New consumer weightings

In order to revise and modernize the consumer basket comprising goods and services, the Central Administration of Statistics relied on the results of the 2011-2012 family budget study. The sample including points of sale from which prices are collected on a monthly basis has also been expanded to include 2000 points of sale. These steps have helped the Central Administration of Statistics to correct expenditure weightings, which represent the average expenditure on goods and services irrespective of the family’s income, size and geography.

The consumer basket was divided into 12 items as illustrated in Table 1. Upon examination of the table, researchers are likely to be struck by the figures listed. The expenditure weighting of education has dropped from 13.4% to 5.9%, although the actual estimates might be even higher than the former, while the share of transportation stood at 4.6%, which could also be an underestimation. Food, non-alcoholic beverages, accommodation, water, gas, power and fuel accounted for roughly half the expenditure at 49.1%.

Source: Central Administration of Statistics

Consumer price index increase

According to the results issued by the Central Administration of Statistics, Lebanon’s consumer price index increased in January 2014 by 0.9% compared to December 2013. In February, the index registered a decrease of 0.7% compared to January.

In comparison with the past years, the index has increased at the rates illustrated in Table 2. All combined, the consumer price index has increased by 42.2% in the 10 years (2004-2013).

Source: Central Administration of Statistics