Romanians spend two thirds more on alcohol and tobacco than on their health

Romanians spend on average EUR 16.5 a month on alcohol and tobacco and only EUR 10 on healthcare and health products, EUR 6.3 on recreation and culture, EUR 4.4 on holidays and going out to restaurants, and EUR 1.2 on education, Romania-Insider.com has calculated based on data from the National Statistics Institute (INS) about the average household income and expenses in the second quarter of this year.

Romanian households recorded total monthly incomes of just over EUR 1,000 in the second quarter of this year, or close to EUR 388 per person. Meanwhile, the total monthly expenses amounted to EUR 854 per household and EUR 330 per person, according to INS data (considering an average exchange rate of RON 4.74 per EUR for the period).

The difference between the total incomes and total expenses, namely EUR 150 per household or EUR 58 per person, went into savings and the repayment of loans.

On average, 68% of the household income comes from salaries, 18% from social benefits (pensions, welfare and others), and almost 8% is in-kind income.

On the expenses side, the bulk (almost 60%) goes into consumption, a third (32.8%) goes into taxes and contributions paid to the state, and only 0.8% is used for investments in dwellings, land, equipment for household production, and financial investments.

The consumption expenditure of the average dwelling in Romania thus amounts to EUR 509 per month, which results in a monthly budget of EUR 196 per person. Over a third of this budget (34.2%, or EUR 67.1 per month) is spent on food and non-alcoholic beverages. The second-biggest category of expenses is related to housing (rent) and utilities and takes 14.4% of the average Romanian’s monthly budget (EUR 28.3).

Alcohol and tobacco represent 8.4% of the average Romanian’s consumption expenses (EUR 16.5), followed by clothes and shoes (8% or EUR 15.8), transport (7.4% or EUR 14.6), furniture and household items (6.2% or EUR 12.1) and unspecified products and services (5.4% or EUR 10.6).

Healthcare and health products take only 5.1% of an average Romania’s monthly consumption expenditure (EUR 10), just a little more than communications (4.9% or EUR 9.6). Then come recreation and culture (3.2% or EUR 6.3), hotels and restaurants (2.2% or EUR 4.4), and, at the bottom of the list, education, with only 0.6% of the monthly budget or a mere EUR 1.2.

Note: There are significant variations from these averages based on household type and location. For example, the average income and expenditure per household member are over 50% higher in cities than in rural areas. Moreover, the average income per member in households with at least one employee is almost triple compared to that in households of agriculture workers, according to INS data.