Statistical presentation

Data description

HFCE accounts households’ purchases of goods and services in Denmark and is a central component of the functional accounts in the national accounts. HFCE is compiled both current and in chain -linked volumes, making it possible to assess both levels and real growth.

The statistics are broken down by goods and services categories in accordance with COICOP18 (Classification of Individual Consumption by Purpose), including food, alcohol and tobacco, clothing and footwear, housing, transport, communication, health, education, recreation and culture, as well as other goods and services. HFCE is compiled as part of the functional accounts in the national accounts, alongside other components such as fixed capital, employment and wages, productivity developments, input-output tables, financial accounts, etc. These breakdowns make it possible to analyze consumption patterns across different types of consumption and contribute to a better understanding of developments in the economy.

The data transmitted to Eurostat include HFCE compiled in accordance with ESA2010, broken down by COICOP categories, in both current and chain-linked volumes.

Quarterly data are are also in Statistics Denmark's Statbank, broken down by COICOP18 categories at the 1-digit level. Additional information, including methodological, is available on Statistics Denmark’s website.

Classification system

In the national accounts, several different classifications are used, sometimes with Danish adaptations or subdivisions, including for HFCE.

Consumption groups:

Household consumption expenditure is classified according to the Classification of Individual Consumption by Purpose (COICOP18). In the Danish national accounts, COICOP classification is applied at a more detailed level than the standard international publication level through additional national subdivisions to better reflect specific consumption patterns, national user requirements and data sources. These adaptations mainly concern further breakdowns of selected COICOP groups at the 5-digit level while remaining fully consistent with the international classification at higher levels (4-digit and above).

HFCE is compiled at the 4-digit COICOP level, with additional national detail at the 5-digit level used for compilation purposes. For transmission to Eurostat, data are reported at the 3-digit level in accordance with international reporting requirements. At national level, more detailed breakdowns are published in StatBank to provide additional analytical detail. These national subdivisions are fully consistent with the transmitted data and are derived from the same compilation system, but they are not part of the standard international reporting. Data transmitted via the transmission program are aggregated to higher COICOP levels.

More information on the national accounts’ consumption groups can be found at Consumption groupings in the national accounts.

Sectors:

Institutional sectors follow ESA 2010.

Another dimension in the national accounts, including HFCE, is the product dimension, which specifies consumption distributed by products. In Denmark, product numbers are used based on an adapted version of the Statistical Classification of Products by Activity (CPA). The final national accounts consist of approximately 2.350 reconciled product balances. Although these product breakdowns are not published in detail in StatBank, they support the calculations and ensure consistency in the estimation of HFCE.

Sector coverage

Households’ final consumption expenditure (HFCE) covers private households (S14) and is compiled according to both domestic and national concepts.

Under domestic concept, HFCE includes consumption expenditure taking place within Denmark, regardless of whether it is carried out by resident or non-resident households.

Under the national concept, HFCE covers consumption expenditures by resident households (S14), including their expenditure abroad, while excluding expenditure in Denmark by non-resident households. The rest of the world (S2) is thus reflected indirectly as an adjustment for cross-border consumption, such as tourist expenditures in Denmark and residents’ consumption abroad.

Statistical concepts and definitions

Household final consumption expenditure (HFCE): Household final consumption expenditure (HFCE) covers expenditure by resident households on goods and services for direct satisfaction of individual needs and wants. HFCE also includes consumption of goods and services sold below market value, and furthermore includes imputed expenditures or transactions fx. Imputed rent for owner occupied dwellings and benefits in kind, which does not occur in monetary terms and therefore not measured directly. HFCE is compiled in accordance with the concepts and definitions set out in the European System of Accounts (ESA 2010).

Statistical unit

HFCE is disseminated in DKK million in Statistics Denmark's national databases Statbank. HFCE is compiled and presented using different price an volume concepts,

Statistical population

Household final consumption expenditure (HFCE) covers all resident households characterized by their ability to make independent economic decisions and engage in economic transactions with other resident or non-resident units.

