Food, housing, and transport costs absorb the bulk of household expenditure in Greece, according to the latest survey of the independent Hellenic Statistical Service (ELSTAT) released on Friday.
The survey shows that Greeks have the second largest private health spending in the EU (7.3 percent of the household budget) and a significant amount is spent on education, which is supposed to be free (3.2 percent of the household budget).
In 2017, the total monthly household expenditure increased by 1 percent compared to 2016 and amounted to more than €5,7 billion.
The average total monthly expenditure for each person amounted to €547.51, recording an increase of 1.6 percent. In real terms, household average monthly expenditure increased by 0.7 percent due to the impact of inflation in 2017 (0.7 percent).
The largest share of expenditure in the household average budget is for food (20.4 percent), followed by housing (14.1 percent) and transport (12.9 percent).
The figures also reveal the spectacular expenditure slump since 2008, the year before Greece entered into the economic crisis.
The average monthly household expenditure since 2008 has dropped by a whopping 31.5 percent.
The table below shows that the biggest drop in expenditure since the crisis is in durable goods (61.6 percent), followed by clothing (56.7 percent).
The smallest drop in expenditure during the crisis years was in food (22.8 percent) and housing (26.1 percent)
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