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The Household Budget Survey (HBS) was conducted between May 2006 and July 2007.
The purpose of the survey was to measure the current expenditure pattern of households,
with the aim of improving the measurement of inflation by revising the ‘basket of
goods and services’ used to compile the Consumer Price Index.
Some 1200 households
(excluding households headed by expatriates and institutional populations) participated
in the survey.
A summary of the key findings is presented here.
The information provided is an
extract from the detailed survey report that will be published in the next few weeks.
Panel 1 presents the monthly average expenditure by households, disaggregated by
the major commodity groups and the associated weights.
The weights indicate the
relative importance attached to the various goods and services in the current ‘basket’.
A set of poverty indicators estimated using the calorie count approach is presented in Panel 2. The estimations were derived by comparing the recommended calorie intake and the actual household consumption estimated by reported expenditure. The Basic Needs Poverty threshold comprises of food, shelter and non-replaceable utilities. 18% of households are estimated to be living below the food poverty threshold, while 30% live below the Basic Needs Poverty line. The ‘Poverty Gap’ estimates the average disparity between consumption levels and the poverty line for households living below the established threshold, while the ‘Poverty Severity’ is a weighted aggregate of the of poverty gaps for the same group for households 
The Standard of living index is a composite figure based on the availability of various assets and facilities in the household. A total of 17 different items has been used to compute the score assigned to each household. The average distribution of scores observed is given in Panel 3. 
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