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Home , Household, Median income, OECD

HOUSEHOLD INCOME AND WEALTH

INCOME AND NATIONAL INCOME PER CAPITA DISPOSABLE INCOME HOUSEHOLD SAVINGS

INCOME INEQUALITY AND INCOME INEQUALITY POVERTY RATES AND GAPS

HOUSEHOLD WEALTH HOUSEHOLD FINANCIAL ASSETS NON-FINANCIAL ASSETS BY

HOUSEHOLD INCOME AND WEALTH • INCOME AND SAVINGS

NATIONAL INCOME PER CAPITA While per capita is the indicator property income may never actually be returned to the most commonly used to compare income levels, two country but instead add to foreign direct . other measures are preferred, at least in theory, by many analysts. These are per capita Comparability (GNI) and National Income (NNI). Whereas GDP refers All countries compile data according to the 1993 SNA to the income generated by production activities on the “System of , 1993” with the exception economic territory of the country, GNI measures the of where data are compiled according to the income generated by the residents of a country, whether new 2008 SNA. It’s important to note however that earned on the domestic territory or abroad. differences between the 2008 SNA and the 1993 SNA do not have a significant impact of the comparability of the Definition indicators presented here and this implies that data are GNI is defined as GDP plus receipts from abroad less highly comparable across countries. payments to abroad of and salaries and of However, there are practical difficulties in the property income plus net and subsidies receivable measurement both of international flows of wages and from abroad. NNI is equal to GNI net of depreciation. salaries and property income and of depreciation. It is for Wages and salaries from abroad are those that are that reason that GDP per capita is the most widely used earned by residents who essentially live and consume indicator of income or , even though, GNI is inside the economic territory but work abroad (this theoretically superior. happens in border areas on a regular basis) or for persons that live and work abroad for only short periods (seasonal workers) and whose centre of economic remains in their country. Guest-workers and other migrant workers who live abroad for twelve months or more are considered to be resident in the country where they are working. Such persons may send part of their earnings to relatives at home, but these remittances are treated as transfers between resident and non-resident households and are recorded in national disposable income but not national income. Sources Property income from/to abroad includes interest and • OECD (2012), National Accounts of OECD Countries, dividends. It also includes all or part of the retained OECD Publishing. earnings of foreign enterprises owned fully or in part by Further information residents (and vice versa). In this respect, it is important to note that retained earnings of foreign enterprises Analytical publications owned by residents do not actually return to the • OECD (2012), OECD , OECD residents concerned. Nevertheless, the retained earnings Publishing. are recorded as a receipt. As such, it is an imputation, • OECD (2011), Perspectives on Global Development, OECD and, since there is no actual transaction, it is necessary Publishing. to impute an outflow of the same amount. The imputed • OECD (2003), outflow is treated as a financial transaction (a The Sources of in OECD Countries, reinvestment of earnings abroad) and not as an outflow OECD Publishing. of property income. Countries with large stocks of outward foreign direct investment may be shown as Statistical publications having large receipts of property income from abroad • OECD (2011), National Accounts at a Glance, and therefore high GNI even though much of the OECD Publishing. • Maddison, A. (2003), The World Economy: Historical Perspectives, Development Centre Studies, OECD Publishing. Overview Methodological publications Ranking countries according to GNI per capita, shows • OECD (2000), that on average GNI per capita is usually around 15-19% System of National Accounts, 1993 – Glossary, OECD higher than NNI per capita. The country rankings are not Publishing. greatly affected by the choice of income measure. The • , OECD, International Monetary Fund only countries that would be more than one place lower in the ranking if NNI per capita were used instead of GNI and Eurostat (eds.) (2010), are , and ; the only countries that System of National Accounts 2008, United Nations, would be more than one place higher in the ranking if Geneva. NNI per capita were used are , , and the Russian Federation. Online databases GNI per capita does not differ significantly from GDP per • OECD National Accounts Statistics. capita. Usually, the differences are (significantly) smaller • OECD Economic Outlook: Statistics and Projections. than USD 2 000. There are, however, four exceptions. For , GNI per capita in 2010, although still Websites highest in the OECD, is nearly USD 25 000 lower than GDP • OECD Economic Outlook – Sources and Methods, per capita. In and , GNI is USD 6 000-7 000 www..org/eco/sources-and-methods. lower. On the other hand, GNI in is higher • The World Economy (supplementary material), than GDP per capita by approximately USD 3 000. www.theworldeconomy.org.

OECD Factbook 2013 © OECD 2012 - Preliminary Version HOUSEHOLD INCOME AND WEALTH • INCOME AND SAVINGS

Gross national income per capita US dollars, current and PPPs

1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 Australia 26 053 27 197 28 299 29 470 30 973 32 074 33 527 35 169 37 098 37 531 38 429 39 136 .. 26 705 28 421 28 408 30 086 31 016 32 611 33 310 36 193 37 614 39 692 38 651 39 972 41 988 Belgium 25 859 28 301 28 981 30 461 30 753 31 534 32 415 34 547 36 025 37 564 36 512 38 396 39 374 Canada 26 220 27 743 28 502 29 162 30 530 32 167 34 448 36 501 37 860 38 493 37 256 38 372 .. 8 863 9 259 9 693 9 888 10 159 10 809 11 629 12 104 13 034 14 226 14 221 15 058 16 336 14 543 15 281 16 362 16 926 18 115 19 129 20 372 22 072 23 640 24 659 23 901 23 557 24 285 26 699 28 221 29 017 30 393 30 243 32 438 33 659 36 721 38 129 40 472 38 918 41 128 42 237 8 632 9 542 10 255 11 475 12 678 14 044 15 902 18 145 20 151 20 970 19 224 19 376 20 825 23 307 25 478 26 494 27 577 27 407 30 088 30 849 33 454 36 183 38 244 36 224 36 847 37 846 23 994 25 608 26 972 27 862 27 554 28 554 30 017 31 988 33 722 34 769 34 298 34 910 35 796 24 694 25 496 26 405 27 077 28 114 29 939 31 469 34 235 36 171 37 590 36 816 38 124 39 944 17 025 18 320 19 894 21 485 22 392 23 721 23 994 26 219 26 928 28 604 28 668 27 668 26 077 Hungary 10 433 11 294 12 720 13 906 14 630 15 341 16 058 17 312 17 611 19 122 19 265 19 555 .. Iceland 28 071 28 051 29 482 31 033 30 294 32 362 33 731 33 740 35 338 31 011 29 504 29 365 30 759 Ireland 22 574 24 973 26 063 27 656 29 764 31 562 33 553 37 286 39 365 36 897 33 070 33 552 .. Israel 20 347 21 923 22 351 22 518 21 309 22 746 23 012 23 745 25 414 24 962 24 813 25 764 .. 24 225 25 562 27 093 26 759 27 082 27 432 28 288 30 491 32 039 33 008 32 101 31 751 32 720 Japan 24 940 26 339 27 008 27 671 28 429 29 874 31 150 32 700 34 489 34 699 32 980 34 645 .. Korea 15 407 17 109 18 109 19 668 20 197 21 688 22 762 24 284 26 150 26 888 27 051 28 834 30 336 Luxembourg 44 091 46 759 47 898 47 736 47 079 56 788 58 720 59 764 68 022 67 210 55 760 61 346 .. 9 027 9 807 9 925 10 214 10 690 11 370 12 243 13 469 14 219 15 030 14 101 14 982 .. 27 226 30 049 31 015 32 235 32 066 34 086 35 281 39 112 41 412 42 017 40 064 41 838 43 277 18 954 19 812 20 869 21 618 22 299 23 106 23 570 25 159 26 474 27 012 28 170 .. .. 29 550 35 649 37 118 37 166 38 501 42 560 47 967 53 884 55 698 61 049 55 026 57 945 62 954 9 940 10 532 10 922 11 524 11 869 12 641 13 516 14 693 16 160 17 660 18 270 19 239 .. 16 579 17 429 18 035 18 840 19 268 19 642 21 052 22 274 23 433 24 048 23 922 24 616 24 431 Slovak Republic 10 348 10 922 12 066 12 918 12 924 14 065 15 717 17 816 20 224 22 728 22 227 22 945 23 564 16 761 17 565 18 477 19 649 20 358 22 011 23 273 25 142 26 639 28 248 26 601 26 544 26 950 19 638 21 135 22 214 23 705 24 468 25 611 27 003 29 896 31 481 32 243 31 431 31 437 31 736 25 739 27 722 28 021 29 163 30 795 32 488 32 936 36 161 39 355 40 995 38 042 40 136 42 253 Switzerland 32 540 34 737 34 515 35 425 36 724 38 042 40 027 43 850 44 724 44 368 47 385 51 537 .. ...... 24 145 26 024 27 732 29 318 30 258 32 226 33 281 35 215 36 234 36 665 34 971 35 844 35 885 33 652 35 658 36 410 37 002 38 307 40 583 43 063 45 575 46 675 47 209 45 331 47 195 .. Euro area 23 101 24 427 25 608 26 382 26 863 28 091 29 380 31 828 33 557 34 547 33 810 34 381 35 387 EU27 20 510 21 817 22 938 23 855 24 449 25 753 26 933 29 164 30 801 31 943 31 124 31 772 32 752 OECD 23 023 24 497 25 253 25 953 26 715 28 234 29 762 31 828 33 217 34 012 32 905 .. .. ...... ...... 3 608 4 121 4 773 5 589 6 210 ...... ...... .. 2 280 2 458 2 594 2 712 2 861 3 051 3 301 3 571 3 844 4 014 4 221 .. Russian Federation 5 661 6 622 7 234 7 857 8 951 10 007 11 531 14 482 16 335 19 673 18 278 .. .. 6 254 6 545 6 716 7 028 7 276 7 820 8 429 9 079 9 599 10 065 10 006 10 322 10 743

