RAPID REPORTS eurostat Economy and finance 1993 D 6 ISSN 1016-0213 HOUSEHOLD CONSUMPTION IN THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITY AND THE MEMBER STATES Comparison with the United States and Japan The final consumption of households represents the base^ on household consumption which is the most value of goods and services used for the direct important aggregate of GDP. fulfilment of household requirements. It covers both For most of the countries, the data on the eight major actual expenditure on purchases of merchant goods and functions of consumption and fortyodd subfunctions services and own consumption such as the products are available from the year 1960. For some countries, from kitchen gardens and the imputed rent of ownerthe series does not begin until 1977 and for others, the occupied dwellings. Eurostat has in the framework of data on subfunctions have a few gaps or are completely national accounts a particularly wellstocked data lacking. Diagram 1 Household consumption in the Community, the United States and Japan, 1960-1991, as % Of GDP 55 53 + 51 0'-cvico^íiot£>r--ooo>0'>-OM«tio«Dr«-ooo)0'-c\ic»j'«íincoh-a)a>0'-οΐΦΦΦθιΦσφφαοΐΦσ>σ)σια)θ)ο>σ)θ)0>θ)σ)θ>οαιαιθ)θ)οισ)θΐ EUR 12 USA Japan Statistical Office of the European Communties, National Accounts Aggregates, 1970-1991, as well as the ESA national accounts - detailed tables by branch 1970-1991, Theme 2, Series C, Brussels/Luxembourg 1993. Manuscript completed on = 8.11.