Household Budget Survey starts in December

In addition to information on household expenditure and consumption, the survey also provides information on the composition of households, family relations, employment and education of household members, as well as living conditions and the availability of durable goods.

Statistics Estonia’s Leading Analyst Anet Müürsoo explained that in addition to Statistics Estonia, the survey data are also used by ministries and research institutions, as the results enable to analyse the consumption expenditure of households and observe expenditure trends over the years. “The survey enables, for instance, to estimate the purchases of one-person households, the expenditures of single parent households, households with both parents and households of pensioners,” said Müürsoo, and added that also consumers and providers of products and services will receive information about what households spend more on and what is consumed the most over the course of a year.

In 2019, the interviewers of Statistics Estonia will visit nearly 9,000 households. All households in the sample receive a corresponding notice from Statistics Estonia beforehand. The interviewers carry an employment certificate, issued by Statistics Estonia, bearing their photograph. “We hope that all households that receive a notice of being selected as respondents will decide to participate,” Müürsoo noted. “The behaviour pattern of each household is different and if a household included in the survey decides not to respond, it cannot be replaced with another and a valuable part of the entire picture of Estonia will be lost,” she explained. Each household in the sample represents around a hundred Estonian households. Müürsoo noted that by participating in the survey, each respondent contributes to ensuring that the state can rely on accurate and reliable information when making decisions that affect us all.

The Household Budget Survey consist of interviews conducted by Statistics Estonia’s interviewers with heads of households and all family members aged 15 and over, and household expenditure diaries, filled in with details on the expenditures by households over the course of two weeks. The diary can be filled in on paper or by collecting all receipts. Information on receipts does not need to be written in the paper diary.

During two weeks, all expenditures of every household member are entered into the diary: food products, consumables, clothing and footwear, dining out, all payments and services purchased. How to fill in the diary will be explained by the interviewer.  

The main purpose of the interview is to get information on household income and major expenditures, and also about the consumption of agricultural products produced for own final use or obtained free of charge.

Statistics Estonia guarantees data protection for all the respondents of the Household Budget Survey. “The collected data will be processed and used only in aggregate form; the published results will not be associated in any way with individual survey respondents,” Müürsoo explained.

Statistics Estonia will publish the results of the survey in 2020. Additional information on the survey is available on Statistics Estonia’s website (in Estonian). The previous survey wave took place in 2015–2016.