Statlink http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/888932706888

Gross and net national income per capita US dollars, current prices and PPPs, 2011 or latest available year

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OECD Factbook 2013 © OECD 2012 - Preliminary Version HOUSEHOLD INCOME AND WEALTH • INCOME AND SAVINGS

HOUSEHOLD DISPOSABLE INCOME Disposable income, as a concept, is closer to the concept of Australia where data are compiled according to the of income generally understood in , than new 2008 SNA. It’s important to note however that either national income or GDP. At the total economy differences between the 2008 SNA and the 1993 SNA do level it differs from national income in that additional not have a significant impact of the comparability of the income items are included, mainly other current indicators presented here and this implies that data are transfers such as remittances. For countries where these highly comparable across countries. additional items form significant sources of income the importance of focusing on disposable income in Real household disposable income formulating policy is clear. Another important difference Annual growth in percentage between national income and disposable income concerns the allocation of income across sectors. At this level significant differences arise. In the main these reflect the reallocation of national income: from corporations and households to government, on account of income taxes; from households to government to reflect social contributions; and, from government and corporations to households to reflect social benefits other than social transfers in kind. It is mainly this reallocation of income that brings the concept of income closer to the economic concept. Disposable income can be seen as the maximum amount that a unit can afford to spend on consumption or services without having to reduce its financial or non-financial assets or by increasing its liabilities. Definition Household disposable income is the sum of household final consumption expenditure and savings (minus the change in net equity of households in funds). It also corresponds to the sum of wages and salaries, mixed income, net property income, net current transfers and Statlink http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/888932706964 social benefits other than social transfers in kind, less taxes on income and wealth and social security contributions paid by employees, the self-employed and the unemployed. The indicator for the household sector includes the disposable income of non- institutions serving households (NPISH). The deflator used to obtain real values is consistent with that used to deflate the final consumption expenditure of households and NPISH. Sources • OECD (2012), National Accounts of OECD Countries, Comparability OECD Publishing. All countries compile data according to the 1993 SNA • OECD (2011), National Accounts at a Glance, OECD “System of National Accounts, 1993” with the exception Publishing. Further information Statistical publications • OECD (2012), Taxing Wages, OECD Publishing. Overview • OECD (2011), OECD at a Glance, OECD In average over the period 2008-10, household disposable Publishing. income in real terms increased for all OECD countries • OECD (2011), with some notable exceptions. In Greece, Hungary and at a Glance: OECD Social Indicators, OECD Estonia, household disposable income fell by 9-13% in the Publishing. three year period. Of the 28 OECD countries where information is available, decreases in disposable income Methodological publications were also recorded in Italy, Mexico, Portugal, the • OECD (2007), Understanding National Accounts, Netherlands and Austria. All other countries saw OECD Publishing. increases in real household disposable income in the period 2008-10. Chile, New Zealand, Norway and the • OECD (2000), Slovak Republic showed increases of over 10% for this System of National Accounts, 1993 – Glossary, OECD three year period. Publishing. Across OECD countries, comparisons of growth of real • United Nations, OECD, International Monetary Fund household disposable income over the three years to 2010 and Eurostat (eds.) (2010), compared to growth in the three years to 2001 show a System of National Accounts 2008, United Nations, rather consistent picture, with most countries showing Geneva. slower growth. An exception is Japan, where moderate growth rates in the recent period compare to an average Online databases fall in the three years up to 2001. • OECD Social Expenditure Statistics.

OECD Factbook 2013 © OECD 2012 - Preliminary Version HOUSEHOLD INCOME AND WEALTH • INCOME AND SAVINGS

