This publication presents data from the Household Expenditure Survey for 2014. The publication is meant to meet the needs of state institutions, research institutes, government ministries, consumers and other agencies, for up-to-date and detailed data on household income and expenditure in Israel.
The survey was first performed in the early 1950s; until 1997 it took place approximately once every five years. Since 1997, the Central Bureau of Statistics has been performing the survey on a regular annual basis, among the total population of households.
From 1997–2011, the CBS investigated household incomes in two separate surveys: the Household Expenditure Survey and the Income Survey, as part of the Labour Force Surveys. Data from the two surveys were combined into one system and were presented based on both surveys.
As of 2012, the Income Survey was detracted from the Labour Force Survey, and the Household Expenditure Survey sample was expanded and augmented.
Conducting the survey on a regular basis has improved the national statistics in several ways, notably:
- The base for the Consumer Price Index was adjusted as of January 1999 every two years –- on the basis of these surveys. The index weights as of January 2015 are based on the average for the years 2012 and 2013.
- The ability to integrate household expenditure data each year has improved the National Accounts data.
Several units at the Central Bureau of Statistics took part in designing and performing the survey. The Department of Surveys staff built the enumeration questionnaires and gathered data from households. The Department of Statistical Methodology staff determined the samples and the weighting methods. The Consumption and Finance Sector staff keyed in, edited, processed the data and prepared them for publication.
The Central Bureau of Statistics is especially grateful to the thousands of households that took part in the survey, displayed patience and much responsibility, and helped substantially to enhance Israel's statistical database.
