Household Budget Survey

The purpose of the HBS is to gather detailed data on the household budget of the resident population in Switzerland.

The purpose of the Household Budget Survey (HBS) is to gather detailed data on the household budget of the resident population in Switzerland.

Since January 1st 2000, the survey has been conducted on a continuous basis. This month, as usual, about 250 households, randomly selected from the FSO random sample register, are taking part. Participation is not obligatory but the contribution of every single household chosen is very important.

For a whole month, participating households make a note in the survey questionnaires of all income and expenditure. They receive advice from experienced specialists by telephone.

The company DemoSCOPE in Adligenswil is mandated to carry out the field work of the survey.

Conducting the Household Budget Survey each year allows the following objectives to be reached:

• regular updates of the basket of commodities listed in the Consumer Price Index (CPI) in line with current consumer behaviour in order to adjust market trends accordingly
• regular reporting on consumer behaviour and the income of private households in Switzerland
• highly detailed presentation of the various aspects of the household budget such as expenditure, income and savings.

The Household Budget Survey (HBS) is based on the legal bases of the Federal Statistical Office (FSO), which are regulated in the Federal Statistics Act of 9th October 1992 and the Ordinance of 30 April 2025 on Federal Statistics (SR 431.011).

The random sample register carried out by the FSO is used to conduct the HBS. This contains all private telephone connections supplied to the FSO by all public telephone service providers (based on the federal statistics act, art. 10, para. 3 quater). This random sample register also contains names which are not contained in the public directories available to the public.

Data is treated confidentially and anonymously and is used exclusively for statistical purposes.

Use of the information for commercial or administrative purposes is prohibited. Anonymisation of data ensures that registered data cannot be linked with other data sources or addresses.

All employees of the Federal Statistical Office and of the DemoSCOPE Institute (in Adligenswil, entrusted with carrying out the survey) are bound to strict secrecy.