ATHENS — Total annual spending by Greek households was 72,347,256,104 euros in 2019, up 2.3 pct from the previous year, while average annual household spending was 17,738 euros or 1,478 euros per month, an increase of 2.5 pct from 2018, Hellenic Statistical Authority said on Wednesday.

The statistics service, in a report, said that average annual spending per person was 6,943 euros, up 2.5 pct in 2019. The biggest part of household spending was food and beverages (20 pct), housing (14 pct) and transport (13.4 pct), while the smallest part (3.3 pct) was for education services. A 50 pct of households spend more than 1,151 euros per month. The highest average annual spending was recorded in the Southern Aegean (20,093 euros), while the lowest in Central Greece (12,933 euros). On an annual basis, the biggest declines in average consumption of food-alcohol-tobacco was recorded in cigarettes (12.8 pct), pasta (5.1 pct), olive oil (3.7 pct), rice (3.6 pct) and yoghurt (2.3 pct), while the biggest increases were in fish (7.1 pct), cheese (2.3 pct) and vegetables (0.8 pct).

The average monthly quantity of natural gas and electricity power consumed by primary residences rose 19 pct and 0.9 pct, respectively, while the average monthly quantity of liquid and solid fuel fell 8.7 pct and 2.1 pct, respectively.

A 17.1 pct of the population was facing the risk of poverty.