Skip to main content

Annual expenditure. In relation to the activity of the main breadwinner

Average annual expenditure. In relation to the activity of the main breadwinner Catalonia. 2023
Average expenditure
Per household (euros) Per person (euros) Per unit of consumption (euros) Total expenditure (millions of euros)
Active 35,330 (b) Break in time series 12,636 (b) Break in time series 19,468 (b) Break in time series 77,774.7 (b) Break in time series
Employed 36,193 (b) Break in time series 12,758 (b) Break in time series 19,731 (b) Break in time series 74,966.8 (b) Break in time series
Unemployed 21,586 (b) Break in time series 10,077 (b) Break in time series 14,365 (b) Break in time series 2,807.8 (b) Break in time series
Inactive 31,720 (b) Break in time series 16,984 (b) Break in time series 22,188 (b) Break in time series 29,444.5 (b) Break in time series
Retired 32,903 (b) Break in time series 17,165 (b) Break in time series 22,590 (b) Break in time series 26,231.5 (b) Break in time series
Domestic work 20,896 (b) Break in time series 19,212 (b) Break in time series 20,093 (b) Break in time series 1,436.6 (b) Break in time series
Others 28,520 (b) Break in time series 13,585 (b) Break in time series 18,833 (b) Break in time series 1,776.4 (b) Break in time series
Total 34,259 (b) Break in time series 13,592 (b) Break in time series 20,147 (b) Break in time series 107,219.2 (b) Break in time series
Source: Idescat, a partir de dades de l'Enquesta de pressupostos familiars, base 2016, de l'INE.
Note: The data published in 2023 include the population figures from the Census 2021. This change implies a break in the data series published so far, preventing homogeneous comparisons.
(b) Break in time series.

Last update: October 24, 2024.

Methodological note

Methodological aspects

The data on family expenditure was obtained from the Family budget survey (EPF) conducted by the INE. Family income is expressed in annual averages per household, person and consumption unit. The expenditure groups are grouped in accordance with the Classification of Individual Consumption by Purpose COICOP-HBS of the European system of integrated economic accounts (ESA), nomenclature that was standardised by the Statistical Office of the European Union.

Household consumer expenditure represents the main economic activity of the population, and is an approach to the concept of private consumption as the most important component of a country's aggregate demand. The main aim of the statistics on household consumer expenditure is to produce information on the size, structure and distribution of this expense, as well as inter-annual variations of the aggregate consumption. The consumer expenditure recorded in the EPF refers to the monetary flow that household economies spend on the purchase of consumer products, as well as all non-monetary expenditure that is generated on the basis of supply, self-sufficiency, any salary in kind and imputed housing rent.

The expenditure can be calculated per person in the household and unit of consumption in the household. In order to obtain the units of consumption we use the so-called equivalence scales, which turn household members into units of consumption. These equivalence scales are applied because economies of scale are generated when a household shares certain goods and services, which means that the needs of a household with n persons are sometimes lower than the needs of a household with just one person.

In this case we use the modified OECD scale, which gives the following values to each member of the household:

  • Main provider: 1
  • Adult older than 13: 0.5
  • Child 13 and under: 0.3

The total expenditure of a household is divided by the number of units of consumption in the household and we thus obtain the equivalent expenditure per unit of consumption. Each member of a household is assigned the equivalent expenditure of his or her household.

The Family budget survey, Base 2006 (EPF) started in 2006 and substituted the Continuous Family Budget Survey, Base 1997 (ECPF) , which was used from 1997 to 2005. The EPF 2006 incorporates a variety of methodological and conceptual changes, which have improved the quality of the estimation of expenditure and its structure. Comparisons with data from the previous survey have to be made using statistical linking methods.

Expenditure is presented classified according to the Classification of the Functions of Individual Consumption (COICOP/HBS) until 2015. From 2016 onwards, the European Classification of the Functions of Individual Consumption (ECOICOP) is used. These two classifications are not entirely comparable.

You can get more information about these statistics in the methodology.