Reference metadata describe statistical concepts and methodologies used for the collection and generation of data. They provide information on data quality and, since they are strongly content-oriented, assist users in interpreting the data. Reference metadata, unlike structural metadata, can be decoupled from the data.
Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union
1.2. Contact organisation unit
F1: Social indicators: Methodology and development; Relation with users
1.3. Contact name
Confidential because of GDPR
1.4. Contact person function
Confidential because of GDPR
1.5. Contact mail address
2920 Luxembourg LUXEMBOURG
1.6. Contact email address
Confidential because of GDPR
1.7. Contact phone number
Confidential because of GDPR
1.8. Contact fax number
Confidential because of GDPR
2.1. Metadata last certified
14 February 2025
2.2. Metadata last posted
14 February 2025
2.3. Metadata last update
14 February 2025
3.1. Data description
Statistics included in the section Private household expenditure on sport comprise the data which are derived from two various sources: Household Budget Survey (HBS) and Harmonised Indices of Consumer Prices (HICP).
These statistics complement the set of social and economic indicators on sport, provide the key for analysis of the consumption patterns of private households on sporting goods and services and enable to assess the weight of private expenditure on sporting goods in total household expenditure.
The statistics on household spending on sport articles and services are extracted from the 2010, 2015 and 2020 waves of Household budget surveys (HBS).
As private expenditure is influenced, among the others, by the price level, data on private expenditure on sporting goods and services can be completed by the statistical information on price evolution from the Harmonised Indices of Consumer Prices (HICP).
The HICP allow the monitoring of the price change of consumer articles including some sport related items. HICP are among others the source of comparable measures of inflation.
COICOP was developed by the United Nations. The UN COICOP is built up to four digit codes divided into services (S), non-durables (ND), semi-durables (SD) and durables (D).
For the purpose of EU HBS surveys, a special version of the classification – COICOP-HBS – was created with additional fifth digit to better disaggregate the information. The fifth digit has been implemented since the 2000 wave of surveys. It was further revised in 2003 for the 2005 and 2010 waves. From the 2015 wave the European classification of individual consumption according to purpose (ECOICOP) was recommended and applied by almost all the countries. ECOICOP relies on the structure and content of COICOP-HBS for the fifth digit but there are several differences. In ECOICOP, more disaggregation is available allowing the distinction of more specific expenditure categories. Additionally, the revision of numerous 5-digit codes was carried out to and resulted in the modification of content and coverage of part of codes.
The HICP components are currently classified according to the ECOICOP.
3.3. Coverage - sector
Households' expenditure in sporting goods and services and EU harmonised indices of consumer prices (HICP) for main sporting goods and services (2015 = 100)
3.4. Statistical concepts and definitions
The statistics on households' expenditure on sporting goods and services are retrieved from the Household Budget Surveys (HBS) that aim at measuring the private household expenditure on consumer goods. Sporting items are classified under the COICOP heading 09 "Recreation and culture". The list of sport related goods and services identified in the classification is limited to the articles and services that are considered as fully sport or are related to sport activities.
From HBS, the data for the following sport related categories are available according to ECOICOP:
CP0921 Major durables for outdoor recreation
CP09222 Major durables for indoor recreation
CP0923 Maintenance and repair of other major durables for recreation and culture
CP0932 Equipment for sport, camping and open-air recreation
CP09321 Equipment for sport
CP09322 Equipment for camping and open-air recreation
CP09323 Repair of equipment for sport, camping and open-air recreation
CP0941 Recreational and sporting services
CP09411 Recreational and sporting services - Attendance
CP09412 Recreational and sporting services - Participation
As concerns harmonised indices of consumer prices (HICP), they give comparable measures of inflation in the countries. They are economic indicators that assess the change over time of the prices of consumer goods and services acquired by households.
The data for the following goods and services by ECOICOP are available within the sport scope:
CP0921 Major durables for outdoor recreation
CP09211 Camper vans, caravans and trailers
CP09212 Aeroplanes, microlight aircraft, gliders, hang-gliders and hot-air balloons
CP09213 Boats, outboard motors and fitting out of boats
CP09215 Major items for games and sport
CP09222 Major durables for indoor recreation
CP0932 Equipment for sport, camping and open-air recreation
CP09321 Equipment for sport
CP09322 Equipment for camping and open-air recreation
CP09323 Repair of equipment for sport, camping and open-air recreation
CP0941 Recreational and sporting services
CP09411 Recreational and sporting services - Attendance
CP09412 Recreational and sporting services - Participation
3.5. Statistical unit
For data from HBS: households.
