Household Budget Surveys in the EU - Methodological manual 2026 wave - Manual and guidelines

Oct 23, 2026

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Methodological manual for the Household Budget Surveys (HBS) in the EU, providing a structured framework for defining concepts, describing households and residence, and specifying key variables across consumption, income, health, labour, education, living conditions, wealth, and related domains. It explains statistical processing through sampling, data collection, and data compilation, and supports consistent statistical treatment using annexes with lists of variables and COICOP categories, accompanied by references to regulations and methodological documents relevant to the 2026 wave.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages112

Reading Time4 h 42 min

AccessFree to download

Preface

List of abbreviations

1. Introduction

1.1 Purpose and structure of the manual

1.2 EU policy relevance

1.3 History of HBS in the EU

1.4 HBS legal basis

2. Statistical concepts and definitions

2.1 General statistical definitions

2.2 Definitions and descriptions of household and usual residence

2.3 Household final consumption expenditure

2.4 Definitions of income and its components

2.5 Crosscutting concepts and borderline cases

3. General description of data

3.1 Topics and detailed topics for consumption domain

3.2 Overview of the technical characteristics of variables

4. Description of variables

4.1 Technical items

4.2 Person and household characteristics

4.3 Health

4.4 Labour

4.5 Education and training

4.6 Living conditions

4.7 Income

4.8 Wealth

4.9 Consumption expenditure

4.10 Consumption in quantities

5. Statistical processing

5.1 Sampling

5.2 Data collection

5.3 Data compilation

Annexes

Annex 1. List of the variables for the consumption domain

Annex 2. List of COICOP categories for monetary consumption expenditure

Annex 3. List of COICOP categories for quantities

References

Regulations

Guidelines, methodological documents and classifications

Household Budget Surveys in the EU Methodological manual 2026 wave MANUAL S AND GUIDELINES Household Budget Surveysin the EU Methodological manual 2026 wave This document should not be considered as representative of the European Commission’s official position. Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union, 2026 © European Union, 2026 Reuse is authorised provided the source is acknowledged and the original meaning or message of the document is not distorted. The European Commission shall not be liable for any consequence stemming from the reuse. The reuse policy of European Commission documents is implemented by Commission Decision 2011/833/EU of 12 December 2011 on thereuse of Commission documents (OJ L 330, 14.12. 2011, p. 39). For any use or reproduction of elements that are not owned by the European Union, permission may need to be sought directly from the respective rightholders. The European Union does not own the copyright in relation to the following elements: cover © Adobe Stock/JackF Collection: Manuals and guidelines Theme: Population and social conditions PDF ISBN 978-92-68-38238-7 ISSN series 2315-0815 doi:10 . 2785/1942116 KS-01-26-021-EN-N Contents Preface ............................................................................................................................ 5 List of abbreviations ...................................................................................................... 6 1. Introduction .............................................................................................................. 7 1.1. Purpose and structure of the manual ........................................................................ 7 1.2. EU policy relevance...................................................................................................... 7 1.3. History of HBS in the EU .............................................................................................. 8 1.4. HBS legal basis ............................................................................................................. 8 2. Statistical concepts and definitions ....................................................................... 10 2.1. General statistical definitions................................................................................... 10 2.2. Definitions and descriptions of household and usual residence......................... 12 2.3. Household final consumption expenditure ........................................................... 15 2.4. Definitions of income and its components............................................................. 17 2.5. Crosscutting concepts and borderline cases.......................................................... 20 3. General description of data .................................................................................... 32 3.1. Topics and detailed topics for consumption domain ............................................ 32 3.2. Overview of the technical characteristics of variables.......................................... 33 4. Description of variables .......................................................................................... 36 4.1. Technical items ........................................................................................................... 36 4.2. Person and household characteristics .................................................................... 41 4.3. Health.......................................................................................................................... 47 4.4. Labour ......................................................................................................................... 48 4.5. Education and training ............................................................................................. 51 4.6. Living conditions .............................................................

FAQs

What is the purpose and scope of the Household Budget Surveys (HBS) methodological manual for the EU 2026 wave?

It sets out the purpose and structure of the HBS manual and frames how HBS should be conducted in the EU, including policy relevance and the legal basis behind the survey approach.

Which statistical concepts and definitions are covered in the manual?

The manual explains general statistical definitions, definitions of households and usual residence, household final consumption expenditure, and definitions of income and its components, including crosscutting concepts and borderline cases.

How does the manual guide statistical processing for HBS data?

It describes the process through sampling, data collection, and data compilation, and provides structured variable descriptions to support consistent statistical treatment.

Oct 23, 2026

Upload by Noah