Real household disposable income Annual growth in percentage

1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 Australia 3.4 3.3 3.5 1.1 4.3 4.0 4.5 5.5 2.7 6.9 ...... Austria 4.0 1.8 -0.5 1.5 1.8 2.6 2.8 2.7 2.6 0.7 -1.5 -0.2 .. Belgium 2.5 1.8 3.1 -0.2 -0.2 -0.2 0.1 2.7 2.2 2.1 2.8 -1.3 -1.1 Canada 2.9 4.8 2.8 1.8 2.1 3.8 2.5 5.7 3.8 4.2 1.1 3.5 .. Chile -0.9 3.5 3.2 2.2 3.4 7.8 7.7 7.0 7.1 4.9 7.4 5.9 .. Czech Republic 2.0 2.0 2.3 3.0 4.0 1.8 5.1 5.6 3.8 2.1 1.3 0.2 .. Denmark -3.8 0.5 3.7 2.0 2.4 2.7 2.2 1.8 0.1 -0.2 0.2 3.8 1.1 Estonia -1.9 11.2 5.9 7.0 7.3 2.0 11.0 10.8 11.8 0.4 -6.7 -2.7 .. Finland 4.5 0.6 3.2 2.2 6.0 4.8 1.0 2.7 3.6 2.4 1.9 2.5 0.0 France 2.7 3.1 3.1 3.5 0.5 2.1 1.1 2.4 3.0 0.2 1.2 0.9 0.6 Germany 1.8 0.9 1.7 0.0 0.7 0.6 0.4 1.2 0.0 1.0 -0.7 0.9 .. Greece .. .. 4.1 2.6 4.7 3.1 1.9 2.9 9.4 -4.5 1.7 -10.3 .. Hungary 1.5 1.2 5.2 6.4 5.5 4.0 3.6 1.7 -3.0 -1.8 -4.3 -4.0 .. Iceland ...... Ireland ...... 0.3 5.8 7.8 4.3 6.9 5.0 -2.0 -2.2 .. Israel ...... Italy 1.5 0.1 3.0 1.2 0.5 0.9 0.6 0.9 1.0 -1.4 -3.0 -0.9 .. Japan -0.4 -0.9 -2.1 1.0 0.0 1.1 0.9 0.8 0.8 -1.2 1.3 2.5 .. Korea 2.8 0.4 0.9 3.4 4.9 4.7 2.3 2.6 2.7 1.3 1.6 4.1 0.9 Luxembourg ...... 4.0 4.2 1.4 .. .. Mexico ...... 4.0 4.6 5.5 3.4 1.0 -7.7 4.1 .. Netherlands 2.1 2.2 5.6 -0.6 -2.5 0.6 -0.3 0.5 2.6 -0.3 -1.1 -0.1 -0.2 New Zealand 7.8 -4.1 3.7 -0.5 8.4 5.8 2.4 2.1 ...... Norway 2.5 3.8 0.0 8.0 4.6 3.3 7.8 -6.4 6.3 3.9 3.9 3.5 4.2 Poland 3.5 1.7 4.1 -1.0 1.2 1.7 1.5 4.5 4.6 4.0 4.8 2.7 .. Portugal 6.6 3.6 1.6 1.0 0.3 1.7 0.7 -0.4 1.9 1.6 1.8 1.3 -4.6 Slovak Republic -1.3 2.0 3.0 5.1 -0.7 3.9 6.2 3.4 9.1 5.0 2.2 3.2 .. Slovenia 3.5 4.5 4.6 3.2 0.6 3.9 4.1 3.2 4.5 2.7 -0.4 0.3 .. Spain .. .. 3.1 3.0 3.7 2.7 3.8 3.0 3.2 3.0 2.2 -4.6 .. Sweden 2.9 5.1 6.5 3.1 0.9 1.3 1.9 3.6 5.5 2.3 2.2 1.2 3.0 Switzerland 3.0 2.7 2.9 -1.3 -0.8 2.3 2.2 3.7 4.1 0.1 1.5 1.8 .. Turkey ...... United Kingdom 2.7 4.7 5.4 2.4 3.2 0.4 2.0 1.1 1.1 1.3 1.5 0.5 .. United States 3.1 4.8 2.5 3.6 2.9 3.1 1.4 4.0 2.0 2.7 -2.1 2.2 .. Euro area .. 1.7 2.8 1.4 1.0 1.6 1.3 1.7 2.1 0.4 -0.1 -0.6 -0.1 EU27 .. 2.2 3.5 1.6 1.6 1.5 1.6 1.8 2.1 1.1 0.5 -0.4 -0.1 OECD ...... Brazil ...... China ...... India ...... Indonesia ...... Russian Federation ...... 7.7 9.4 11.9 13.6 14.1 8.0 -1.4 .. .. South Africa 2.0 3.7 2.8 3.5 4.0 5.8 5.0 6.9 5.2 0.3 1.8 5.8 ..

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Real household disposable income Average annual growth in percentage

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OECD Factbook 2013 © OECD 2012 - Preliminary Version HOUSEHOLD INCOME AND WEALTH • INCOME AND SAVINGS

HOUSEHOLD SAVINGS Household is the main domestic source of funds such as agricultural products - the values of which are to finance capital investment, which is a major impetus also included in income. for long-term economic growth. Household saving rates The household saving rate is calculated as the ratio of vary considerably between countries because of household saving to household disposable income. institutional, demographic and socio-economic differences. For example, government provisions for old- Comparability age pensions and the demographic age structure of the All countries compile data according to the 1993 SNA population will all influence the rate at which “System of National Accounts, 1993” with the exception populations save (older persons tend to run down their of Australia where data are compiled according to the financial assets during their to the detriment new 2008 SNA. It’s important to note however that of saving). Equally the availability and price of credit, as differences between the 2008 SNA and the 1993 SNA do well as attitudes towards debt, may also influence not have a significant impact of the comparability of the choices made by individuals regarding whether to spend indicators presented here and this implies that data are or save. highly comparable across countries. Definition Saving rates may be measured on either a net or a gross In the national accounts, household saving is estimated basis. Net saving rates are measured after deducting by subtracting household consumption expenditure from consumption of fixed capital (in respect of assets used in household disposable income plus the change in net unincorporated enterprises and in respect of owner- equity of households in pension funds (since this occupied ), from saving and from the component is also a determinant of household disposable income of households, so that both saving disposable income but with an opposite sign). and disposable income are shown on a net basis. Household disposable income consists essentially of Most countries publish ratios on a net basis. However income from and from the operation of some countries publish these ratios on a gross basis; unincorporated enterprises, plus receipts of interest, which causes an upward bias compared to net ratios. dividends and social benefits minus payments of current taxes, interest and social contributions. Note that enterprise income includes imputed rents “paid” by owner-occupiers of dwellings. Household consumption expenditure consists mainly of cash outlays for but it also includes the imputed expenditures that owner occupiers pay, as occupiers, to themselves as owners of their dwellings and the production of goods for own-final use

Sources • OECD (2012), National Accounts of OECD Countries, Overview OECD Publishing. Household saving rates differ significantly across Further information countries. In 2011 or the most recent available year (2010 Analytical publications in most cases), saving rates of above 10% were recorded in France, Germany, Slovenia, Switzerland and the • Fournier, J. and I. Koske (2010), “A Simple Model of Russian Federation. Savings rates were slightly negative the Relationship between , Saving and in Denmark (minus 0.2%), whereas Greece reported a the Current Account”, negative savings rate of 11.1% in 2010. Of the 27 countries OECD Economics Department Working Papers, No. 816. where data is available for 2010, more than two thirds • Harvey, R. (2004), “Comparison of Household Saving saw decreases in their savings rate compared to 2009. Ratios: Euro Area/United States/Japan”, OECD These differences are partly due to institutional differences between countries. These include the extent Statistics Brief, No. 8, June, to which old-age pensions are funded by government www.oecd.org/std/statisticsbrief. rather than through personal savings, and the extent to • Hüfner, F. and I. Koske (2010), “Explaining which governments provide insurance against sickness Household Saving Rates in G7 Countries: and . The age composition of the Implications for Germany”, population is also relevant, as the elderly tend to run down financial assets acquired during their working . OECD Economics Department Working Papers, No. 754. This implies that a country with a high share of retired • de Laiglesia, J. and C. Morrison (2008), “Household persons will usually have a low household saving rate. Structures and Savings: Evidence from Household Considering the years covered in the graph, household Surveys”, OECD Development Centre Working Papers, saving rates in Japan decreased markedly in 2001, with a No. 267. much more moderate decrease in the following years. Saving rates have also decreased in Canada, although to a Statistical publications much lesser extent. Rates have remained broadly stable • OECD (2011), National Accounts at a Glance, OECD in Germany and France, at rather high levels of 10-12% Publishing. and 11-13%, respectively. The United States saw a rather stable development of its household saving rate in the Websites period 1999-2007; after that year, the household saving • OECD Economic Outlook – Sources and Methods, rate started to pick up and is now above 5%. www.oecd.org/eco/sources-and-methods.

