Average monthly housing costs in Israel stood at NIS 3,168 (about $840) in 2009, remaining the largest portion of household expenditures, which increased overall, according to a survey conducted by the Central Bureau of Statistics.
Monthly household expenditures in 2009 averaged NIS 13,009 (about $3,450), an actual increase of 2% compared with 2008 numbers. Ranking household expenditure items, according to their relative portion in overall expenses, puts housing first, followed by transportation, communications, food (excluding fruits and vegetables) and culture, in descending order.
Monetary expenditures per household (defined by the CBS as the expenses excluding housing or vehicle services) averaged NIS 9,914 (about $2,630), a 1.2% increase in real terms in comparison with 2008.
Housing accounted for about one quarter of household expenses, making it the highest relative expense within household spending. Next in relative household expenses was transportation, which stood at NIS 2,485 (about $660) – 19.1% of overall expenses. Spending on foodstuffs (excluding fruits and vegetables) averaged NIS 2,120 (about $560) and represented 16.3% of overall expenses.
Top 10th percentile buys more for less people
The CBS survey found that nearly half of monthly household expenditures for the bottom fifth percentile of wage-earners was spent on food and housing. In addition, the top fifth percentile spends nearly five times more than the bottom fifth percentile on transportation and housing, and nearly three and a half times more on education, culture, and leisure.
According to the survey, nearly 60% of all food purchases were carried out in supermarkets, of which 39.3% are carried out on Thursday and Friday. On average, these purchases are done for an average of 3.3 people, the number of people in the average Israeli household. In the top 10th percentile, the average household size is 2.6 people, in comparison with 4.4 people on average for the bottom 10th percentile. The average number of wage-earners per Israeli household is 1.3.
The percentage of ownership of durable consumer goods in the top 10th percentile is higher than in the bottom 10th percentile. Some 70.4% of the top 10th percentile own two or more television sets, in comparison with 18.2% in the bottom 10th percentile. Eighteen percent of Israeli households own two or more cars, with 51% of the top 10th percentile and just 1% of the bottom 10th percentile owning two or more cars.
Some 49.4% of households in the top 10th percentile own two or more computers versus just 6.3% in the bottom 10th percentile. The CBS survey also found that there are 68 computers for every 100 people in the top 10th percentile, while there are just 14 computers for every 100 people in the bottom 10th percentile.
The survey also found that 96% of households in the top 10th percentile have air conditioning in comparison with 45% in the bottom 10th percentile.
Decrease in number of cable subscribers
The survey also indicated a continuing upward trend of technology consumption. In 1999, just 40.7% of households had a computer, versus 74.4% in 2009. Just 11.9% of households were connected to the internet in 1999, versus 66.3% in 2009. The percentage of cell phone ownership rose from 52.3% in 1999 to 91.8% in 2009. With that, the rate of cell phone ownership in 2009 is higher than the rate of land-line ownership, which stands at 82.4%.
In comparison with OECD countries, Israel is ranked in the middle in terms of computer ownership (74%) and internet connectivity (66%). Regarding these parameters, Israel is ranked higher than France, but lower than Germany and the US.
There is a downward trend since 2002, according to the survey, in cable and satellite TV subscriptions. In 2001, 73.2% of households held cable or satellite subscriptions in comparison with 64.3% in 2009. One explanation for this trend, according to the CBS, is increasing use of private satellite dishes. In 2009, 15.2% of Israeli citizens had a satellite dish. Some 75% of the households with satellite dishes were Arab.
The CBS reported that the 2009 figures are based on 6,270 households surveyed throughout the year in 174 cities and towns throughout the country, not including kibbutzim, cooperative settlements, or Bedouins living outside towns. These households are representative of some 2,100,000 households within the broader population.