure compared to 2022, resulting in an increase in average expenditure per household of 4,639 euros per year. This was followed by households whose main source of income was employed work, with an average expenditure of 38,555 euros per household, up 0.5% on 2022. Lastly, households whose main source of income was pensions, benefits and other payments and regular income registered an average expenditure per household of 32,441 euros, 0.5% more the previous year and 10.8% below the Basque Country average.

With regard to household expenditure according to the situation arising from the activity of the primary breadwinner, in households where the primary breadwinner was active in 2023, the average household expenditure stood at 37,516 euros, 3.3% above the average for the Basque Country and 2.2% higher than in 2022. By contrast, in households where the primary breadwinner was inactive, the average expenditure was 34,515 euros, 5% below the average, but with an increase of 7.4% in respect of the previous year.

Note:

The survey on family expenditure is carried out in collaboration with the Spanish National Statistics Institute (INE) in the Autonomous Region of the Basque Country.

The data published today for 2022 and 2023 have been reviewed and updated with the population figures derived from the 2021 Census, including updated information on the population, its age structure and the composition of households.

As a first step, only the population figures for 2022 and 2023 have been updated, causing a break in the data series published thus far, which prevents us from making homogeneous comparisons.

For this reason, it is necessary to review the data published prior to 2022 and recalculate them taking into account the new population estimates derived from the 2021 Census. This review will be carried out in the second stage, in which the homogeneous data series will be made available to users.

For further information:

Euskal Estatistika-Erakundea / Basque Statistics Institute C/ Donostia-San Sebastián, 1 01010 Vitoria-Gasteiz Press Service: servicioprensa@eustat.es Tel.: 945 01 75 62