Lorenzo Macchi
Research expert covering society, economy, and politics for Italy
Household expenditure in Italy - Statistics & Facts
Household expenditure includes the amount of final spending incurred by resident households for their everyday needs. It consists of consumption goods and services, such as food, clothing, transport, housing, furnishing, appliances, communication, restaurants, hotels, and insurance. Usually, housing cost accounts for the largest share of household spending in Europe. In Italy, housing, water, electricity, gas, and fuel make up the highest spending in households.
Spending on housing and food
Annually, Italian households spend over 240 billion euros on housing costs. Per household, this equals some 890 euros per month. This represents by far the heaviest spending, while food costs are the second main expenditure. Monthly, a household in Italy spends almost 470 euros on food and non-alcoholic beverages on average. This turns into a total of 160 billion euros for the whole nation. Moreover, transport accounts for the third highest expenditure, with more than 200 euros a month. On the contrary, education requires only 14 euros a month per household on average. During 2020, the average expenditure of Italian households experienced a decrease. Among others, an individual in Italy spent roughly 570 euros less on transportation and communication in 2020 when compared to 2019. In 2021, all sectors recorded a general increase, including travel and holidays.Poverty and severe material deprivation
An individual living in Italy with a monthly availability of less than 600 euros is considered poor. Evidently, this amount increases in proportion to the number of household members. For instance, a family of four people having less than 1,600 euros per month lives below the poverty line. In Italy, around 20 percent of population lives at risk of poverty, with the Southern regions and the Islands particularly affected. Also, when a household is not classified as poor or at risk of poverty, a great number of people suffer from various material deprivations. For instance, over 10 percent of households with four members cannot afford to keep the house adequately warm. Some 11 percent of houses with five or more people, instead, are not able to eat fish or meat every two days.
