MORE SPENT ON RESTAURANTS THAN HOUSEHOLD BILLS IN 2019

 Cyprus Mail 30 November 2020 - by Staff Reporter

Cypriots’ largest household expenditure in pre-lockdown 2019 was on restaurants and hotels, accounting for 16.6 per cent of the total and bucking the EU 27 trend which put housing, water, electricity, gas, and other fuels firmly at the top, the European statistical service said on Monday.

According to Eurostat figures, in 2019, nearly a quarter (23.5 per cent) of household consumption expenditure was devoted to housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels, making it the EU’s largest household expenditure item by far, ahead of transport (13.1 per cent) and food and non-alcoholic beverages (13 per cent), followed by restaurants and hotels as well as recreation and culture (both 8.7 per cent).

The remaining household spending was distributed over furnishings, household equipment and routine household maintenance (5.5 per cent), clothing and footwear (4.6 per cent ), health (4.4 per cent), alcoholic beverages, tobacco and narcotics (4 per cent), communications (2.4 per cent), education (0.9 per cent) and other (11.2 per cent) – which together represented around a third (33.0 per cent) of total expenditure in 2019.

Cyprus’ figures were restaurants and hotels, 16.6 per cent, housing, water, electricity, gas, and other fuels with 15.6 per cent, transport with 15.3 per cent, food and non-alcoholic drinks with 11.4 per cent, other 9.9 per cent, recreation and culture (7.3 per cent), alcohol and tobacco with 4.8 per cent, furnishings, household equipment and routine household maintenance also 4.8 per cent, clothing and footwear with 4.6 per cent, health 4.1 per cent, education 3 per cent and communications 2.5 per cent.