The definition of resident household follows ESA 2010 residence principle. Cross-border workers and seasonal workers are treated as resident households in their country of residence, regardless of where they work. Tourists and other short-term visitors are not considered resident households in Denmark; their expenditure in Denmark is therefore not included in national HFCE but is recorded under the domestic concept. Conversely, expenditure by Danish residents abroad is included in the national HFCE.

Reference area

The Danish national accounts, including HFCE, cover Denmark excluding the Faroe Islands and Greenland. The national accounts do not capture all economic activity taking place geographically within Denmark; instead, they record the activity of Danish resident units, regardless of where the transactions occur.

Time coverage

Data on HFCE by purpose are available on both a quarterly and an annual basis. The quarterly national accounts for HFCE by purpose, only available in Statbank, cover the period from Q1 1990, while the annual national accounts cover the period from 1966 onwards and are disseminated according to the COICOP18-classification.

Base period

Chain-linked volumes are calculated using annual chain-linking with previous-year prices, and 2020 is applied as the reference year. A fixed base period is not applied in the national accounts.

Unit of measure

HFCE is disseminated in DKK million in Statistics Denmark's national database Statbank. HFCE is compiled and presented using different price and volume concepts.

Current prices: HFCE is measured at the prices prevailing in the reference period. The prices or price levels prevailing in the reference period. The prices or p5rice levels prevailing in the reference period, expressed in purchasers' prices, i.e. the price paid by the purchaser including taxes less subsidies on products, and including trade and transport margins where applicable.

Previous year's prices: HFCE valued using the prices of the previous year. These measures are used to eliminate the effect of price changes and to derive chain-linked volume measures. As the price base changes and to derive chain-linked volume measures. As the price base changes each year, previous year's price series do not constitute a homogenous time series and are not disseminated in Statistic's Denmarks national databases.

Chain-linked volumes: Volume measures obtained by successively applying volume growth on previous year's prices to current-price value of a specific reference year. Chain-linked volumes measures show the development of HFCE over time excluding the effect of price changes in accordance with ESA 2010.

The corresponding HFCE series in euro, in the Eurostat database.

Reference period

HFCE covers transactions by households for direct satisfaction of the individual needs or wants during the quarter or year, classified according to the COICOP18-classification.

Frequency of dissemination

Quarterly HFCE data by purpose are published eight times a year, while annual HFCE data by purpose are published three times a year. The data are disseminated according to the COICOP18-classification. Details on data types (provisional, revised and final) are described in section 14.1 (6.01).

Legal acts and other agreements

The national accounts, including HFCE, are compiled in accordance with the following regulations.

The Danish Statistics Act § 6 and §§ 8-12:

The Danish Statistics Act designates Statistics Denmark as the national authority and provides the legal basis for the collection, compilation and dissemination of official statistics. It establishes the obligation for respondents to provide data and sets out the rules on statistical confidentiality.

Regulation (EU) No. 549/2013 of 21 May 2013 on the European System of National and Regional Accounts in the European Union (ESA2010) (OJ L 174 26 June 2013, p. 1):

This regulation defines the common European methodological framework, including concepts, definitions, classifications, and accounting rules for the compilation of national and regional accounts in the European Union.

The Commission Decision of 17 December 2002 further clarifying Annex A to Council Regulation No. 2223/96 as regards the principles for measuring prices and quantities in the national accounts:

This decision provides further guidance on the implementation of the principles for measuring prices and volumes in national accounts, in order to ensure harmonized and comparable constant-price estimates.

Cost and burden

The estimation of HFCE is based on information collected by Statistics Denmark for the compilation of other statistics. Therefore, there is no direct reporting burden associated with this statistics. Questionnaires for surveys, such as the Household Budget Survey (FU), which subsequently form the source basis for the national accounts, are often prepared in consultation with the national accounts to ensure that the data also meet the needs for compiling the HFCE.

Comment

Additional information can be found the subject page or obtained by contacting Statistics Denmark.