Maltese households saw increased spending on education, 2015 data shows

People spent significantly more on education and goods and services in 2015, according to a Household Budgetary Survey published by the National Statistics office.

The NSO said that in 2015, the total annual household expenditure of Maltese private households was estimated at €3.7 billion. This amounts to an annual average of €22,346 per household, which is 14.2 per cent higher than the 2008 result.

The expenditure share on food and non-alcoholic beverages decreased from 2008 but remained the category on which households spent the largest share of their money on.

The categories which experienced the largest increases in average per week expenditure were education (an increase of 82.4%) and restaurants and hotels (an increase of 34.5 per cent).

Furnishing, household equipment and maintenance experienced the only expenditure drop between 2008 and 2015, with households spending 4.6% less on this category in 2015.

Alcoholic beverages and tobacco remained the smallest proportion of total household expenditure, at 2.4 per cent in 2015, a slight decrease over the 2008 share, which at the time stood at 2.5 per cent

Household Budgetary Survey published by the National Statistics office.

Family

65.1% of the total population in 2015 was composed of households without dependent children, with the remaining (34.9%) being households with dependent children.

Households which were considered to be elderly households (where the reference person was aged 65 and over) spent less than half as much as households of all other age groups, on average.

Housing

In Malta, 70.9% of households were homeowners. Of the remainder, 16.5% were paying rent on their main dwelling, while the rest had an alternative arrangement.

Households who owned their main dwelling generally registered a higher expenditure on all categories, with the notable exception of Housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels; as well as Alcoholic beverages and tobacco.

Income

The majority (76%) of disposable income received by households in 2015 was sourced from employment, whereas the remainder (24%) was received from other sources, such as social benefits, allowances, and interests and dividends.

After deducting the average annual expenditure from disposable income, it was observed that households whose reference person was aged between 55 and 64 generated the highest amount of savings (€6,686), despite not being the group of households who had the highest income.

Regional

In 2015, the Northern Harbour remained the district with the largest number of households residing in it (51,035 households). Gozo and Comino remained the district with the least number of households residing in it (12,195 households).

On average, households residing in the Western district spent the most in 2015; about €3,400 more than the national average. Households residing in the Southern Harbour spent the least.