ECONOMY: Top Cyprus household expenditure is hotels and restaurants

Unlike most of Europe top of the household expenditure list in Cyprus is spending money on restaurants and hotels (17.5%) with housing and energy bills (15.4%) coming second.

Household expenditure was mostly devoted to "housing" in all Member States except Estonia, Lithuania and Romania, where "food" was most important, and Cyprus and Malta (20.2%) where it was "restaurants and hotels".

Households have different consumption patterns very much depending on income levels, cultural habits or geographical situation.

On average in the EU in 2017, the largest part (nearly a quarter) of household consumption expenditure was devoted to "housing, water, electricity and gas" (which excludes purchase of dwellings), while "transport" accounted for 13% and "food" for 12%. "Restaurants and hotels" and "recreation and culture" followed with shares of around 9% each.

The remaining groups of products and services had shares of around 4% to 6%: "furnishings and household equipment", "clothing and footwear", "alcoholic beverages and tobacco" and "health"; while "communications" and "education" had smaller shares of 3% and 1% respectively.

In Cyprus the third biggest budget item was food (13.7%) then transport (13%) while recreation and culture was below the EU average at 6%.