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Household Budget Survey (HBS)

• 1Contact
  • 1.1Contact organisation
    National Statistics Institute of Spain
    
  • 1.5Contact mail address

    Avenida de Manoteras 50-52 - 28050 Madrid

    
    
• 2Metadata update
  • 2.1Metadata last certified
    27/06/2024
  • 2.2Metadata last posted
    28/06/2023
  • 2.3Metadata last update
    27/06/2024
• 3Statistical presentation
  • 3.1Data description

    The main objective of the Household Budget Survey is to obtain estimates of the annual consumption expenditure of private households, of how it is distributed among the different goods and services, as well as of the evolution of said expenditure with respect to the previous year. It also investigates consumption in physical quantities of food and energy sources (electricity, gas, liquid fuels, gasoline, etc.).

    The variables researched are total expenditure and average expenditure per household, per person and per consumption unit according to different levels of disaggregation and different socio-demographic variables, both of the household (size of municipality of residence, composition, level of income, etc.) and of the main breadwinner of the household (sex and age, level of education, employment status, occupation, Spanish or foreign nationality, etc.).

    In addition, these expenditure estimates are used as an instrument for obtaining private consumption in the National Accounts and for estimating the weighting structure based on the expenditure necessary for calculating the Consumer Price Index.

    From time to time, modules relating to the living conditions of households (household domestic service, welfare, etc.) are carried out.

  • 3.2Classification system
    • CNO-11, primer nivel, 1
      1   Directores y gerentes
      2   Técnicos y profesionales científicos e intelectuales
      3   Técnicos; profesionales de apoyo
      4   Empleados contables, administrativos y otros empleados de oficina
      5   Trabajadores de los servicios de restauración, personales, protección y vendedores
      6   Trabajadores cualificados en el sector agrícola, ganadero, forestal y pesquero
      7   Artesanos y trabajadores cualificados de las industrias manufactureras y la construcción (excepto operadores de instalaciones y maquinaria)
      8   Operadores de instalaciones y maquinaria, y montadores
      9   Ocupaciones elementales
      O   Otro caso
    • Comunidades y Ciudades Autónomas
      01   Andalucía
      02   Aragón
      03   Asturias, Principado de
      04   Balears, Illes
      05   Canarias
      06   Cantabria
      07   Castilla y León
      08   Castilla - La Mancha
      09   Cataluña
      10   Comunitat Valenciana
      11   Extremadura
      12   Galicia
      13   Madrid, Comunidad de
      14   Murcia, Región de
      15   Navarra, Comunidad Foral de
      16   País Vasco
      17   Rioja, La
      18   Ceuta
      19   Melilla
    • ECOICOP/EPF
      Clasificación de bienes y servicios con diferentes niveles de desagregación, desde los 12 grandes grupos de gasto hasta la máxima desagregación a 5 dígitos con un total de 255 códigos. Se trata de una adaptación nacional de la Clasificación de bienes y servicios utilizada en Eurostat para las encuestas de presupuestos (COICOP/HBS).
      Ver clasificación
    • Grupos de edad 2
      Y16T29   De 16 a 29 años
      Y30T44   De 30 a 44 años
      Y45T64   De 45 a 64 años
      Y-GE65   De 65 y más años
        .
    • Ingresos netos del hogar, intervalos
      E-LT500   Hasta 499 euros
      E500T999   De 500 a 999 euros
      E1000T1499   De 1.000 a 1.499 euros
      E1500T1999   De 1.500 a 1.999 euros
      E2000T2499   De 2.000 a 2.499 euros
      E2500T2999   De 2.500 a 2.999 euros
      E3000T4999   De 3.000 a 4.999 euros
      E-GE5000   5.000 euros o más
        .
    • Nacionalidad 3
      1   Española
      2   Extranjera
      3   Española y extranjera
        .
    • Principal fuente de ingresos 1
      1   Trabajo por cuenta propia
      2   Trabajo por cuenta ajena
      3   Pensiones contributivas y no contributivas (jubilación, invalidez, viudedad, etc.)
      4   Subsidios y prestaciones por desempleo y otros subsidios y prestaciones sociales regulares
      5   Rentas de la propiedad y del capital y otros ingresos regulares
        .
        .
    • Tamaño del municipio 1
        100.000 o más habitantes
        De 50.000 a 100.000 habitantes
        De 20.000 a 50.000 habitantes
        De 10.000 a 20.000 habitantes
        Menos de 10.000 habitantes
        .
  • 3.3Sector coverage

    It includes the expenditure of all private households resident in Spain, whether it is carried out in Spain or abroad.

    
    

