Household Budget Survey 2004

The Household Budget Survey (HBS) is a national survey collecting information from a representative sample of households, on households’ composition, members’ employment status, living conditions and, mainly, focusing on their members’ expenditure on goods and services as well as on their income. The expenditure information collected from households is very detailed. That is, information is not collected on the basis of total expenditure categories like "food", ‘'clothing - footwear', "health ", etc., but separately for each expenditure, for example, white bread, fresh whole milk, fresh beef etc, footwear for men, footwear for women etc., services of medical analysis laboratories, pharmaceutical products etc.

The main purpose of the HBS is to determine in detail the household expenditure pattern in order to revise the Consumer Price Index. Moreover, the HBS is the most appropriate source in order to:

• Complete the available statistical data for the estimation of the total private consumption;
• Study the households expenditures and their structure in relation to their income and other economic, social and demographic characteristics;
• Analyze the changes in the living conditions of the households in comparison with the previous surveys;
• Study the relationship between households purchases and receipts in kind;
• Study low income limits in the different socio-economic categories and population groups;
• Study the changes in the nutritional habits of the households.