Current published European consumer statistics about consumption and prices

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What is the proportion of the population in the EU27 who lives in houses or flats, and what proportion of home ownership? What kind of energy consuming households? What proportion of the consumer seeks a formal complaints with sellers? What is the proportion of the population who drives for shopping abroad?

Answers to these and many other questions can be found in the publication ¹ "Consumers in Europe", published by Eurostat, the Statistical Office of the European Communities, and the European Commission's Directorate-General for Health and Consumers. This fourth edition of “Consumers in Europe” contains a comprehensive data set on consumer markets and consumer protection issues. First, the profile of the EU consumer and the retail network is presented. This is followed by twelve chapters on different consumer markets (food, alcoholic beverages, clothing, housing, household effects, health, transport, communications, leisure and culture, education, catering and various goods and services), each chapter providing data on consumer spending and price levels .

More than half of EU27 households live in houses

In 27, 2007% of households in the EU46 lived in apartments, 30% in detached houses and 22% in terraced or semi-detached houses. The proportion of households living in apartments was highest in Latvia (72%), Estonia (69%), Spain (66%) and Germany (62%). The highest proportions of households in detached houses were found in Slovenia (65%), Hungary (57%), Romania (56%) and Denmark (48%), while the proportions of households in terraced or semi-detached houses were found in the United Kingdom (59 %) and was highest in Ireland and the Netherlands (both 55%).

Almost two thirds of all EU27 households own their own home

In 2007, 65% of all households in the EU27 owned their own home, while 21% paid market rents, 8% lived in a rent-reduced apartment and 7% lived rent-free. More than half of all households in the Member States (excluding Germany) were owner-occupied, with the highest proportions in Romania (96%), Lithuania and Slovakia (both 89%) and Hungary (87%). Germany (46%), Austria (52%), the Netherlands (56%) as well as Denmark, France and Poland (all 58%) reported the lowest proportions of owner-occupied households.

Natural gas accounts for 40% of the energy consumption of households in the EU27

The energy consumption of households takes into account the energy that is provided for heating the living space, for heating water, as well as for cooking and other electrical devices. Fuels for private means of transport are not taken into account. In 2007, households in the EU27 consumed 285 million tonnes of crude oil equivalent (TOE) of energy. Of this, 40% came from natural gas, 24% from electricity, 15% from petroleum products, 12% from renewable energies, 7% from district heating and 3% from solid fuels.

The highest shares of natural gas consumption were recorded in the Netherlands (72%), the United Kingdom (67%), and Italy and Hungary (both 57%). The largest share of electricity was consumed by Malta (70%), Sweden (51%) and Cyprus (46%). The share of consumption of petroleum products was highest in Greece (50%), followed by Ireland (39%) and Cyprus (36%).

Latvia (50%), Estonia (39%) and Portugal (37%) had the largest share of household renewable energy consumption. The highest shares of district heating were observed in Estonia (38%), Sweden and Lithuania (37% each), while Poland (29%) and Ireland (16%) reported the largest shares in solid fuels.

The percentage of consumers who complain is highest in Northern Europe

In 2008, 16% of EU27 consumers aged 15 or over complained to a seller or service provider in the last 34 months. The highest proportions of consumer complaints were reported by Sweden (25%), the Netherlands (24%), Germany and the United Kingdom (both 23%), Finland (22%) and Denmark (4%), the lowest proportions Bulgaria (5%) , Latvia and Portugal (both 6%) and Lithuania and Romania (both XNUMX%).

In the EU27, just over half (51%) of those who complained were satisfied with the way their complaint was handled. The highest levels of satisfaction were recorded in Slovakia (80%), Slovenia (73%), the Czech Republic and Austria (both 68%), the lowest in France (30%), Spain, Latvia and Hungary (all 39%).

Highest share of cross-border shopping in Luxembourg, Sweden and Denmark

In 2008, a quarter of the EU27 population aged 15 or over went shopping in another Member State. The highest proportions of people shopping across borders were observed in Luxembourg (68%), Sweden (59%), Denmark (56%), Austria (53%) and Finland (51%), and the lowest proportions in Bulgaria and Portugal (9% each), Greece (10%), Italy and Romania (13% each).

In 27, 2008% of the population in the EU17 made cross-border purchases on vacation or on business trips, 9% went abroad specifically to do their shopping, 7% bought online and 2% ordered goods or services by post. A third of the EU27 population was willing to use another EU language when buying goods and services abroad.

Free download

"Consumers in Europe" can be downloaded as a PDF file can be downloaded from the Eurostat website. Available in English only. The figures contained in this press release could vary slightly from the dates in the release due to updates made after the extracts were made for the release.

Source: Brussels [eurostat]