  • 3.4Statistical concepts and definitions
    • Imputed rent
      This is the rent that would be paid by the owner household of a dwelling as that occupied, where he or she were its tenant. This imputed evaluation of the dwelling affects both the family dwelling inhabited by the owner household, and use of the dwelling granted free of charge or at a low price to the household by other households and institutions.
    • Self-consumption
      -
    • Self-supply
      This comprises goods withdrawn (unpaid for) from actual trade by one or more members of the owner household, which are consumed or given away by the latter during the reference period.
    • Sharing expenses
      Sharing household expenses means profiting from expenses (boys, persons with no income, etc.), and/or contributing to income (father away for work).
      If expenses are not shared, the person constitutes a separate household at the same address.
      In general, minimum expenses that have to be shared, in other words, must be paid out from a common budget, in order to consider a person to be a household member are those relating to dwellings and/or food.
      Persons who are absent may also be regarded as sharing expenses and/or income, either because they depend economically on the household (absent students who are not economically independent, and have no income) or else because, although temporarily absent, they contribute with their income to the family economy (absent spouse).
      A person is regarded as depending economically on the household when he or she takes part in the budget thereof, in other words, shares expenses and/or income with the rest of the persons composing the household. A joint-budget is considered the common fund that allows the housekeeper or person in charge of the household administration to defray the household's joint expenses.
    • Dedicado a las labores del hogar
      Personas que sin ejercer alguna actividad económica, se dedican a cuidar su propio hogar sin contraprestación económica alguna
    • Age
      Age in years refers to the number of birthdays reached by the reference date, in other words, the age last birthday.
    • Equivalence scales
      The equivalence scales enable comparing expenditure (or income) between households with different sizes and compositions, based on the theories of the existence of equivalence scales and of equivalent consumption units.
      According to the scale economy theory, the increase in the number of members of a household is not accompanied by a proportional increase in expenditure in order to preserve the same consumption pattern, given that there are shared expenses that are not proportional to the number of members (such as those of the dwelling).
      In turn, the theory of equivalent consumption units in households sustains that the consumption patterns of children are different from those of adults.
    • Legal marital status
      Legal marital status is defined as that which every individual has in accordance with marriage legislation (or marriage uses) of the country (in other words, the legal situation).
    • Student
      A student is considered to be all persons whose sole (or main) activity involves the attainment of systematic training at whatever level and whatever the kind of study, including the preparation of public exams.
    • Temporary elevation factors
      The temporary elevation factors are applied to each expense observed, depending on its reference period, in order to obtain an estimation of the expenditure made in the study period.
      The temporary elevation factors (FET) may be encompassed within a single factor, whose formulation is as follows: FET = T/t, with T being the duration of the study period and t being the duration of the respective reference period, both measured as a number of days.
    • National household final consumption expenditure (monetary and non-monetary)
      National household final consumption expenditure is the expenditure by households on goods and services that they use to directly satisfy the needs or deficiencies of the members of the household.
      Final consumption expenditure, together with the social transfers in kind made by public administrations and by private non-profit institutions serving households (NPISH), constitutes the actual final consumption of household within the framework of the National Accounts.
      Household final consumption expenditure includes:
      - Those purchases made monetarily (monetary expenditure).
      - The estimated value of certain goods and services, such as the value of products from self-consumption or self-supply (whether they are consumed by the household or given to other households), the payment in kind by employers to their employees, the rents imputed to the owners of dwellings, or to those that use them free or partially free-of-charge, and the free or subsidised lunches and/or dinners given in the workplace or in the catering establishment owned by the household (non-monetary expenditure).
    • Average household expenditure
      Average household expenditure is calculated by dividing the estimation of total expenditure by the estimation of the number of households.
    • Average expenditure per person
      Average expenditure per person is calculated by dividing the estimation of total expenditure by the number of persons resident in the household.
    • Average expenditure per consumption unit
      Average expenditure per consumption unit is calculated as the quotient between total expenditure and the total number of consumption units. The number of consumption units in the household is calculated according to the modified OECD equivalence scale.
    • Household
      The person or persons who occupy a main family dwelling or part of it in common and consume and/or share food or other goods on the same budget.
    • Guest or Tenant
      A guest, a tenant or a resident lessor is any person who shares food with the household and/or inhabits the dwelling, providing a previously stipulated monetary payment for the household, with the household seeking profitable aims as a result of her/his stay.
    • Incapacidad laboral permanente
      Personas que se encuentran indefinidamente incapacitadas, tanto si han trabajado o no anteriormente e independientemente de si reciben una pensión por incapacidad.
    • Regular monthly monetary household income
      Set of monetary income received regularly by the household and its members who receive individual income, regardless of its origin, once Social Security contributions and other similar payments have been deducted (Mutual Provident Society, Mandatory Insurance Companies and Rights), as well as the tax amounts paid.
      
      In the case of working for others, this must consider solely Income Tax (IRPF) withholdings, whereas in the case of self-employed work, it must consider the taxes withheld and the fractioned Income Tax payments.
      
      It is considered that the members of the household receive income when they are working, or they have a job for which they are paid, or they receive some pension, subsidies, capital gains or transfers.
      
      Monthly income refers to the regular income received in the last calendar month, bearing in mind the apportionment of the extra income and other income that they receive periodically, though not monthly.
    • Guest
      A guest is any person who shares food with the household at least once per fortnight without the household seeking profitable aims.
      Both domestic service and guests may be household members if they do not have another dwelling that they consider their usual residence.
    • Jubilado o retirado
      Persona que ha dejado su trabajo y ha alcanzado el final de su vida activa a causa de su edad.
    • Place of birth
      Place where a person was born, in other words, the place of habitual residence of the mother at the time of birth, determined on the date of collecting data.
    • Household Member
      The conditions established in order to determine whether or not a person is a member of the household endeavour to avoid the possibility of a single individual being classified in more than one household or, conversely, not being classified in any.
      