OECD Factbook 2013 © OECD 2012 - Preliminary Version HOUSEHOLD INCOME AND WEALTH • INCOME AND SAVINGS

Household net saving rates As a percentage of household disposable income

1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 Australia 2.8 2.6 2.6 0.2 -0.9 -1.5 0.4 1.3 0.5 4.5 8.9 9.2 .. Austria 10.0 9.4 7.6 8.0 8.8 9.2 9.7 10.4 11.7 11.5 10.7 8.3 .. Belgium 13.2 12.5 13.8 13.1 12.3 10.7 9.9 10.7 11.4 11.5 13.3 10.1 8.8 Canada 4.1 4.8 5.3 3.5 2.7 3.2 2.2 3.6 2.9 4.0 4.7 4.9 .. Chile 6.8 6.1 6.6 6.4 6.1 6.8 6.7 7.3 7.3 6.0 10.9 8.1 .. Czech Republic 4.7 5.8 5.2 5.2 4.1 2.9 4.8 6.1 5.7 4.8 6.1 5.7 .. Denmark -5.6 -4.0 2.1 2.1 2.4 -1.3 -4.2 -2.3 -4.0 -3.7 -0.4 -0.2 -0.2 Estonia -5.4 -3.0 -4.0 -6.4 -7.1 -12.8 -10.8 -13.1 -8.2 -2.6 5.7 3.7 .. Finland 2.4 0.5 0.3 0.4 1.4 2.7 0.9 -1.1 -0.9 -0.3 4.2 3.3 .. France 11.3 11.0 11.7 13.0 11.9 12.2 11.1 11.2 11.7 11.7 12.6 12.1 12.3 Germany 9.6 9.4 9.5 10.1 10.4 10.6 10.7 10.8 11.0 11.7 11.1 11.3 .. Greece .. -4.5 -5.5 -7.6 -6.2 -6.9 -1.7 -3.1 2.2 -6.5 -3.4 -11.1 .. Hungary 7.8 6.2 6.7 5.3 2.9 5.4 6.7 7.2 3.3 2.7 4.5 2.5 .. Iceland ...... Ireland ...... 0.4 -0.6 0.9 1.7 -0.9 -0.1 5.5 10.1 8.9 .. Israel ...... Italy 10.0 7.9 10.0 10.8 10.3 10.5 10.2 9.5 8.9 8.5 6.9 5.1 .. Japan 10.2 8.8 3.8 3.3 2.7 2.3 1.6 1.3 1.1 0.5 2.3 2.3 .. Korea 16.1 9.3 5.2 0.4 5.2 9.2 7.2 5.2 2.9 2.9 4.6 4.3 3.1 Luxembourg ...... 3.8 4.3 5.0 6.4 .. .. Mexico ...... 11.4 10.1 10.1 10.1 9.6 8.9 8.9 8.4 .. Netherlands 9.0 6.9 9.7 8.7 7.6 7.4 6.4 6.1 6.9 5.9 5.6 3.4 5.0 New Zealand 1.0 -4.6 -3.6 -9.1 -6.9 -5.6 -7.6 -8.0 ...... Norway 4.7 4.3 3.1 8.2 8.8 6.9 9.6 -0.5 0.8 3.4 6.6 6.1 8.0 Poland 10.5 10.0 11.9 8.3 7.7 5.5 5.9 6.1 4.6 -0.3 6.8 6.4 .. Portugal 3.9 3.8 3.8 3.3 3.6 2.8 2.7 0.4 -0.7 -0.8 3.2 2.4 1.8 Slovak Republic 6.2 6.0 3.8 3.3 1.1 0.3 1.1 0.1 2.2 1.1 ...... Slovenia 4.5 7.8 9.8 10.5 8.2 9.5 11.2 11.7 10.3 9.4 9.1 10.0 .. Spain .. 6.1 5.9 5.8 6.7 5.2 4.8 3.9 4.0 7.5 13.0 7.7 .. Sweden 1.6 3.1 7.3 7.1 5.9 4.7 4.0 4.9 7.2 8.9 11.2 8.5 .. Switzerland 10.6 10.6 11.2 9.9 8.6 8.0 8.8 10.7 12.5 11.7 11.4 11.3 .. Turkey ...... United Kingdom 0.9 0.1 1.6 -0.1 0.3 -1.7 -1.5 -2.5 -3.1 -1.8 3.1 2.7 .. United States 3.2 3.0 2.8 3.7 3.8 3.5 1.7 2.7 2.4 5.5 5.3 5.5 .. Euro area 9.2 8.2 8.9 9.4 9.2 9.2 8.6 8.2 8.6 8.7 9.7 8.2 7.9 EU27 7.2 6.3 7.3 7.1 6.9 6.3 6.0 5.6 5.5 5.9 8.1 6.7 6.1 OECD ...... Brazil ...... China ...... India ...... Indonesia ...... Russian Federation ...... 11.0 12.4 12.1 10.1 13.6 .. .. South Africa 1.2 1.0 0.4 0.7 0.6 0.4 0.1 -0.8 -1.2 -1.1 -0.7 -0.3 -0.1

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Household net saving rates As a percentage of household disposable income

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OECD Factbook 2013 © OECD 2012 - Preliminary Version HOUSEHOLD INCOME AND WEALTH • INCOME INEQUALITY AND POVERTY

INCOME INEQUALITY Income inequalities are one of the most visible Results refer to different years. “Late-2000s” data refer to manifestations of differences in living standards within the income in 2008 in all countries except Japan (2006); each country. High income inequalities typically imply a Denmark, Hungary and Turkey (2007); and Chile (2009). waste of human resources, in the form of a large share of “Mid-1990s” data refer to the income earned between the population out of work or trapped in low-paid and 1993 and 1996. “Mid-1980s” data refer to the income low-skilled jobs. earned between 1983 and 1987 in all countries for which data are available except Greece (1988); Portugal (1990); Definition and the Czech Republic (1992). “Mid-1980s” data refer to Income is defined as household disposable income in a the western Lander of Germany. “Late-2000s” data for particular year. It consists of earnings, self-employment Austria, Belgium, Ireland, Portugal and Spain are based and capital income and public cash transfers; income on EU-SILC and are not deemed to be fully comparable taxes and social security contributions paid by with those for earlier years. households are deducted. The income of the household For non-OECD countries, 2008/9 Gini coefficients are not is attributed to each of its members, with an adjustment strictly comparable with OECD countries as they are to reflect differences in needs for households of different based on per capita incomes except India and Indonesia sizes (i.e. the needs of a household composed of four for which per capita consumption was used. people are assumed to be twice as large as those of a person living alone). Income inequality among individuals is measured here by four indicators. The is based on the comparison of cumulative proportions of the population against cumulative proportions of income they receive, and it ranges between 0 in the case of perfect equality and 1 in the case of perfect inequality. The P90/P10 ratio is the ratio of the upper bound of the ninth decile (i.e. the 10% of people with highest income) to that of the first decile; the P90/P50 ratio is the ratio of the upper bound value of the ninth decile to the income; and the P50/P10 ratio is the ratio of to the upper bound value of the first decile. Comparability Data used here were provided by national experts applying common methodologies and standardised definitions. In many cases, experts have made several adjustments to their source data to conform to standardised definitions. While this approach improves comparability, full standardisation cannot be achieved. Also, small differences between periods and across countries are usually not significant. Sources • OECD (2011), Divided We Stand: Why Inequality Keeps Rising, OECD Overview Publishing. Further information There is considerable variation in income inequality across OECD countries. Inequality as measured by the Analytical publications Gini coefficient is lowest in Slovenia, Denmark and • OECD (2011), How’s Life? Measuring Well-being, OECD Norway and highest in Chile, Mexico and Turkey. It is Publishing. above-average in Israel, Portugal and the United States, and below-average in the remaining Nordic and many • OECD (2011), Continental European countries. The Gini coefficient for Society at a Glance: OECD Social Indicators, OECD the most unequal country (Chile) is double the value of Publishing. the most equal country (Slovenia). Overall, the different • OECD measures of income inequalities provide similar ranking (2010), Tackling Inequalities in Brazil, China, India and across countries. South Africa: The Role of Labour and Social From the mid-1980s to the late-2000s, inequality rose in 15 out of 19 countries for which longer-run data are Policies, OECD Publishing. available. The increase was strongest in Finland, • OECD (2008), New Zealand and Sweden. Declines occurred in France, Growing Unequal?: Income and Poverty in Greece, and Turkey. Income inequality generally rose OECD Countries, OECD Publishing. faster from the mid-1980s to the mid-1990s than in the following period. Websites With measurement-related differences in mind, non- • OECD and Poverty, OECD countries have higher levels of income inequality www.oecd.org/els/social/inequality. than OECD countries, particularly in Brazil and South • OECD Social and Welfare Statistics, Africa. www.oecd.org/social/statistics.

