How Romanians spent their money in 2022? Alcoholic drinks and cigarettes had priority over education

In 2022, the total monthly average income was, in nominal terms, 6464 lei per household (2575 lei per person), increasing by 13.8% and by 14.8%, respectively, compared to 2021, reads the latest report on average household income released by the National Institute of Statistics (INS).

At the same time, in 2022, the total monthly average expenditure of the population was 5611 lei perhousehold (2235 lei per person) and accounted for 86.8% of the total income, increasing by one percentage point compared to 2021.

INS also said that last year the monthly average money income was 5994 lei per household (2388 lei per person), increasing by 12.8% compared to 2021, and the in–kind income was 470 lei monthly per household (187 lei per person), 27.2% higher than in 2021. Salaries and other income related to them amounted to 4340 lei monthly per household and were the most important source of the total income (67.1% of
the total household income, 1.9 percentage points less than in 2021).

Significant contributions to the formation of the total household income were made by the income from social benefits, with 1287 lei monthly per household (19.9% in 2022 and 19.1% in 2021, respectively, of the total household income), and by the in–kind income (7.3% in 2022 and 6.5% in 2021, respectively), which consists of the value in lei of the products obtained from own resources (5.9% in 2022 and 5.4% in 2021, respectively) and the value of the in–kind income obtained by employees and recipients of social benefits (1.4% in 2022 and 1.1% in 2021, respectively).

As for the area of residence, the level of the total monthly average income per household was 7227 lei, 1.3 times more than in the rural area, and the income per person was 3021 lei, 1.5 times more than in the rural area.
In terms of the structure of the total income, in the urban area, the weight of gross salaries and other salary rights in the total income was 73.9%, 18.5 percentage points more than in the rural area, while, in the rural area, the income from social benefits accounted for 22.4%,
higher by 3.9 percentage points than in the urban area, and the in–kind income was 12.5%, 3 times greater than in the urban area.

According to the standard classification of consumption expenditure by use (COICOP), food goods and non–alcoholic beverages, amounting to 1177 lei per household, had a significant weight in the total consumption expenditure of households (34.1%). This is followed, in terms of size, by the expenditure on the dwelling, water, electricity, gas and other fuels, amounting to 574 lei per household, with a weight of 16.6% in the total monthly average consumption expenditure, and by the expenditure on alcoholic beverages and tobacco, amounting to 265 lei per household, with a weight of 7.7% in the total monthly average consumption expenditure.

The lowest level of expenditure was that incurred on education, with 17 lei per household (0.5% of the total monthly average consumption expenditure), as well as that on insurance and financial services, with 23 lei per household (0.7% of the total monthly average consumption expenditure).