Living Standards Measurements Study - Serbia 2002 - 2007

Таble 2.6. Average monthly expenditure and household expenditure structure in Central Serbia, the
City of Belgrade and Vojvodina, 2007
Total
West
Serbia
Central Serbia
Šumadija
East
Serbia
South-
East
Serbia
City of
Belgrade
Vojvodina
Average monthly expenditure
in dinars
48 469 44 752 51 151 48 741 47 803 64 706 50 582
Total in percent 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
Food and beverages 36.5 36.3 37.2 34.8 36.7 30.3 32.6
Alcoholic drinks and tobacco 4.3 3.7 4.2 4.7 4.4 3.2 4.1
Clothes and footwear 5.1 5.3 5.2 5.0 4.8 6.1 4.5
Housing, water, power supply,
gas and other fuels
16.3 16.2 15.9 16.6 16.9 22.4 18.4
Furniture, household furnishing
and maintenance
3.1 2.8 3.3 3.4 2.8 3.2 3.0
Health care 3.5 3.2 3.4 3.4 3.8 4.7 4.6
Transport 8.5 9.0 8.3 8.6 8.2 8.3 8.7
Communications 3.2 3.2 3.3 3.2 3.0 3.9 3.2
Recreation and culture 4.2 3.8 4.3 4.2 4.3 8.6 5.5
Education 1.1 0.8 1.0 1.0 1.5 2.1 1.2
Restaurants and hotels 5.0 5.0 5.4 4.7 4.7 4.7 4.0
Other goods and services 7.3 8.4 7.3 6.8 7.0 8.0 8.3
In the expenditure structure of lowest decile
the largest share in expenditure is attributable to the
costs of food and beverages and the costs of
housing, water, power supply, gas and other fuels,
which is the case with the expenditure structure of
the average Serbian household. Unlike the average
household, where such costs account for 52.3
percent of total expenditure, in case of the poorest
groups they account for 68.7 percent of total
expenditure.
The households in the first decile spend most
on food and beverages – 45.8 percent. These costs,
by share of total expenditure of these households,
are followed by the costs of housing, water, power
supply, gas and other fuels and alcoholic drinks and
tobacco. The expenditure structure of the
households in the first decile in urban and other
areas are characterized by a high share of the costs
of food and beverages and the costs of housing,
water, power supply, gas and other fuels, and they
account for some 70 percent of total expenditure.
While the poorest households in other areas spend
on food and beverages even 47.9 percent of total
expenditure, the costs of urban households for
housing, water, power supply, gas and other fuels
account for 28.9 percent. The households in the
initial four deciles have a high share of the costs of
food and beverages, ranging from 45.8 percent in
the first decile to 40.0 percent in the fourth decile.
The expenditure of the first-decile households
is generally characterized by a high share of the
costs of alcoholic drinks and tobacco – 5.5 percent,
which is unfortunately evermore becoming a
characteristic of the poor population. As already
mentioned, the 10 percent poorest households spend
on food and beverages, and housing, water, power
supply, gas and other fuels 68.7 percent of the
available funds, so that only 25 percent remains
available for all other personal expenditure groups.
Such a high share of the costs of basic necessities
limits the spending capacity of these households on
other spheres of life.
The structure of personal expenditure of the
population which is classified as being poor
corresponds to the structure of the first expenditure
decile.
Income and expenditure
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