      Requirements for being a household member are:
      
      - To normally reside in the dwelling: a person normally resides in a dwelling if he or she spends most of his or her daily rest in said dwelling.
      - To share the household expenses: this means profiting from expenses (children, persons with no income, etc.) and/or contributing to the income. If expenses are not shared, the person constitutes a separate household at the same address.
    • Citizenship
      Citizenship is defined as the particular legal bond between an individual and his/her State,, acquired by birth or naturalisation, whether by declaration, option, marriage or other means according to the national legislation.
    • Nivel de formación alcanzado
      El nivel de formación alcanzado por una persona se define como "el máximo nivel que el individuo ha completado" y "se mide a partir del programa de máximo nivel que haya superado, validado, normalmente, por la correspondiente certificación".
    • Occupation of the main breadwinner
      If the main breadwinner of the household has ever worked, the occupation, profession or trade carried out in his or her last position to a two-digit NCO-2011 (new classification incorporated into the survey as of 2012) is registered.
      The occupation is defined as the kind of work carried out, specifying the role performed.
      If an individual has had more than one job, the occupation refers to the last job carried out; if he or she has carried out several jobs, the profession refers to the main job, this being regarded as the one indicated by the intreviewee. The following categories apply:
      - Directors and managers
      - Scientific technicians and professionals and intellectuals
      - Technicians; support professionals
      - Accountancy, administrative and other office employees
      - Catering, personal, protection services and sales wokers
      - Skilled agricultural, livestock, forestry and fishing sector workers
      - Craftspersons and employees qualified for manufacturing and construction (except installation and machinery operators)
      - Installation and machinery operators and assemblers
      - Basic occupations
      - Other cases (including Military occupations and No data recorded)
    • Employees
      Employees are all those persons aged over 16 years old who, during the reference week were employed by others, wage-earners, or performed freelance work pursuant, freelance workers.
    • Unemployed persons
      All those persons aged over 16 years old who, during the reference week were:
      
      a) out of work, in other words, they had no paid employment or freelance work,
      
      b) available for work, in other words, available to carry out a job as an employee or freelance work within the two weeks following the reference week,
      
      c) actively jobseeking during the month prior to the Sunday of the reference week.
      
      Persons are also considered unemployed when they are out of work but are about to start a new job within the three months subsequent to the reference week and are currently available for work. Therefore in this case it will not be necessary to demand active jobseeking as a necessary condition for being unemployed.
      
      The search methods considered active are to be found listed in the European Commission Regulation 1897/2000.
    • Recipìent of regular income
      All household members who are absent from the dwelling during the collaboration period and appearing as addressee for cash sent by the household to which the person belongs during this period (so long as the household is unaware what goods or services the recipient is going to redeem said remittances against) are considered recipients of regular remittances.
    • Reference period of the expenses
      The reference period of each good or service refers to the duration, in time, with which the observation of the expenditure on said good or service is made to correspond.
      In terms of quality, it is very costly to research variables such as expenditure for a long period of time. For these reasons, reference periods are introduced.
      Due to both the fatigue factor and the forgetfulness factor, this type of survey is associated with reference periods that, in general, do not ask households about all of their expenses during the entire study period, but rather, during a shorter period, in such a way that, applying a temporary elevation factor, an estimation of household expenditure throughout the study period is obtained.
    • Absent person
      A person who resides regularly in a dwelling is considered absent (temporarily) if they do not sleep in the dwelling any of the nights of the collaboration period.
    • Present person
      A person is considered to be present if s/he stays overnight in the dwelling for at least one night during the collaboration period.
    • Active population or active persons
      The active population comprises employed and unemployed persons during the reference week.
    • Inactive population or inactive persons
      The economically inactive population comprises all persons 16 years old and older who do not classify as employed, unemployed or population counted separately during the reference week.
    • Regular residence according six months criteria
      A person is considered to usually reside in a dwelling if he or she spends most of his or her daily rest in said dwelling in said dwelling, and the period that should be taken into account are the last six months.
      Persons forming new households or incorporated into existing households will normally be regarded as members of the new new residence; in the same way, persons who leave their household to go and live anywhere else will cease to be regarded as members of the original household.
      The abovementioned criterion for the last six months will be replaced by the intention to reside for a period of six months or more in the new place of residence.That which may be regarded as permanent entering or leaving households should be taken into account. In other words, a person who sets up home for an indefinite period of time, or with the intention residing for a period of six months or more will be regarded as a member of that household, even if he or she has not yet spent six months there, and even if he or she has actually spent most of that time in any other place of residence. Likewise, a person who has left his or her household to go to any other place of residence with the intention of being away for six months or more will cease to be regarded as a member of the previous household.
      If a person who is temporarily absent is in a private, he or she will be regarded as a member of the current household or of the previous one, depending on the amount of time his or her absence lasts. Exceptionally, specific categories of persons who maintain close ties with the household may be regarded as members of the latter, regardless of the time that their absence lasts, so long as they are not considered members of another private household.
    • Wages in kind
      -
    • Domestic service
      Domestic service is considered to be all people who provide domestic services to the household in exchange for payment in money or in kind, which is previously stipulated (such as chauffeurs, maids, nannies or cleaning staff).
    • Sex
      Sex refers to the biological sex of the person. According to the WHO, "sex" refers to biological and physiological features defining to men and women, whereas "gender" refers to the roles, behaviour, activities and attributes constructed socially that a specific culture regards as appropriate for men and women. In accordance with this description, the WHO regards "man" and "woman" as sex categories, whereas "male" and "female" are gender categories.
    • Situación en relación con la actividad económica
      Se refiere a la situación en que queda clasificada cada persona según su relación con la actividad económica: activo (ocupado o parado) o inactivo (jubilado, estudiando, incapacitado para trabajar, etc.), basada en los criterios OIT.
    • Professional Status
      The definition is based on the ILO resolution regarding the International Classification of the Employment Situation (15th CISE, 1993). The two essential dimensions for the concept of professional situation are economic risk and authority.
      The basic distinction is the one that exists between wage earners and freelance workers. Wage earners are all workers whose type of work is defined as paid employment: work whereby the holders have implicit or explicit employment contracts (verbal or in writing), for which they receive basic payment that does not depend directly on the income of the unit for which they work (this unit may be a corporation, a non-profit organisation, a government unit or a household). Some or all instruments, capital goods, information systems and/or premises used by the holders belong to third parties, and the holders may work under the direct supervision of or in accordance with the strict directives established by the owner or persons employed by the latter. (Persons with ¿paid employment¿ are usually paid with salaries or wages, but may also be paid by means of commissions on sales, efficiency payments, premiums or payments in kind such as food, lodgings or training).
      Freelance work is that employment whereby payment depends directly on profits (or on the potential to make profit) deriving from goods and services produced (in these jobs it is regarded that self-consumtion forms part of profits). Freelance workers make operational decisions that affect the company, or delegate those decisions, but retain responsibility for the well-being of the company. (In this context, the company includes the operations of a single person.)
      Wage earners with a determined duration job/contract are those employees whose main work will end after a pre-termined period of time has elapsed, or after a period of time which is unknown from the outset, but defined by means of objective criteria, such as the completion of a task or the end of the period of absence of the worker who is being temporarily replaced.
    • Main household breadwinner
      The main breadwinner is regarded as the household member aged 16 years old or more whose periodic contribution (not occasional) to the common budget is aimed at taking care of household expenditure to a greater extent than contributions by each of the remaining members.
    • Size of the household
      Number of members of the household
    • Tipo de contrato
      Un contrato o relación laboral puede ser indefinido o temporal.
      
