Economy 1 February 2023, 2:33pm

Hungarians spend large share of their income on food, but can also afford alcohol

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Hungarians spent a larger share of their total expenditure on food and non-alcoholic beverages than the European Union average in 2021, data by Eurostat, the statistical office of the EU, showed on Wednesday. The same goes for alcoholic beverages.

In 2021, households in the EU spent over €1.035 billion (equivalent to 7.1% of total EU GDP) on 'Food and non-alcoholic beverages'. This represents a share of 14.3% of total household expenditure. Compared with 2020 (14.8% share), this represents a decrease of 0.5 percentage points (pp).

The highest shares for 'Food and non-alcoholic beverages’ expenditure in 2021 were registered in Romania (24.8%), Lithuania (20.4%), Bulgaria (20.1%), Estonia (19.9%), Poland and Slovakia (both 19.6%).

The share in Hungary was 17.8%, the 11th highest reading in the bloc, down by a full percentage point from 2020.

In contrast the lowest shares were in Ireland (8.3%), Luxembourg (9.0%), Austria (10.9%), Denmark and Germany (both 11.8%).

Compared with 2020, the share of total household expenditure on food decreased in all EU countries, except for Poland and Slovakia, where it increased (both +0.2 pp). The highest decreases were in Greece (-1.7 pp), Lithuania (-1.4 pp) and Croatia, Estonia and Slovenia (all -1.3 pp).

Hungarian like booze

In 2021, households in the EU spent €128 billion (equivalent to 0.9% of EU GDP) on ‘alcoholic beverages’. This represents 1.8% of their total consumption expenditure, the same percentage share as in 2020.

Among EU members, the highest shares of total consumption expenditure on alcoholic beverages in 2021 were registered in Latvia (5.0%), Estonia (4.7%), Poland (3.7%), Lithuania and Czechia (both 3.6%).

The share in Hungary was 2.8%, above the EU average, but showed an 0.2 pp drop over 2020.

On the contrary, the lowest shares were in Greece and Italy (both 1.0%), the Netherlands (1.3%) and Spain (1.4%).

In 2021, compared with the previous year, the share of total household expenditure on alcohol remained unchanged in 10 EU countries (Belgium, Denmark, Germany, Greece Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Austria, Poland, Romania, Slovakia) and it increased only in Croatia (+0.6 pp). Among the remaining EU members, the largest decreases were recorded in Ireland (-0.5 pp), Latvia and Lithuania (both -0.4 pp), Spain and Estonia (both -0.3 pp).

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