The average total monthly income per Romanian household was 6,979 RON in Q1 2023, up 12.1% compared to the same period in 2022, while expenditures accounted for 85.6% of the total, according to data published Monday by the National Institute of Statistics (INS), write Agerpres.

According to the official statistics, in the January-March 2023 period, the household money income was on average 2,550 RON per person, up 4.2% from Q4 2022, while income in kind was a monthly 616 RON (247 RON per person), 16.4% above the level recorded in Q4 2022.

At the same time, wages and other related income were 4526 RON per month, per household and represented the most important source of earnings (64.9%), but down 1.7% compared to Q4 2022.

In this context, slso contributing to the total household incomes were social benefits of 1.483 RON per month/ per household (21.3% in Q1 2023, respectively 19.9% in Q4 2022 of total household income) and income in kind (8.8% in Q1 2023, respectively 8% in Q4 2022), made up of the value of income in kind obtained by employees and recipients of social benefits (1.9% in Q1 2023, respectively 1.7% in Q4 2022) and the equivalent consumption of agricultural products from own resources (6.9% in Q1 2023, respectively 6.3% in Q4 2022).

By residence environment, the level of total average monthly income in urban areas was 7,706 RON per household in the first three months of this year, 1.3 times higher than in rural areas.

In terms of total income structure, in the period under review, in urban areas, the share of gross wages and other wage entitlements in total income was 71.5%, 17.3 percentage points higher than in rural areas. Also, in rural areas, the share of income from social benefits was 22.5%, two percentage points higher than in urban areas, and the share of income in kind was 15.2%, 3.2 times higher than in urban areas.

In terms of average monthly household expenditures, they were 5,487 RON per household (2,199 RON per person), 1.1% higher than in Q4 2022, and 1.5% higher per person.

On this segment, the value of consumption of agri-food and non-food products from own resources was, on average, 485 RON per month, per household (194 RON/person), up by 16.6%, compared to the data of Q4 2022.

Also in the first three months of 2023, the main destinations of household expenditures are: consumption – 3,702 RON per month, per household (62%) and transfers to public and private administration and social security budgets, in the form of taxes, contributions, levies – 1,888 RON per household (31.6%), as well as covering needs related to household production – 181 RON per household (3.1%).

The area of residence shows differences in the level of total average monthly expenditure. Thus, in urban areas, average monthly expenditure per household was 6,573 RON, 1.3 times higher than in rural areas. At the same time, in terms of the structure of total expenditure, in urban areas, the share of expenditure on taxes, contributions, levies and fees was 35.3% of total expenditure, 9.4 percentage points higher than in rural areas, while in rural areas the share of the consumption of agri-food and non-food products from own resources in total expenditure was 4.4 times higher than in urban areas.

According to the standard classification of individual consumption by purpose (COICOP), food and non-alcoholic beverages, amounting to 1,301 RON per household, held a significant share in total household consumption expenditure (35.1%). These are followed, in terms of value, by expenditure on housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels (682 RON per household, with a share in total average monthly consumption expenditure of 18.4%) and expenditure on alcoholic beverages and tobacco (271 RON per household, with a share in total average monthly consumption expenditure of 7.3%).

The INS data show that the lowest level of expenditure was on education (24 RON per household, 0.7% of total average monthly consumption expenditure) and on insurance and financial services (31 RON household, 0.8% of total average monthly consumption expenditure).