      1. Si no existen criterios objetivos para la finalización de un contrato, éste debe ser considerado como indefinido, con independencia de que se ejerzan continua o discontinuamente. Estos contratos no se extinguen mientras no se produzca un despido que los interrumpa. Se incluye en esta categoría la relación laboral de los funcionarios públicos, que aunque no conlleva contrato laboral puede asimilarse a los contratos de duración indefinida.
      Los contratos denominados fijos suponen que el trabajador tiene un trabajo continuo, que no se interrumpe más que por vacaciones, baja transitoria, licencia u otras causas extraordinarias.
      Los contratos fijos discontinuos suponen que el trabajador, aunque tiene un trabajo fijo (y seguirá teniéndolo sin necesidad de nuevos contratos), no lo ejerce de modo continuo porque solo hay trabajo que realizar en determinadas temporadas o períodos discontinuos.
      
      2. Con carácter general, se puede definir un contrato como temporal cuando el fin del contrato queda determinado por condiciones objetivas, tales como la expiración de cierto plazo, la realización de una tarea determinada, la reincorporación de un empleado al que se había reemplazado temporalmente, la realización de un período de prácticas o formación o la sustitución de la parte de trabajo no desarrollada por los parcialmente jubilados. En el caso de un contrato de trabajo de duración limitada, las condiciones correspondientes para su terminación se mencionan generalmente en el contrato.
    • Type of household
      Classification of the different compositions of the households, based on the age, sex and kinship relations of their members.
    • Unit value of food, beverages, tobacco, fuels and other energy sources
      Using the total expenditure and the total amount consumed in each one of the codes relating to food, beverages, tobacco, fuels and other energy sources for which the physical amount consumed is collected, this obtains the estimation of the unit value of each concept as a quotient between the two magnitudes.
    • Dwelling
      Structurally separate and independent building that, due to the way in which it was built, rebuilt, transformed or adapted, is conceived to be inhabited by persons, or even if was not initially conceived as such, constitutes the regular residence of one or more persons during the reference period of the Statistical Operation. As an exception, the following are not considered dwellings: those buildings that, despite having been initially conceived for human inhabitation, at the time of the Statistical Operation are totally dedicated to other purposes (for example, those that are being used solely as locales, such as a doctor's office or an attorney's office).
    • Group dwelling
      Dwelling designed to be inhabited by a group of persons subjected to a common authority or scheme that is not based on family ties or specific coexistence schemes. The group dwelling may only partially occupy a building, or more frequently, the entirety of the building.
    • Family dwelling
      A dwelling designed to be inhabited by one person or more who do not constitute a group, regardless of the links between them.
    • Main family dwelling
      A family dwelling is considered main when it is used all or most part of the year as the regular residence.
    • Dwellings belonging to the household different from the main one
      All non-main family dwellings, available to the household whose primary aim is to be used for recreation by household members seasonally, periodically or sporadically (weekends, holidays) are regarded as such.
      A family dwelling, therefore, may not be simultaneously the main one for a household and available to other households.
  • 3.5Statistical unit

    Households and persons belonging to said households.

  • 3.6Statistical population

    Set of households and persons belonging to said households.

  • 3.7Reference area

    The geographical scope is the entire Spanish territory.

    Results are published both for the national total and at the Autonomous Community level.

  • 3.8Time coverage

    Since its implementation in 1958, different survey models have been alternating that tried to collect the information needs at different times.

    Traditionally, two types of HBS have been carried out, structural or basic HBS every eight or ten years and short-term or quarterly surveys. The last methodological change took place in 2006, in which it has gone from a quarterly survey to an annual one.

  • 3.9Base period

    The last methodological change took place in 2006, in which it has gone from a quarterly survey to an annual one.

• 4Unit of measure
  • 4.1Unit of measure

    In the results tables, total expenditure is published in thousands of euros, while average expenditure (per household, per person and per consumption unit) is published in euros.

    As regards physical quantities, the total quantity is expressed in thousands of units and the average quantities (per household, per person and per consumption unit) in units (kg, litre, m3, kwh, etc.)

