Household Finance and Consumption Statistics

Published: 17.04.2019 Updated: 11.01.2023

The HFCS is a statistical survey conducted in the euro area countries by collecting and compiling data on the real assets, financial assets, debt, income and consumption of households.

Tables 2020

Published 20.12.2022.

Table 1. Household structure by demographic characteristics in Latvia and in the euro area

Table 2. Participation in real assets by different household types

Table 3. Median value of real assets conditional on participation

Table 3.A Mean value of real assets conditional on participation (EUR, thousands)

Table 4. Composition of real assets

Table 5. Participation in financial assets by different household types

Table 6. Median value of financial assets conditional on participation (EUR, thousands)

Table 6.A Mean value of financial assets conditional on participation (EUR, thousands)

Table 7. The composition of financial assets

Table 8. The composition of total assets of Latvian households

Table 9. Participation in debt by different household types

Table 10. Median values of debt, conditional on participation (EUR, thousands)

Table 10.A Mean values of debt, conditional on participation (EUR, thousands)

Table 11. The composition of debt

Table 12. Households’ financial fragility indicators

Table 13. Gini coefficients

Table 14. Net wealth and its components by degree of urbanisation in 2014

Table 15. Net wealth, breakdown by different household characteristics

Table 16. Household income, breakdown by different household characteristics

Table 17. Food and utilities consumption

Table 18. Total consumption of non-durables

Table 19. Credit constraints, breakdown by different household characteristics

Tables 2017

Updated 26.11.2020.

Table 1. Household structure by demographic characteristics in Latvia and in the euro area

Table 2. Participation in real assets by different household types

Table 3. Median value of real assets conditional on participation

Table 3.A Mean value of real assets conditional on participation (EUR, thousands)

Table 4. Composition of real assets

Table 5. Participation in financial assets by different household types

Table 6.A Mean value of financial assets conditional on participation (EUR, thousands)

Table 7. The composition of financial assets

Table 8. The composition of total assets of Latvian households

Table 9. Participation in debt by different household types

Table 10.A Mean values of debt, conditional on participation (EUR, thousands)

Table 11. The composition of debt

Table 12. Households’ financial fragility indicators

Table 13. Gini coefficients

Table 14. Net wealth and its components by degree of urbanisation in 2014

Table 15. Net wealth, breakdown by different household characteristics

Table 16. Household income, breakdown by different household characteristics

Table 17. Food and utilities consumption

Table 18. Total consumption of non-durables

Table 19. Credit constraints, breakdown by different household characteristics

Tables 2014

Table 1. Household structure by demographic characteristics in Latvia and in the euro area

Table 2. Participation in real assets by different household types

Table 3. Median value of real assets conditional on participation

Table 4. Composition of real assets

Table 5. Participation in financial assets by different household types

Table 6. Median value of financial assets conditional on participation

Table 7. The composition of financial assets

Table 8. The composition of total assets of Latvian households

Table 9. Participation in debt by different household types

Table 10. Median values of debt, conditional on participation

Table 11. The composition of debt

Table 12. Households’ financial fragility indicators

Table 13. Gini coefficients

Table 14. Net wealth and its components by degree of urbanisation in 2014

Table 15. Net wealth, breakdown by different household characteristics

Table 16. Household income, breakdown by different household characteristics

Table 17. Food and utilities consumption

Table 18. Total consumption of non-durables

Table 19. Credit constraints, breakdown by different household characteristics

Description

What is the Household Finance and Consumption Survey (HFCS)?

The HFCS is a statistical survey conducted in the euro area countries by collecting and compiling data on the real assets, financial assets, debt, income and consumption of households. The HFCS is carried out by the European Central Bank and the national central banks of the EU Member States. In order to ensure the cross-country comparability of data and gain a uniform understanding on the situation in each euro area country, the HFCS is carried out in accordance with the methodology of the European Central Bank (available at: ECB HFCN).

How often is the HFCS conducted?

The HFCS is conducted once in three years. The first HFCS took place in 2010 and 2011, with approximately 62 thousand households in 15 euro area countries participating in the survey. The second HFCS was carried out in 2014, and 18 euro area countries, and Hungary and Poland took part in the survey. During this HFCS, data from about 84 thousand households, including 1202 households in Latvia, were collected. The HFCS of 2017 was the third in a row, and 19 euro area countries and Croatia, Hungary and Poland took part in it. In Latvia, data were collected from 1249 households. All 19 Eurozone countries, as well as Hungary, Croatia and the Czech Republic participated in the fourth HFCS conducted in 2020. In Latvia, data were collected from 1219 households.

Who organised the HFCS in Latvia?

In Latvia, the HFCS was conducted by Latvijas Banka in cooperation with the Central Statistical Bureau of Latvia which ensured the collection of the HFCS data and the use of the administrative data.

Which households did participate in the HFCS?

The HFCS was carried out using the sampling method and the sample was obtained by randomly selecting addresses. Broader representation was ensured for households with higher income. The HFCS data was collected on site, with the aid of the CAPI (Computer Assisted Personal Interviewing). In the 2020 HFCS, households were also surveyed using CATI (Computer Assisted Telephone Interviewing).

What sort of questions were asked during the HFCS?

The HFCS questions can be divided into two groups: questions about the household in general and questions about each member of the household who is at least 16 years old at the time of the HFCS. The household was asked general questions about its main residence, other real estate property owned, debt, commercial activities, valuable gifts, overall consumption and savings. Questions about each member of the household provided demographic data and information on the current employment, the provision for future pensions and the income of the household members.

What are the components of the balance sheet of a household?

ASSETS	LIABILITIES
Real assets	Collateralised debt
Main residence	Mortgages on main residence
Other real estate property	Mortgages on other real estate property
Ownership of businesses where the members of the household are self-employed or have an active role in running the business
Vehicles
Valuables

Financial assets	Uncollateralised debt
Sight accounts	Overdraft debt
Savings accounts	Credit card debt
Life insurance policies	Other uncollateralised loans
Mutual funds
Bonds
Publicly traded stocks
Ownership of businesses, excluding businesses where the members of the household are self-employed or have an active role in running the business
Money owed to household
Voluntary pensions/whole life insurance
Other financial assets¹
¹ For example, options, futures, precious metals, royalties.

How is the HFCS data confidentiality ensured?

At the time of data collection, the protection of HFCS data and the anonymity of respondents was ensured by the Central Statistical Bureau of Latvia, which was the institution ensuring data collection. The aggregation and publication of data is the responsibility of Latvijas Banka.

With particular attention to ensuring the protection of personal data, Latvijas Banka received the data collected by the Central Statistical Bureau of Latvia without any names and surnames of the respondents or their addresses. As a result, this personal cannot be linked to the answers provided by the respondents. Latvijas Banka publishes data compiled in a way that makes it impossible to identify individual respondents.

Where are Latvia's HFCS data published?

The compiled HFCS data on Latvia are available on Latvijas Banka's website in the section "Statistics".

Are Tax-Favoured Savings Plans Effective in Raising Private Savings? Discussion Paper. 2021. No 1. Results of the Household Finance and Consumption Survey in Latvia. Discussion Paper. 2018. No 1. Household Finance and Consumption Survey: Assessing Latvian Household Access to Loans. Financial Stability Report. 2019. Box 3.