OECD Factbook 2013 © OECD 2012 - Preliminary Version HOUSEHOLD INCOME AND WEALTH • INCOME INEQUALITY AND POVERTY

Income inequality Different summary measures, level and rank from low to high inequality, late 2000s

Gini coefficient Interdecile ratio P90/P10 Interdecile ratio P90/P50 Interdecile ratio P50/P10 Level Rank Level Rank Level Rank Level Rank Australia 0.34 26 4.5 24 2.0 23 2.1 20 Austria 0.26 9 3.2 9 1.8 9 1.8 8 Belgium 0.26 6 3.3 11 1.7 6 1.9 16 Canada 0.32 23 4.2 21 1.9 19 2.1 19 Chile 0.49 34 8.5 33 3.2 34 2.7 33 Czech Republic 0.26 4 2.9 2 1.7 7 1.7 2 Denmark 0.25 2 2.8 1 1.6 1 1.7 4 Estonia 0.32 21 4.3 22 2.0 26 2.3 25 Finland 0.26 8 3.2 7 1.7 5 1.9 10 France 0.29 12 3.4 14 1.9 17 1.8 7 Germany 0.30 15 3.5 15 1.8 14 1.9 14 Greece 0.31 18 4.0 19 2.0 21 2.2 21 Hungary 0.27 10 3.1 6 1.7 8 1.8 6 Iceland 0.30 16 3.2 10 1.8 11 1.7 3 Ireland 0.29 13 3.7 17 1.9 16 2.2 22 Israel 0.37 30 6.2 32 2.3 30 2.7 32 Italy 0.34 27 4.3 23 2.0 27 2.1 18 Japan 0.33 24 5.0 29 2.0 24 2.4 29 Korea 0.31 19 4.8 27 1.9 18 2.4 28 Luxembourg 0.29 11 3.4 13 1.8 12 1.9 9 Mexico 0.48 33 9.7 34 3.0 33 2.9 34 Netherlands 0.29 14 3.3 12 1.8 13 1.9 12 New Zealand 0.33 25 4.2 20 2.1 28 2.1 17 Norway 0.25 3 3.0 3 1.6 2 1.8 5 Poland 0.31 20 4.0 18 2.0 22 2.4 27 Portugal 0.35 29 4.9 28 2.3 31 2.2 24 Slovak Republic 0.26 5 3.1 5 1.8 10 1.9 13 Slovenia 0.24 1 3.0 4 1.6 3 1.9 11 Spain 0.32 22 4.6 25 2.0 20 2.3 26 Sweden 0.26 7 3.2 8 1.7 4 1.7 1 Switzerland 0.30 17 3.7 16 1.9 15 1.9 15 Turkey 0.41 32 6.2 31 2.5 32 2.7 30 United Kingdom 0.34 28 4.6 26 2.0 25 2.2 23 United States 0.38 31 5.9 30 2.2 29 2.7 31 EU27 ...... OECD 0.31 .. 4.3 .. 2.0 .. 2.1 .. Brazil 0.55 ...... China 0.41 ...... India 0.38 ...... Indonesia 0.37 ...... Russian Federation 0.42 ...... South Africa 0.70 ......

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Trends in income inequality Percentage point changes in the Gini coefficient

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OECD Factbook 2013 © OECD 2012 - Preliminary Version HOUSEHOLD INCOME AND WEALTH • INCOME INEQUALITY AND POVERTY

POVERTY RATES AND GAPS Avoiding economic hardship is a primary objective of poverty line used here, small changes in their income social policy. As perceptions of “a decent standard of can lead to large swings in poverty measures. Small living” vary across countries and over time, no differences between periods and across countries are commonly agreed measure of “absolute” poverty across usually not significant. OECD countries exists. A starting point for measuring Results refer to different years. “Late-2000s” data refer to poverty is therefore to look at “relative” poverty, whose the income in 2008 in all countries except Japan (2006); measure is based on the income that is most typical in Denmark, Hungary and Turkey (2007); and Chile (2009). each country in each year. “Mid-1990s” data refer to the income earned between Definition 1993 and 1996. “Mid-1980s” data refer to the income earned between 1983 and 1987 in all countries for which Relative income poverty is measured here by the poverty data are available except Greece (1988); Portugal (1990); rate and the poverty gap. The poverty rate is the ratio of and the Czech Republic (1992). “Mid-1980s” data refer to the number of people whose income falls below the the western Lander of Germany. “Late-2000s” data for poverty line and the total population; the poverty line is Austria, Belgium, Ireland, Portugal and Spain are based here taken as half the median household income. on EU-SILC which are not deemed to be fully comparable However, two countries with the same poverty rates may with those for earlier years. differ in terms of the relative income-level of the poor. To measure this dimension, the poverty gap, i.e. the percentage by which the mean income of the poor falls below the poverty line, is also presented. Income is defined as household disposable income in a particular year. It consists of earnings, self-employment and capital income and public cash transfers; income taxes and social security contributions paid by households are deducted. The income of the household is attributed to each of its members, with an adjustment to reflect differences in needs for households of different sizes (i.e. the needs of a household composed of four people are assumed to be twice as large as those of a person living alone). Comparability Data used here were provided by national experts applying common methodologies and standardised definitions. In many cases, experts have made several adjustments to their source data to conform to Sources standardised definitions. While this approach improves • OECD (2011), comparability, full standardisation cannot be achieved. Divided We Stand: Why Inequality Keeps Rising, OECD Also, small differences between periods and across Publishing. countries are usually not significant. Further information Measurement problems are especially severe at the bottom end of the income scale. Further, as large Analytical publications proportions of the population are clustered around the • OECD (2011), How’s Life? Measuring Well-being, OECD Publishing. • OECD (2011), Society at a Glance: OECD Social Indicators, OECD Publishing. Overview • OECD (2008), Across OECD countries, the average poverty rate was Growing Unequal?: Income Distribution and Poverty in about 11% in the late-2000s. There is considerable OECD Countries, OECD Publishing. diversity across countries: poverty rates are 20% or more • Atkinson, A.B., and A. Brandolini (2004), in Israel and Mexico, but below 7% in the Czech Republic, Denmark, Hungary and Iceland. On average, in OECD “Global World Income Inequality: Absolute, Relative or countries, the mean income of poor people is 27% below Intermediate?”, paper presented at the 28th General the poverty line (poverty gap), with larger gaps in Conference of the International Association for Korea, Mexico, Spain and the United States and lower Research in Income and Wealth, Cork, 22-28 August. ones in Belgium, Luxembourg, Finland and the • Förster, M. (1994), “Measurement of Low Incomes Netherlands. In general, countries with higher poverty rates also have higher poverty gaps but this is not and Poverty in a Perspective of International universal; for example Norway combines low poverty Comparisons”, rates and high poverty gaps, while the opposite occurs in OECD Labour Market and Social Policy Occasional Estonia. Papers, No. 14. From the mid-1980s to the late-2000s, poverty rates rose in 16 out of 19 countries for which longer-run data are Websites available, resulting in an overall increase of 2 percentage • OECD Social and Welfare Statistics, points for the OECD as a whole. The largest rise www.oecd.org/social/statistics. was experienced by Israel, and the largest decline • OECD Income Distribution and Poverty, was registered in Greece. www.oecd.org/els/social/inequality.