• 5Reference period
  • 5.1Reference period

    In this survey, the study period, or time interval to which the data refer, is the year.

    However, due to both the fatigue and forgetfulness factors, the budget surveys have associated reference periods that mean that, in general, households are not asked about all of their expenditure during the entire study period, but rather for a shorter period, in such a way that, applying a temporal elevation factor, an estimate of household expenditure is obtained throughout the entire study period.

    The reference period of each good or service means, therefore, the duration of time with which the observation of the expenditure on said good or service is matched.

    Thus, each 5-digit ECOICOP code has been assigned one of the following reference periods:

    Weekly: goods of higher frequency or low value.
    Monthly: goods of medium frequency or of moderate value.
    Quarterly: goods of low frequency or high value to be considered biweekly or monthly.
    Annual: goods of scarce frequency or of very high value.
    Last receipt: allows to collect the goods and services paid on a regular basis, generally by means of periodic receipts (rent, community expenses, water, schools, etc.)

    For more information see chapter 11 Reference periods and temporal elevation factors (pag. 56) of the methodology available in the link:

    https://www.ine.es/dyngs/INEbase/en/operacion.htm?c=Estadistica_C&cid=1254736176806&menu=metodologia&idp=1254735976608

     

    Data referred to the period: Anual A: 2023

• 6Institutional mandate
  • 6.1Legal acts and other agreements

    The compilation and dissemination of the data are governed by the Statistical Law No. 12/1989 "Public Statistical Function" of May 9, 1989, and Law No. 4/1990 of June 29 on “National Budget of State for the year 1990" amended by Law No. 13/1996 "Fiscal, administrative and social measures" of December 30, 1996, makes compulsory all statistics included in the National Statistics Plan. The National Statistical Plan 2009-2012 was approved by the Royal Decree 1663/2008. It contains the statistics that must be developed in the four year period by the State General Administration's services or any other entity dependent on it. All statistics included in the National Statistics Plan are statistics for state purposes and are obligatory. The National Statistics Plan 2021-2024, approved by Royal Decree 1110/2020, of 15  December, is the Plan currently implemented. This statistical operation has governmental purposes, and it is included in the National Statistics Plan 2021-2024. (Statistics of the State Administration).

    
    

    There is a European Regulation on Social Statistics, but as information is sent to Eurostat every five years, until 2026 this Regulation will not apply.

     

  • 6.2Data sharing
    The exchanges of information needed to elaborate statistics between the INE and the rest of the State statistical offices (Ministerial Departments, independent bodies and administrative bodies depending on the State General Administration), or between these offices and the Autonomic statistical offices, are regulated in the LFEP (Law of the Public Statistic Function). This law also regulates the mechanisms of statistical coordination, and concludes cooperation agreements between the different offices when necessary.
    

    Since the beginning of the survey in 2006, the size of the sample initially selected in País Vasco has doubled in collaboration with the Statistics Institute of this Autonomous Community.

     

• 7Confidentiality
  • 7.1Confidentiality - policy

    The Statistical Law No. 12/1989 specifies that the INE cannot publish, or make otherwise available, individual data or statistics that would enable the identification of data for any individual person or entity. Regulation (EC) No 223/2009 on European statistics stipulates the need to establish common principles and guidelines ensuring the confidentiality of data used for the production of European statistics and the access to those confidential data with due account for technical developments and the requirements of users in a democratic society

    
    
  • 7.2Confidentiality - data treatment
    INE provides information on the protection of confidentiality at all stages of the statistical process: INE questionnaires for the operations in the national statistical plan include a legal clause protecting data under statistical confidentiality. Notices prior to data collection announcing a statistical operation notify respondents that data are subject to statistical confidentiality at all stages. For data processing, INE employees have available the INE data protection handbook, which specifies the steps that should be taken at each stage of processing to ensure reporting units' individual data are protected. The microdata files provided to users are anonymised.
    

    An analysis of the variables included in the microdata files is carried out to ensure the confidentiality of the information, adding those categories that could represent a problem in this respect.

    On the other hand, contact data are only accessible during collection.

• 8Release policy
  • 8.1Release calendar

    The advance release calendar that shows the precise release dates for the coming year is disseminated in the last quarter of each year.

    
    
  • 8.2Release calendar access

    The calendar is disseminated on the INEs Internet website (Publications Calendar)

    
    
  • 8.3User access

    The data are released simultaneously according to the advance release calendar to all interested parties by issuing the press release. At the same time, the data are posted on the INE's Internet website (www.ine.es/en) almost immediately after the press release is issued. Also some predefined tailor-made requests are sent to registered users. Some users could receive partial information under embargo as it is publicly described in the European Statistics Code of Practice

    
    
• 9Frequency of dissemination
  • 9.1Frequency of dissemination

    The data are disseminated on an annual basis.

    When there is a specific module, it is generally disseminated after the publication of the survey results.

• 10Accessibility and clarity
  • 10.1News release

    The results of the statistical operations are normally disseminated by using press releases that can be accessed via both the corresponding menu and the Press Releases Section in the web

    
    
  • 10.2Publications

    All the results of the survey are disseminated on an annual basis through the INE website, both in the form of tables and through microdata files.

    Furthermore, information on the survey and its modules is specifically published in the Yearbook "Spain in figures", and in other similar publications: INE figures, INDICE Magazine, etc.

