The share of compulsory expenditure in the household budget has decreased

According to the Household Budget Survey, in 2015, compulsory expenditure on food and dwelling accounted for 40% of the household budget or 157 euros. According to the previous survey, held in 2012, a household member spent 289 euros per month, of which compulsory expenditure amounted to 45% or 130 euros. Expenditures on food and dwelling are unavoidable in the household budget, i.e. compulsory expenditure, and the decrease of their share in total expenditure shows a rise in the level of well-being because there is more money and possibilities left for other expenditures (e.g. expenditures on recreation, incl. culture and travelling).

In 2015, a household member spent the most on food (92 euros per month), which accounted for 23% of the total expenditure. Expenditure on dwelling was 65 euros, on transport 51 euros, on leisure time 42 euros, on housekeeping 26 euros, on clothing and footwear 21 euros and on communication services (Internet, phone and mail services) 18 euros per month per household member.

Households in urban areas spent more money on dwellings than households in rural areas, expenditure per household member amounted to 69 and 56 euros per month, respectively. Expenditure on leisure time was also bigger in urban households than in rural households (respectively 46 and 35 euros per month per household member). Rural households spent more on transport: while in rural settlements 55 euros were spent per month per household member, then in urban settlements – 49 euros.

By county, the expenditures of households of Harju county were the biggest (449 euros per month per household member) and the smallest expenditures were recorded in the households of Ida-Viru county (279 euros per month per household member).

The estimates are calculated according to the data of the Household Budget Survey conducted in 2015. The most recent comparable data are from 2012, in interim years the survey was not conducted. In 2015, about 3,400 households participated in the survey. A household is a group of persons who live at the same address and share joint financial resources and whose members consider themselves to be members of one household. In 2015, a little over 581,000 households lived in Estonia and the average size of a household was 2.2 persons.

Mortgage payments, real estate purchases, financial investments, expenses on major repairs or construction and other investments are not taken into account as household consumption expenditure.