OECD Factbook 2013 © OECD 2012 - Preliminary Version HOUSEHOLD INCOME AND WEALTH • INCOME INEQUALITY AND POVERTY

Poverty rates and poverty gaps Late-2000s

Statlink http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/888932707059 Trends in poverty rates Percentage point changes in income poverty rate at 50% median level

Statlink http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/888932707078

OECD Factbook 2013 © OECD 2012 - Preliminary Version HOUSEHOLD INCOME AND WEALTH • HOUSEHOLD WEALTH

HOUSEHOLD FINANCIAL ASSETS Along with income, wealth is the central measure of International comparability may be hampered by households’ economic resources. Households hold both differences in the way pension systems are organised non-financial and financial wealth. The structure of and operated in the various countries. In countries with financial assets affects households financial as highly funded pension systems, more pension reserves different types of securities carry different levels. will be recognised and recorded as part of the assets of The data presented show the composition of the most households. relevant financial assets ( and deposits, It should be noted that any changes in the stocks of securities, shares, and technical reserves) for households financial assets over a period are the result of two and non-profit institutions serving households (NPISHs). components: net acquisitions of financial assets and changes in valuations (holding gains and losses Definition depending on the performance of financial markets), of This set of indicators shows the share of each financial which those for quoted shares are the most relevant. asset category according to the 1993 System of National In the graph, 2011 data are shown for Belgium, Canada, Accounts (currency and deposits; securities other than Chile, Denmark, Greece, Korea, the Netherlands, Norway, shares, except financial derivatives; shares and other Portugal, Slovenia, Spain, the United Kingdom and the equity, except mutual fund shares; mutual fund shares; United States. net equity of households in life insurance reserves; and, net equity of households in pension funds) in the total financial assets of the households and NPISHs sector. It excludes financial derivatives, and other accounts receivable. The financial assets are classified according to their liquidity. Comparability As a number of OECD countries are not able to provide a breakdown between households and NPISHs, household Sources debt refers to the aggregated sector “Households and • OECD (2012),“Financial Balance Sheets”, NPISHs” to ensure the highest level of comparability between countries. OECD National Accounts Statistics (database). Further information Analytical publications • Babeau, A. and T. Sbano (2003), “Household Wealth Overview in the National Accounts of Europe, the United States and Japan”, OECD Statistics Working Papers, The comparison of the structure of households’ stocks of No. 2003/02. financial assets between 2007 and 2010 gives some insight into the impact of recent economic developments • OECD (2012), OECD Economic Outlook, OECD on the restructuring of their portfolio towards financial Publishing. instruments better adapted to the new environment, i.e. • Ynesta, I. (2009), “Households’ wealth composition more liquid and less risky. The increase in the share of across OECD countries and financial risks borne by currency and deposits in almost all OECD countries is households”, OECD Journal: Financial Market Trends, noticeable, with a significant rise in Greece (from 52% in 2007 to 77% in 2010). Also the share of life insurance and Vol. 2008/2. pension funds assets increased in a large number of Statistical publications OECD countries. On the other hand, shares became less popular in most OECD countries, the largest fall being • OECD (2012), observed in Greece (from 28% to 8%), followed by Spain National Accounts of OECD Countries, Financial (31% to 24%), Poland (31% to 20%), and Slovenia (28% to Accounts, OECD Publishing. 21%). • OECD (2012), Considerable differences in national preferences for National Accounts of OECD Countries, Financial Balance financial instruments can be observed across the OECD. Sheets, OECD Publishing. Currency and deposits, the most liquid of the asset • OECD (2011), National Accounts at a Glance, OECD categories and also considered the one with the least risk, represents more than 50% in six OECD countries (the Publishing. Czech Republic, Greece, Japan, Luxembourg, the Slovak Methodological publications Republic and Slovenia) in 2010. The proportion of securities held by households is low in most OECD • Lequiller, F. and D. Blades (2007), countries in 2010 with the exception of Mexico (37% in Understanding National Accounts, OECD Publishing. 2009) and Italy (20%). Furthermore, despite the financial • OECD et al. (2009), System of National Accounts, United crisis, shares remained a predominant portfolio asset Nations, New York. held by households in for example Estonia (67%), Mexico (39% in 2009) and the United States (32%). Household Online databases reserves in life insurance and pension funds represented • OECD National Accounts Statistics. more than half of the stock of total financial assets in Chile (60%), the Netherlands (59%), Australia (59%) and Websites the United Kingdom (52%), whereas they remained at a • Financial statistics, very low level in Greece (3%) and Estonia (5%). www.oecd.org/std/financialstatistics.

OECD Factbook 2013 © OECD 2012 - Preliminary Version HOUSEHOLD INCOME AND WEALTH • HOUSEHOLD WEALTH

Financial assets of households by type of assets As a percentage of total financial assets

Currency and Securities other than Shares and other Mutual funds shares Life insurance Pension funds deposits shares equity reserves 2007 2010 2007 2010 2007 2010 2007 2010 2007 2010 2007 2010 Australia 19.0 25.4 0.7 0.2 17.1 10.8 0.0 0.0 2.6 2.3 55.6 56.3 Austria 44.4 45.1 8.3 9.1 16.3 15.9 10.8 9.3 13.3 13.4 3.1 3.3 Belgium 29.0 31.7 8.3 8.8 22.1 20.9 16.6 11.7 19.4 22.2 1.2 1.4 Canada 19.4 22.8 2.5 2.1 ...... Chile 12.2 11.4 1.1 0.7 23.9 21.2 4.4 5.2 11.1 11.9 47.1 48.4 Czech Republic 54.5 56.5 0.3 0.8 22.4 21.4 7.7 5.1 6.4 6.9 5.2 5.9 Denmark 20.4 19.2 4.8 3.7 23.4 22.3 7.4 6.8 22.6 24.9 17.8 20.0 Estonia 17.4 21.8 2.0 0.1 67.2 66.8 1.1 0.4 2.4 1.5 4.0 3.9 Finland 31.6 34.4 1.9 3.1 34.6 34.1 10.0 7.8 7.4 6.3 8.7 8.7 France 28.5 29.0 1.7 1.6 21.1 18.2 8.7 7.5 27.8 29.8 3.8 4.3 Germany 36.3 40.1 6.7 5.5 13.2 9.2 10.5 9.4 ...... Greece 52.2 77.3 9.4 7.5 28.0 7.5 5.2 1.4 2.1 2.4 0.3 0.8 Hungary 35.3 34.8 4.9 5.5 26.3 27.1 9.8 8.1 6.0 5.7 11.5 13.7 Iceland ...... Ireland 37.6 40.5 0.0 0.1 20.8 17.7 0.0 0.0 17.0 18.6 23.1 21.6 Israel 20.9 20.0 13.8 11.8 26.1 18.3 0.0 7.0 7.9 9.7 26.6 28.6 Italy 27.4 30.6 19.8 19.8 24.8 21.3 8.6 6.6 9.7 11.5 5.5 5.9 Japan 51.2 54.0 4.3 3.9 8.8 7.0 4.1 3.5 14.4 14.1 13.0 13.0 Korea 42.5 45.1 12.7 9.7 20.9 19.7 0.5 0.3 18.0 18.9 2.0 2.0 Luxembourg 55.5 51.6 10.0 14.5 12.1 12.9 12.8 10.2 6.7 8.1 2.4 1.8 Mexico 14.3 .. 32.1 .. 44.6 .. 5.6 .. 1.9 .. 0.9 .. Netherlands 21.3 23.1 3.0 2.5 11.4 9.7 3.3 3.1 10.3 11.1 47.6 48.2 New Zealand ...... Norway 31.2 32.4 1.3 0.7 11.1 9.2 5.5 5.2 6.0 6.4 28.0 29.8 Poland 33.6 43.2 0.8 0.6 30.8 20.3 10.6 6.5 6.0 6.0 14.1 19.1 Portugal 34.5 37.4 5.2 5.7 25.4 23.4 7.3 4.1 10.7 12.5 6.1 5.7 Slovak Republic 58.5 60.6 1.7 3.2 4.4 3.8 7.6 2.3 4.2 4.8 13.5 16.6 Slovenia 45.9 53.7 1.2 1.2 27.5 21.2 9.2 6.2 4.5 5.5 2.2 3.0 Spain 38.3 48.3 2.6 2.6 31.3 23.5 10.8 7.1 6.2 7.2 5.9 6.2 Sweden 18.0 18.2 3.1 2.1 28.2 28.7 10.2 7.9 13.8 13.8 19.4 24.0 Switzerland 26.5 29.9 8.7 7.4 12.7 11.0 11.3 9.3 5.3 5.1 32.5 33.9 Turkey ...... United Kingdom 27.1 28.0 0.8 0.9 10.7 11.5 4.1 3.1 53.2 52.2 0.0 0.0 United States 11.7 13.5 9.3 10.6 36.0 32.1 11.5 11.6 2.1 2.3 26.0 26.6 EU27 ...... OECD ...... Brazil ...... China ...... India ...... Indonesia ...... Russian Federation ...... South Africa ......

