Household Budget Survey

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Prices and Consumption, Economic Statistics
A Solange Lohmann Rasmussen
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Household Budget Survey 2024

The Household Budget Survey describes in detail the Danish households' expenditure on goods and services and the economic condition of the households. The statistics are used to compile weightings in the Consumer Price Index and for calculation of the private consumption in the National Accounts. The statistics were first compiled in 1897 and annually since 1994.

Statistical presentation

The Household budget survey is an annual statement of the detailed private consumption at household level for private households in Denmark. The survey covers private households in Denmark. The household budget survey provides a detailed breakdown of consumption. In the most detailed breakdown, consumption is divided into approx. 1,200 different consumption types.

Statistical processing

The Household Budget Survey is a sample survey in which approximately 2,600 households are selected from Denmark’s total of around 2.9 million private households. From 2024, data will be collected annually from about 1,300 households, and the sample for a given year’s survey is based on data collected over a two‑year period.

The survey includes information from three data sources: accounts, interviews, and administrative registers.

All consumption expenditures, incomes, etc. are adjusted to correspond as closely as possible to the price and volume level of the final year.

Relevance

In addition to the general public the Household Budget Survey has a wide application. Internally in Statistics Denmark during the compilation of national accounts and price indexation. Public authorities' planning and feasibility studies, etc. Internationally, where especially EUROSTAT is very active in order to establish comparable figures between countries. Research in a number of areas, as well as for marketing purposes.

Accuracy and reliability

Only 8 percent of the contacted households chose to participate in the Household Budget Survey. This creates uncertainty, particularly for detailed consumption groups. For total consumption, this results in a margin of uncertainty of ±1.4 percent, while for items such as bread it is 1.8 percent, and as high as 18.6 percent for a rarely purchased item such as offal. There is underreporting in several areas, such as alcohol, tobacco, prostitution, and undeclared work. Uncertainty is greater when data are based on diary entries rather than interviews, and it increases further when looking at smaller subgroups of households.

Timeliness and punctuality

The statistics are published approximately12 months after the end of the reference year. The statistics are usually published according to the time announced.

Comparability

The Household Budget Survey is carried out in accordance with the guidelines of Eurostat, the Statistical Office of the European Union. Comparable figures are published by Eurostat. From 1994 onwards, the survey methodology was revised so that the survey is now conducted annually using the same method and on a comparable basis.

Data for the years 2014 to 2022 were based on a two‑year sample and the ECOICOP nomenclature. To ensure comparability over time, data from 1994 to 2013 were recalculated according to this nomenclature in both current and constant prices.

From 2024, COICOP2018 has been implemented in the Household Budget Survey as a result of the survey becoming regulation‑based. Data from 2015–2022 have been recalculated in both current and constant prices according to COICOP2018 to ensure continuity.

Accessibility and clarity

The Danish Household Budget Survey is published in a Danish press release, at the same time as the tables are updated in the StatBank. In the StatBank, these statistics can be found under Household Budget Survey. For further information, go to the subject page.