United States - Households and NPISHs final consumption expenditure (% of GDP)

Households and NPISHs final consumption expenditure (% of GDP) in United States was 67.04 as of 2020. Its highest value over the past 50 years was 68.84 in 2011, while its lowest value was 59.60 in 1973.

Definition: Household final consumption expenditure (formerly private consumption) is the market value of all goods and services, including durable products (such as cars, washing machines, and home computers), purchased by households. It excludes purchases of dwellings but includes imputed rent for owner-occupied dwellings. It also includes payments and fees to governments to obtain permits and licenses. Here, household consumption expenditure includes the expenditures of nonprofit institutions serving households, even when reported separately by the country. This item also includes any statistical discrepancy in the use of resources relative to the supply of resources.

Source: World Bank national accounts data, and OECD National Accounts data files.

See also:

Year Value
1970 60.26
1971 60.09
1972 60.05
1973 59.60
1974 60.20
1975 61.16
1976 61.26
1977 61.20
1978 60.48
1979 60.34
1980 61.27
1981 60.30
1982 61.94
1983 62.78
1984 61.73
1985 62.52
1986 63.02
1987 63.36
1988 63.59
1989 63.40
1990 63.88
1991 64.04
1992 64.38
1993 64.91
1994 64.78
1995 64.96
1996 64.96
1997 64.55
1998 64.85
1999 65.25
2000 66.01
2001 66.85
2002 67.20
2003 67.56
2004 67.40
2005 67.26
2006 67.16
2007 67.44
2008 68.31
2009 68.46
2010 68.44
2011 68.84
2012 68.21
2013 67.70
2014 67.60
2015 67.24
2016 67.72
2017 67.74
2018 67.50
2019 67.32
2020 67.04

Limitations and Exceptions: Because policymakers have tended to focus on fostering the growth of output, and because data on production are easier to collect than data on spending, many countries generate their primary estimate of GDP using the production approach. Moreover, many countries do not estimate all the components of national expenditures but instead derive some of the main aggregates indirectly using GDP (based on the production approach) as the control total. Household final consumption expenditure is often estimated as a residual, by subtracting all other known expenditures from GDP. The resulting aggregate may incorporate fairly large discrepancies. When household consumption is calculated separately, many of the estimates are based on household surveys, which tend to be one-year studies with limited coverage. Thus the estimates quickly become outdated and must be supplemented by estimates using price- and quantity-based statistical procedures. Complicating the issue, in many developing countries the distinction between cash outlays for personal business and those for household use may be blurred. Informal economic activities pose a particular measurement problem, especially in developing countries, where much economic activity is unrecorded. A complete picture of the economy requires estimating household outputs produced for home use, sales in informal markets, barter exchanges, and illicit or deliberately unreported activities. The consistency and completeness of such estimates depend on the skill and methods of the compiling statisticians.

Statistical Concept and Methodology: Gross domestic product (GDP) from the expenditure side is made up of household final consumption expenditure, general government final consumption expenditure, gross capital formation (private and public investment in fixed assets, changes in inventories, and net acquisitions of valuables), and net exports (exports minus imports) of goods and services. Such expenditures are recorded in purchaser prices and include net taxes on products.

Aggregation method: Weighted average

Periodicity: Annual

Classification

Topic: Economic Policy & Debt Indicators

Sub-Topic: National accounts