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Financial assets of households by type of assets As a percentage of their total financial assets, 2010 or latest available year

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OECD Factbook 2013 © OECD 2012 - Preliminary Version HOUSEHOLD INCOME AND WEALTH • HOUSEHOLD WEALTH

HOUSEHOLD DEBT This household leverage ratio measures the According to the 1993 SNA, most debt instruments are indebtedness of households in relation with their valued at market prices. income, that is their spending and saving capacity. High When going into details regarding the causes of changes leverage ratios are often interpreted as a sign of financial in OECD countries, two elements have to be taken into vulnerability though not only debt and liabilities but also account: the variation due to the change in outstanding assets should be considered in such an assessment. High debt, the ratio’s numerator, and that caused by the rise indebtedness levels generally increase the financing in disposable income, its denominator. Thus, a reduction costs of the borrower, deteriorate balance sheet positions in the debt ratio during the deleveraging phase can be and may restrict access to new financing. attributed to an improved GDI or to a reduced debt, in The household debt-to-GDI ratio shows the debt of particular consumer credit and mortgage loans. households and non-profit institutions serving households (NPISHs), as a percentage of their Gross Comparability Disposable Income (GDI). As a number of OECD countries are not able to provide a breakdown between households and NPISHs, household Definition debt refers to the aggregated sector “Households and Debt is a commonly used concept, defined as a specific NPISHs” to ensure the highest level of comparability subset of liabilities identified according to the types of between countries. financial instruments included or excluded. Generally, debt is defined as all liabilities that require payment or payments of interest or principal by the debtor to the Sources creditor at a date or dates in the future. • OECD (2012), National Accounts of OECD Countries, OECD Publishing. Consequently, all debt instruments are liabilities, but some liabilities such as shares, equity and financial Further information derivatives are not considered as debt. Debt is thus Analytical publications obtained as the sum of the following liability categories • Girouard, N., M. Kennedy and C. André (2006), “Has (according to the 1993 System of National Accounts), the Rise in Debt Made Households More whenever available/applicable in the financial balance sheet of the households and NPISHs sector: currency and Vulnerable?”, deposits; securities other than shares, except financial OECD Economics Department Working Papers, No. 535, derivatives; loans; insurance technical reserves; and OECD Publishing. other accounts payable. For the households sector, • OECD (2012), Reforms, OECD liabilities predominantly consist of loans, and more Publishing. particularly mortgage loans for the purchase of . • OECD (2012), OECD Economic Outlook, OECD Publishing. • OECD (2012), OECD Economic Surveys, OECD Publishing. • Sebastian Schich and Jung-Hyun Ahn (2007), Overview “ Markets and Household Debt: Short-term Households remain highly indebted in a large number of and Long-term Risks”, Financial Market Trends, Vol. OECD economies. In 2010, the ratio of household debt to 2007/1. gross disposable income (GDI) is far higher than the • Isabelle Ynesta (2009), “Households’ wealth average of OECD countries, in Denmark, the Netherlands, Ireland and Norway, with respectively 309.5%, 277.3%, composition across OECD countries and financial 217.8% and 196.3%. On the other hand, Mexico has the risks borne by households”, lowest debt ratio at 9.4% in 2009. OECD Journal: Financial Market Trends, Vol. 2008/2. The level of household debt rose in most OECD countries Statistical publications over the period 2007-10. As a percentage of GDI, the Netherlands and Greece recorded the largest increases • OECD (2012), Quarterly National Accounts, OECD during this period (respectively around 35 and 21 Publishing. percentage points). Hungary, Poland and the Slovak • OECD (2011), National Accounts at a Glance, OECD Republic showed increases of 18 percentage points. A net Publishing. fall was observed in the United Kingdom (minus 15 percentage points) and the United States (minus 14 Methodological publications percentage points), and to a (far) lesser extent in • OECD (2000), Germany, Norway, Spain and Japan. System of National Accounts, 1993 - Glossary, OECD According to the most recent figures, long-term loans, Publishing. mainly consisting of mortgage loans, remain the largest component of household debt, contributing more than • United Nations, OECD, International Monetary Fund 80% of the total household debt in twenty OECD countries and Eurostat (eds.) (2010), and even more than 90% in eleven countries. The highest System of National Accounts 2008, United Nations, level was recorded in Luxembourg (96% in 2010) and the Geneva. lowest ratios were observed in the Slovak Republic (61%), and Italy (70%). In the Netherlands, the contribution of Online databases long-term loans to the total household debt, while • OECD National Accounts Statistics. decreasing since 2007, is still above 92%. The same tendency can be observed since 2008 in two other Websites countries (Estonia and the United States at around 90% • National accounts, and 73% respectively). www.oecd.org/std/nationalaccounts.

OECD Factbook 2013 © OECD 2012 - Preliminary Version HOUSEHOLD INCOME AND WEALTH • HOUSEHOLD WEALTH

Households and NPISHs debt As a percentage of gross disposable income

1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 Australia 103.7 108.4 114.3 126.3 138.0 150.0 156.3 160.6 170.9 167.3 ...... Austria 71.9 73.8 75.6 77.5 77.0 80.3 85.2 86.5 86.1 87.5 88.8 91.4 .. Belgium 67.3 65.2 61.3 62.8 65.8 68.9 73.6 76.8 80.0 82.0 82.7 86.9 .. Canada 110.9 109.8 111.1 113.9 117.3 120.9 125.9 128.6 134.1 137.9 144.5 146.5 .. Chile ...... Czech Republic 19.3 20.0 20.7 25.5 27.5 32.6 37.8 42.2 51.4 56.5 60.0 60.5 .. Denmark ...... 238.5 251.8 267.0 284.1 308.3 314.9 322.1 309.5 .. Estonia 16.1 20.2 23.8 30.7 39.3 51.5 67.6 89.6 99.3 100.8 105.2 102.0 .. Finland 61.8 64.6 64.8 69.7 74.0 82.0 91.8 101.1 105.7 108.1 108.4 110.2 .. France 68.1 66.0 66.1 67.5 70.5 72.6 78.6 82.9 86.8 86.5 90.3 93.6 .. Germany 107.6 109.0 106.7 106.7 105.5 104.0 101.5 99.2 96.1 92.8 93.3 91.1 .. Greece ...... 57.7 65.7 69.5 77.3 77.6 90.9 .. Hungary 12.7 15.2 18.2 24.2 33.1 38.4 44.0 50.0 57.6 70.2 70.7 75.5 .. Iceland ...... Ireland ...... 115.0 135.6 154.5 181.2 197.5 209.9 208.8 221.0 217.8 .. Israel ...... Italy 49.0 52.8 54.6 57.1 60.2 63.9 68.4 73.1 77.4 78.2 83.3 85.9 .. Japan .. .. 130.4 129.6 128.2 127.7 128.2 127.7 124.3 122.9 123.2 121.3 .. Korea ...... 125.0 120.5 116.4 123.2 131.3 139.0 142.6 146.9 150.8 156.3 Luxembourg ...... 118.5 126.2 126.7 132.2 .. .. Mexico ...... 7.3 7.4 8.4 10.4 11.4 9.4 9.4 .. .. Netherlands 153.5 163.7 166.1 178.2 197.4 208.8 226.4 238.5 242.4 253.5 270.3 277.3 .. New Zealand ...... Norway 130.8 135.1 146.5 147.0 150.3 159.5 164.0 191.3 199.9 198.1 196.1 196.3 200.0 Poland 10.4 11.5 17.1 21.7 19.1 20.6 23.7 29.7 37.5 49.2 51.3 55.5 .. Portugal 97.6 106.4 110.7 112.9 118.5 123.7 128.8 136.9 143.3 142.0 145.6 142.9 139.5 Slovak Republic 14.1 20.1 21.0 25.9 29.5 28.7 37.9 51.0 58.4 64.4 73.6 75.9 .. Slovenia .. .. 30.4 30.7 32.4 32.8 36.9 41.1 47.0 48.4 51.3 53.7 .. Spain .. 81.5 84.5 91.0 99.0 109.2 120.9 134.0 139.5 135.0 132.1 136.3 .. Sweden 102.0 105.5 115.7 117.0 124.3 133.1 143.0 150.4 154.3 155.8 160.9 168.4 .. Switzerland 177.4 173.9 172.3 178.8 189.9 189.6 193.2 192.8 188.2 186.5 190.5 .. .. Turkey ...... United Kingdom 108.5 111.7 115.7 127.3 138.1 151.3 153.9 166.2 172.2 169.0 162.0 157.0 .. United States 99.2 100.5 104.2 109.0 116.5 123.0 129.9 134.0 136.4 127.8 128.5 122.5 .. EU27 ...... OECD ...... Brazil ...... China ...... India ...... Indonesia ...... Russian Federation ...... South Africa ......