  • 10.3On-line database

    INEbase is the system the INE uses to store statistical information on the Internet. It contains all the information the INE produces in electronic formats. The primary organisation of the information follows the theme-based classification of the Inventory of Statistical Operations of the State General Administration . The basic unit of INEbase is the statistical operation, defined as the set of activities that lead to obtaining statistical results on a determined sector or subject based on the individually collected data. Also included in the scope of this definition are synthesis preparation.

    
    

    All the information related to the survey is available in the link:

    https://www.ine.es/dyngs/INEbase/en/operacion.htm?c=Estadistica_C&cid=1254736176806&menu=ultiDatos&idp=1254735976608

  • 10.4Micro-data access
    A lot of statistical operations disseminate public domain anonymized files, available free of charge for downloading in the INE website Microdata Section
    

    The survey provides, free of charge, duly anonymised microdata files that are posted on the INE website, at the following link:

    https://www.ine.es/dyngs/INEbase/en/operacion.htm?c=Estadistica_C&cid=1254736176806&menu=resultados&secc=1254736195147&idp=1254735976608

  • 10.5Other

    Customised requests are made of operations not included in the published detailed results. The requests are made through the Users Service Area.

    These customised requests take into account both the confidentiality of the data and their robustness, so that requests that could infringe any of the above points are not dealt with.

  • 10.6Documentation on methodology

    The survey questionnaires for the year 2016 are available, together with the rest of the methodological information, in the link:

    https://www.ine.es/dyngs/INEbase/en/operacion.htm?c=Estadistica_C&cid=1254736176806&menu=metodologia&idp=1254735976608

  • 10.7Quality documentation

    After each annual dissemination of results, an evaluation of the quality of the survey data is published, which is available on the survey website:

    https://www.ine.es/dyngs/INEbase/en/operacion.htm?c=Estadistica_C&cid=1254736176806&menu=metodologia&idp=1254735976608

    In addition, every five years information for the year in question (2020 is the last year sent) is sent to Eurostat for a joint dissemination of the survey with all EU countries, on which a new quality report is drawn up.

    Fields 10.6 to 17 of this document are the user-oriented quality report for this operation.

• 11Quality management
  • 11.1Quality assurance

    Quality assurance framework for the INE statistics is based on the ESSCoP, the European Statistics Code of Practice made by EUROSTAT. The ESSCoP is made up of 16 principles, gathered in three areas: Institutional Environment, Processes and Products. Each principle is associated with some indicators which make possible to measure it. In order to evaluate quality, EUROSTAT provides different tools: the indicators mentioned above, Self-assessment based on the DESAP model, peer review, user satisfaction surveys and other proceedings for evaluation.

    
    

    In all the processes of the survey (collection, recording, cleaning, imputation, etc.) there are mechanisms of detection and supervision of the work to guarantee the quality of the information.

    In the collection phase, inspections are carried out by the person responsible for the survey in each provincial delegation, at the same time as repeated interviews are carried out in a sample of the households initially selected for the survey.

    As regards the recording, it is intelligent and allows detecting and correcting range and flow errors and some elementary inconsistencies. These controls are performed again from the central services together with another series of much more specific controls that guarantee the quality of all the information collected at the household level (micro-cleaning). Subsequently, a contribution analysis is performed to review and/or correct those expenses that have the greatest contribution to the expenditure.

    Partial non-response, which affects one or more questions for which the collaborating household has not provided the answer or has been detected as erroneous in the cleaning, is imputed only for quantitative variables, in particular the following imputations are made:

    - imputation of missing values in the variables relative to expenditure records
    - imputation of non-collected individual books of accounts
    - imputation of household income

    Total non-response occurs when the household does not provide any information, so that the effective sample is smaller than the theoretical sample and this results in greater variances and probably biases. This problem is addressed in the HBS by applying calibration techniques.

  • 11.2Quality assessment

    Quality evaluation related to coefficients of variation for the results of the national total and the Autonomous Communities, can be consulted at the following links:

    Data since 2016:

    https://www.ine.es/dyngs/INEbase/en/operacion.htm?c=Estadistica_C&cid=1254736176806&menu=resultados&idp=1254735976608

    Data years 2006-2015:

    https://www.ine.es/dyngs/INEbase/en/operacion.htm?c=Estadistica_C&cid=1254736176806&menu=enlaces&idp=1254735976608

    From other part, one can access the document on quality evaluation in the link:

    https://www.ine.es/dyngs/INEbase/en/operacion.htm?c=Estadistica_C&cid=1254736176806&menu=metodologia&idp=1254735976608

     

• 12Relevance
  • 12.1User needs

    Internal users include National and Regional Accounts, the Consumer Price Index, and Purchasing Power Parities.

    With regard to external users, the survey microdata files are provided to the Statistical Institutes of all the Autonomous Communities. In addition, some of them request additional variables to those contained in the files, which are provided by virtue of Law 12/1989, of 9 May, on the Public Statistical Function.

    Some Ministries, private companies and individuals also request customised information, relating to crosses of household variables with certain expenditure items, and some Universities that require the monitoring of the households in the sample in their two collaborations or other information related to the collection of the information.

    The information that is not attended to due to questions of sample size and/or robustness of the data is in general relative to greater breakdowns both at a geographical level, as for example: estimates of expenditure at the provincial and even municipal level, or a greater breakdown of expenditure by categories.

     

  • 12.2User satisfaction

    The INE has carried out general user satisfaction surveys in 2007, 2010, 2013,  2016 and 2019 and it plans to continue doing so every three years. The purpose of these surveys is to find out what users think about the quality of the information of the INE statistics and the extent to which their needs of information are covered. In addition, additional surveys are carried out in order to acknowledge better other fields such as dissemination of the information, quality of some publications...

