OECD Engel Coefficient

OECD Engel Coefficient measures the share of household consumption spent on food. Higher readings usually imply a heavier burden from necessities and less room for discretionary spending.

Cross-country levels reflect income differences and price structures, so trend direction often matters more than the level alone.

It becomes more informative when paired with food inflation, real wages and total household consumption.

This series is calculated from OECD PPP detailed expenditure data as Food and non-alcoholic beverages divided by Household final consumption expenditure. It is better suited to global rankings that include major economies such as Japan and the United States.