Consumer spending increased by 8.5% in 2022 compared to the previous year

Press release number 454 of November 28, 2023

• Households are spending more on transport and housing than last year, mainly due to rising energy prices.
• High spending on catering and accommodation as well as package tours, especially due to the lifting of Corona restrictions.
• Half of consumer spending goes on housing and food

WIESBADEN – Private households in Germany spent an average of 2,846 euros per month on consumption in 2022. As the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis) reports based on current economic accounts, this was 8.5% or 223 euros more than in 2021 (euro 2,623). This means that private consumer spending rose slightly more than consumer prices, which increased by 6.9% on average in 2022 compared to 2021.

Residential fuel and energy consumption was about a quarter higher than the previous year

As a result of general price increases, private consumer spending, often referred to as the cost of living, increased across all regions in 2022. Higher private household spending on transportation and housing is likely due to higher fuel prices. and residential energy due to the energy crisis. Despite the 9 euro ticket and the reduction of energy tax on fuel (“tank discount”) in the summer of 2022, the average monthly expenditure of private households on transport, including fuel, rose from 322 euros ( 2021) to 347 euros. (2022) by 7.8%. Fuel consumption increased from 80 euros to 101 euros, an increase of 26.3%.

Private households spent an average of 1,025 euros per month on housing including energy in 2022 (2021: 966 euros), including 191 euros on residential energy (2021: 155 euros). This means that spending in the housing sector increased in total by 6.1% compared to the previous year. Residential energy consumption itself increased by 23.2% year-on-year. In addition, consumption of food, beverages and tobacco products rose from 402 euros to 417 euros, an increase of 3.7%.

Spending on catering, accommodation and package tours is increasing by more than half

In addition to the energy crisis, the abolition of almost all Corona restrictions also had an impact on consumer spending in private households in 2022. This was particularly noticeable in the consumption of catering and accommodation services, which rose from an average of 113 euros per month ( 2021) to 177 euros (2022) (+56.6%). The pre-Corona level of 157 euros (2019) was exceeded. Spending on package tours also increased from an average of 41 euros per month (2021) to 67 euros (2022) and thus by 63.2%. However, the pre-Corona level of 2019 of 86 euros has not yet been reached again.

About half of consumer spending goes on housing and food

The largest shares of consumer spending in 2022 continued to be household spending (36%), food, beverages and tobacco products (15%) and transportation (12%). This was followed by consumption of entertainment, sports and culture (9%), catering and accommodation services as well as domestic appliances and home appliances (6% each), information and communication, health and clothing and footwear (4% each one) and other goods and services (3 percent).

Households searched for income and expenditure survey from 2024

The results presented here are from the current accounts of the economy (LWR). The next LWR will take place from January 1, 2024 to December 31, 2027. For this purpose, 12,000 households across Germany are contacted each year to voluntarily record their income and spending for one month. This can be done through software or traditionally on paper. As thanks for active participation, each household will receive 70 euros. More information about LWR from 2024, answers to frequently asked questions and the participation form are available online at www.lwr.de.

Technique tips:

The data base for private household consumption is the Current Economic Accounts (LWR), a voluntary diary-based household survey. According to legal requirements, households of self-employed persons (business operators, self-employed farmers and freelancers) are excluded from the LWR. The results of households whose net monthly income is 18,000 euros or more are not taken into account in the LWR because very few of them participate in the survey. Methodologically comparable results from the LWR have been available since 1999. Since the 2022 survey year, the 2021 personal household income and expenditure (SEA) classification has been used. Compared to SEA 2013, which was applied to LWR 2014 to 2021, SEA 2021 saw significant changes in areas of per capita income. Detailed information is available on the overview page “Classifications of income, receipts, expenses” on the website of the Federal Statistics Office.

Additional information:

Detailed results of ongoing economic calculations are available in the GENESIS database.Online (Table 63121) and can be found on the “Consumer consumption and cost of living” topic page on the website of the Federal Bureau of Statistics. Results on the consumer price index are also available in the GENESIS database.Online (Table 61111) and is available on the “Consumer Price Index and Inflation Rate” topic page.