    On the INE website, in its section Methods and Projects / Quality and Code of Practice / INE quality management / User surveys are available surveys conducted to date.(Click  next link)

     

    
    

    In the user satisfaction surveys carried out to date, the sector "Standard and living conditions" is assessed, in which this statistical operation is framed, which can guide the opinion of users about it.

    When the 2006 methodological change was introduced, two working groups were created, one internal and other external, which met periodically so that the main users of the survey can participate in this revision and contribute their experiences and thus adapt the survey as far as possible to their requirements.

     

  • 12.3Completeness

    The rate of available mandatory statistical results R1= 100%, as the requirements for the survey are met at the national level. At the international level, although there is a European Regulation, information is only sent every five years and the next round for the first time under this Regulation will be in 2026.

    As of 2011, the survey collects all the variables included in the Eurostat Harmonisation Project for Social Statistics (Core Social Variables).

• 13Accuracy and reliability
  • 13.1Overall accuracy

    The HBS is a survey that, due to its sample size and design, robustly meets the objectives set for the national total and allows precise estimates to be obtained of both the expenditure level and evolution. Logically, the estimates lose precision as it goes further both geographically and at the level of expenditure disaggregation.

  • 13.2Sampling error

    The coefficient of variation of total expenditure for the national total in 2022 is A1=1.3%. By groups, among those with the greatest weight with respect to total expenditure, those with the least sampling error are "Food and non-alcoholic beverages" and "Housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels" (1.3% in both cases). The expenditure group with the highest coefficient of variation is "Education" 4.9%).

    For more information on the coefficients of variation for the results of the national total and the Autonomous Communities, consult the links:

    Data since 2016:

    https://www.ine.es/dyngs/INEbase/en/operacion.htm?c=Estadistica_C&cid=1254736176806&menu=resultados&idp=1254735976608

    Data years 2006-2015:

    https://www.ine.es/dyngs/INEbase/en/operacion.htm?c=Estadistica_C&cid=1254736176806&menu=enlaces&idp=1254735976608

  • 13.3Non-sampling error

    The outdated framework is basically due to empty dwellings, compared to those intended
    to other purposes and unlocatable ones.

    The non-response rate is A4= 39.5% of surveyable dwellings (considering only dwellings in first collaboration), its percentage being higher in the capitals than in the rest of the municipalities.

    Of the three components of non-response, absences are those with the greatest weight, followed by refusals, and being practically negligible compared to both dwellings unable to respond.

    The percentage of refusals is higher in the first than in the second collaboration. With regard to absences, the percentage is higher in the capitals than in the other municipalities, and is higher in the first collaboration than in the second one.

    In order to analyse the non-response of the survey, a non-response evaluation questionnaire has been designed in order to obtain information on the basic characteristics of the units that have not collaborated in the survey.

    Furthermore, non-response and the possible biases derived from it are corrected a posteriori through the application of calibration techniques.

    In order to evaluate the distribution of non-response according to different characteristics of the household and its members, as well as to extend the previous information, one can access the document on quality evaluation in the link:

    https://www.ine.es/dyngs/INEbase/en/operacion.htm?c=Estadistica_C&cid=1254736176806&menu=metodologia&idp=1254735976608

• 14Timeliness and punctuality
  • 14.1Timeliness

    The results for 2023 were published on June 27, 2024, so that TP2= 179 days.

     

  • 14.2Punctuality

    Results from 2023 have been disseminated according to the scheduled date.

• 15Coherence and Comparability
  • 15.1Comparability - geographical

    The same methodology is used for the entire national territory, including the sample collected in País Vasco by the Basque Institute of Statistics, so that the results by Autonomous Community are perfectly comparable.

    With regard to concepts and definitions, in general all Eurostat recommendations regarding the survey are followed, including the inclusion of CORE variables as from 2011, so that the results are comparable with the rest of the European Union countries.

  • 15.2Comparability - over time

    The last methodological change took place in 2006, therefore:

    Number of comparable elements of the time series since its last break CC2= 18

    Notwithstanding the above, in 2016 a new Expenditure Classification ECOICOP were incorporated which, together with other changes in the collection of information, caused that the data published for 2016 were not directly comparable with those of previous years. Data from 2006-2015 were revised and adapted to the new ECOICOP classification and there are homogeneous series of the 2006-2023 period.

     

  • 15.3Coherence - cross domain

    The National Accounts also provide estimates of total household expenditure. The expenditure recorded in the NA and in the HBS differs:

    - for the group that makes the expenditure: only private households are taken into account in the HBS while collective establishments are included in the NA,

    - for the amounts to be considered in each of the functions: for example, in the NA the value of the service is recorded exclusively, however, in the HBS the total amount of the insurance policy is recorded because it is the expenditure actually incurred by the household,

    - for the assessment criteria and for the time of registration: thus, the HBS collects the annual expenditure relating to the last twelve months prior to the collaboration of each household, so the annual period depends on the time at which each household collaborates in the sample.

    In addition, the expenditure estimates obtained from the HBS are used as an instrument for obtaining private consumption in the National Accounts and for estimating the weighting structure from the expenditure necessary for the calculation of the Consumer Price Index.

    On the other hand, the Ministry of Agriculture also carries out a Food Panel in which results are collected on household food expenditure which, in general, is in accordance with the results of the survey.

  • 15.4Coherence - internal

    The estimates have complete internal consistency, as they are based on the same data set and are calculated using the same estimation methods at all levels.