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Households and NPISHs debt As a percentage of gross disposable income

Statlink http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/888932707154

OECD Factbook 2013 © OECD 2012 - Preliminary Version HOUSEHOLD INCOME AND WEALTH • HOUSEHOLD WEALTH

NON-FINANCIAL ASSETS BY HOUSEHOLDS Non-financial assets held by households reflect the comparisons, but also because dwellings, as produced assets owned by unincorporated household enterprises assets depreciate whereas (most) land, as a non- and dwellings owned by households, with the latter produced asset, does not. A particular challenge arises component forming by far the bulk of non-financial from capturing quality change and quality differences in assets held by households. They form an important part the housing stock and valuing it accordingly. of overall wealth and can provide an important The caveats above, pertaining to the distinction between additional source of revenue; either through their sale or land and dwellings, mean that users should be refinancing, or as income via rentals of residential particularly careful in using the figures in making property for example. Estimates of non-financial assets international comparisons. The OECD is working with held by households also play an important role in national statistics institutes so that future versions of economic analyses, such as studies of asset bubbles, and these data reflect a greater degree of international analyses of living standards. comparability. Definition Data are assets net of depreciation for all countries Non-financial assets held by households include, in except for the Slovak Republic and Poland (gross theory, both produced and non-produced nonfinancial recording). assets and therefore include: dwellings, other buildings and structures, and land improvements; machinery and equipment including livestock; and even intellectual property products, such as software and literary originals, and non-produced assets such as land and taxi-licenses. In practice dwellings form by far the most significant component. Except for dwellings, only those assets owned by household unincorporated enterprises, and used in production, are included as non-financial assets. For example a used by a household purely for household transport is not a non-financial asset whereas a car used by a self-employed taxi driver is. Non-financial assets are valued at the market prices of the time of the balance sheet, and are recorded net of depreciation. Sources Comparability • OECD (2012), National Accounts of OECD Countries, Information on non-financial assets held by households OECD Publishing. typically relies on household based surveys. As a Further information consequence, the quality of this information, except for Analytical publications that pertaining to dwellings and land, is generally of lower quality than it is for similar information collected • Babeau, A. and T. Sbano (2003), “Household Wealth on incorporated businesses. in the National Accounts of Europe, the United States and Japan”, OECD Statistics Working Papers, Moreover, in practice, countries use a variety of methods No. 2003/02. to differentiate between the value of dwellings and the land on which the dwellings sit, meaning that • OECD (2012), Economic Policy Reforms, OECD comparisons of these subcomponents across countries Publishing. are challenging. Some countries, for example the United • Isabelle Ynesta (2009), “Households’ wealth Kingdom, include the value of land under dwellings composition across OECD countries and financial within the figures for dwellings. This matters not only for risks borne by households”, international comparability, and indeed temporal OECD Journal: Financial Market Trends, Vol. 2008/2. Statistical publications • OECD (2011), National Accounts at a Glance, OECD Publishing. Overview Methodological publications Prior to the recent financial crisis, dwellings per capita • OECD (2000), values rose almost continually, with few exceptions, in System of National Accounts, 1993 – Glossary, OECD all OECD countries. The United Kingdom saw the Publishing. strongest growth over this period (1996-2007) with values trebling. Growth was also strong in many other countries • United Nations, OECD, International Monetary Fund such as Australia, Finland, France, the Netherlands, the and Eurostat (eds.) (2010), Slovak Republic, Sweden and the United States, with System of National Accounts 2008, United Nations, values doubling over the period. In 2008 however at the Geneva. height of the recent crisis the average value fell by 11% in the United Kingdom and by 3% in the United States. For Online databases the United States the contraction continued into 2009, • OECD National Accounts Statistics. with values falling again by 3% before stabilising in 2010. The average growth in most other countries also slowed Websites over this period, with growth turning negative in Japan in • National accounts, 2009 and Finland in both 2009 and 2010. www.oecd.org/std/nationalaccounts.

OECD Factbook 2013 © OECD 2012 - Preliminary Version HOUSEHOLD INCOME AND WEALTH • HOUSEHOLD WEALTH

Non-financial assets of households US dollars at current PPPs, per capita

Dwellings Land Other 2007 2008 2009 2010 2007 2008 2009 2010 2007 2008 2009 2010 Australia 42 469 42 256 43 965 43 696 86 849 77 480 95 181 85 326 16 737 16 212 16 815 16 215 Austria 43 418 46 184 47 975 49 222 ...... Belgium 39 981 44 275 46 032 47 023 ...... Canada 34 690 35 239 36 494 37 598 30 072 30 908 32 804 33 502 1 587 1 693 1 675 1 599 Chile ...... Czech Republic 21 972 22 773 23 882 23 879 2 652 2 926 2 963 2 824 4 816 4 594 4 673 4 807 Denmark 53 465 58 300 60 880 61 702 ...... Estonia 23 687 24 183 24 295 ...... Finland 35 627 38 965 38 652 37 502 ...... France 51 547 54 244 55 840 57 690 63 944 60 795 57 289 66 769 7 339 7 445 7 487 7 516 Germany 47 581 51 491 54 091 54 907 ...... Greece ...... Hungary 20 308 22 169 23 544 ...... Iceland ...... Ireland ...... Israel 25 758 ...... Italy 39 513 42 644 43 559 ...... Japan 20 295 21 141 20 606 .. 54 363 54 263 52 911 .. 4 816 4 842 4 648 .. Korea ...... Luxembourg 63 298 69 178 72 122 73 688 ...... Mexico ...... Netherlands 48 245 51 652 53 819 54 836 55 232 58 541 54 139 51 925 ...... New Zealand ...... Norway ...... Poland 6 529 7 496 7 728 ...... Portugal ...... Slovak Republic 26 157 28 778 31 047 31 198 ...... Slovenia 32 187 33 829 34 158 35 007 ...... Spain ...... Sweden 23 861 26 147 26 372 ...... Switzerland ...... Turkey ...... United Kingdom 103 646 92 311 94 676 98 417 ...... United States 54 288 52 833 51 328 51 099 ...... EU27 ...... OECD ...... Brazil ...... China ...... India ...... Indonesia ...... Russian Federation ...... South Africa ......

Statlink http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/888932707173

Non-financial assets of households per capita: dwellings US dollars at current PPPs

Statlink http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/888932707192

OECD Factbook 2013 © OECD 2012 - Preliminary Version