• 16Cost and burden
  • 16.1Cost and burden

    It is one of the surveys that involves the greatest burden on respondents, although in 2022 the collaboration were reduced to one week, the household must collaborate during that week with several interviews and in turn must write down all expenses during those 7 days. Notwithstanding the foregoing, once the objectives of the survey had been set, the simplest collaboration scheme was established in order to try to reduce, as far as possible, the burden on the reporting households.

    Furthermore, in order to reduce this burden, households can provide purchase receipts without having to transcribe those purchases in the corresponding Notebooks.

    The estimated budget appropriation necessary to finance this statistic foreseen in the 2024 Annual Program is 8845.62 thousand euros.

     

• 17Data revision
  • 17.1Data revision - policy

    The INE of Spain has a policy which regulates the basic aspects of statistical data revision, seeking to ensure process transparency and product quality. This policy is laid out in the document approved by the INE board of directors on 13 March of 2015, which is available on the INE website, in the section "Methods and projects/Quality and Code of Practice/INE’s Quality management/INE’s Revision policy" (link).

    This general policy sets the criteria that the different type of revisions should follow:  routine revision- it is the case of statistics whose production process includes regular revisions-; more extensive revision- when methodological or basic reference source changes take place-; and exceptional revision- for instance, when an error appears in a published statistic-.

    
    

    Final annual results are provided except for revisions due to changes in populations derived from the Population Censuses.

     

  • 17.2Data revision - practice

    Final results for 2023 are published, which incorporate the figures from the 2021 census, with updated information on the population, its age structure and household composition.

    This change in populations produces a break in the data series published so far, which prevents homogeneous comparisons from being established. For this reason, it is necessary to review the data published prior to 2023 and recalculate them taking into account the new population estimates derived from the 2021 Census.

    In a first step, the data for 2022 have been recalculated, to provide the annual rate of expenditure calculated homogeneously.

    In a second step, the review of the detailed results and microdata files for previous years will be published, and then INE will make the homogeneous series available to users.

    Due to the new classification of goods and services (ECOICOP), some of the data published referring to the year 2016 were not strictly comparable with those of previous years, so the results for the period 2006-2015 were revised to obtain 2006-2018 homogeneous series, which incorporate the revision of the data of some expenditure items relative to years prior to 2016 and are fully adapted to the new ECOICOP classification.

    In March 2013 the series was revised from 2006 to 2012 (which was initially based on populations from the 2001 Census), in order to have a series comparable to the subsequent years in which the estimates are based on populations derived from the 2011 Census.

• 18Statistical processing
  • 18.1Source data

    The data are obtained from a sample survey.

    A two-stage sampling with stratification of the first stage units is used, selecting an independent sample within each Autonomous Community. The first-stage units are the census tracts into which the national territory is divided at the time of the survey. The second-stage units are the main family dwellings, and no sub-sampling is carried out in them, investigating all households residing in them.

    The framework used for the selection of the sample of first stage units, at the beginning of the survey, was a framework of areas formed by the census tracts existing with reference to 1 April 2005. In order to keep the sample updated, the selection is periodically reviewed, using the exploitation of the Municipal Register available on the closest date to this study.

    A more detailed description of the sample design can be found in chapter 12 of the methodology, available at the link:

    https://www.ine.es/dyngs/INEbase/en/operacion.htm?c=Estadistica_C&cid=1254736176806&menu=metodologia&idp=1254735976608

  • 18.2Frequency of data collection

    Annual.

  • 18.3Data collection

    The information is collected by means of paper questionnaires, although in the not very long term it is planned to collect it through a portable computer.

    The questionnaires that are collected through interviews have been designed with the objective of avoiding, as far as possible, the forgetfulness effect, for which the household is asked about all expenses in a structured manner. Also, in these questionnaires the codes are pre-printed, which avoids coding errors.

    Finally, in order to correct non-response and its possible biases, calibration techniques are applied.

  • 18.4Data validation

    The recording of the information is intelligent, so that range and flow errors are controlled. The questionnaires that present some irregularity (for example a questionnaire that does not collect any expenses) are "marked" for later revision. Furthermore, in the recording, the interviewer may note observations that help to understand particular circumstances (such as whether an expense is very high or very low, or whether a household has no expenses at all because it is an elderly person for whom a child who is not a member of the household is financially responsible).

    Moreover, initial reports are made of the possible recording and cleaning errors detected as well as final reports of those that are maintained (i.e., that have been verified to be correct), in order to have a measure of the impact of the cleaning.

    Inspections are carried out by the inspector of the survey in the delegations, allowing to verify the quality of the collection and to contrast what is declared by the household.

  • 18.5Data compilation

    The cleaning of the information is comprehensive, since the users are provided with the microdata files of the survey (micro-cleaning).

    On the other hand, an aggregate analysis of the information is carried out, detecting and reviewing the expenditure that has the greatest or the lowest contribution to the expenditure of each code (macro-cleaning).

    Imputation of missing information is carried out in the following cases:

    - Amount (or physical quantity, or both variables) of a missing or invalid record.

    - Imputation of individual notebooks not collected: to avoid non-response, a household may be a collaborator although some of its members aged 14 or over do not collaborate in the survey, so that the information of their Individual Notebook must be imputed so as not to underestimate the household expenditure.

    - Imputed rent: imputed rent is obtained from the subjective estimation declared by the household and from an objective estimation using the stratification method.

  • 18.6Adjustment

    Calibration techniques are applied to correct non-response and its possible biases.
    

• 19Comment
  • 19.1Comment