For data from HICP: each published index or rate of change refers to the 'final monetary consumption expenditure' of the whole household sector of the corresponding geographical entity. The observation unit is a price of goods and services available for purchase for the purpose of directly satisfying consumer needs.
3.6. Statistical population
For data from HBS:
Individual private households. Institutional households and persons living in collective households or in institutions are generally excluded.
For data from HICP:
The target statistical universe is the 'household final monetary consumption expenditure' (HFMCE) within the economic territories of the countries compiling the HICP. The household sector to which the definition refers includes all individuals or groups of individuals, irrespective of the type of area in which they live, their position in the income distribution and their nationality or residence status. These definitions follow the national account concepts in the European System of Accounts (ESA 2010).
The HICP comprises all products and services purchased in monetary transactions by households, both resident and non-resident (i.e 'domestic concept'), within the territory of a country.
3.7. Reference area
For data from HBS 2010:
EU Member States (except the Netherlands for data on sporting goods), the United Kingdom, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Türkiye.
For data from HBS 2015:
EU Member States, the United Kingdom, Norway, Serbia and Türkiye.
For data from HBS 2020:
EU Member States (except Sweden and only for data on sporting goods Portugal and Romania), Norway, Montenegro, Serbia and Türkiye.
For data from HICP:
EU Member States, Iceland, Norway, Switzerland, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Albania, Serbia, Türkiye and Kosovo (under United Nations Security Council Resolution 1244/99).
3.8. Coverage - Time
For data from HBS: 2010, 2015 and 2020.
For data from HICP: since 2002 for most countries.
3.9. Base period
HBS: not applicable.
HICP: since January 2016 data, HICP data are produced and published using the common index reference period (2015=100).
In line with the Community legal framework and the European Statistics Code of Practice Eurostat disseminates European statistics on Eurostat's website (see point 10 - 'Accessibility and clarity') respecting professional independence and in an objective, professional and transparent manner in which all users are treated equitably. The detailed arrangements are governed by the Eurostat protocol on impartial access to Eurostat data for users.
For data from HBS: every 5 years approximately. Next reference year is 2026.
For data from HICP: Monthly indices are disseminated around the middle of the month that follows the reference month. Yearly indices are disseminated in the first months of the year that follows the reference year.
10.1. Dissemination format - News release
A news release on-line is usually published for the annual update of the ‘Statistics explained’ article on consumer prices of recreational and sporting goods and services.
Data are accessible online through the EUROSTAT website at Sport database.
10.4. Dissemination format - microdata access
The Household Budget Survey is included in Commission Regulation (EC) No 831/2002 implementing Council Regulation (EC) No 322/97 on Community Statistics, concerning access to confidential data for scientific purposes.
Universities and certified research centres can apply for access to HBS microdata for scientific purposes. An algorithm has been used in a Computer Application, to anonymise HBS data.
Eurostat's sport statistics have been designed according to the following documents:
The "Vilnius definition of sport", designed by the Expert Group of Sport statistics in 2007. This definition proposes a three-stage approach in order to identify, starting from the Classification of Products by Activity (CPA), those activities, goods and services that are related to sport:
Statistical definition: it corresponds to NACE code 93.1 "Sport activities". This is the only economic sector of sport which has its own, specific, NACE code
Narrow definition: it comprises all activities which are inputs to sport; this level of the classification encompasses all industries which produce goods that are necessary to perform sport. Besides sport facilities, this classification includes, for example, manufacturing of sport shoes and tennis rackets. This definition also includes the Statistical definition
Broad definition: it encompasses all activities which require sport as an input for their production processes (television broadcasting, hotels accommodating guests doing sport, gambling etc.). This definition also includes the Narrow definition.
The study on the Contribution of Sport to Economic Growth and Employment in the EU (SPEA Report) .The study carried out in the context of the Expert Group on Sport aimed at developing a common approach and harmonising the efforts in order to assess the economic impact of sport. The methodology proposed in the study elaborated by SpEA concentrates on the economic dimension of sport through the setting up of Sport Satellite Accounts.
Data on sport expenditure in sporting goods and services allow measuring the share of the households' budget devoted to the purchasing of such items.
At the European level, the several policy initiatives in the field of sport aim at developing the European dimension of sport and at raising awareness about the social and economic benefits of sport and physical activity.
Therefore, high quality data on sport are crucial to better underpin the actions taken under the various initiatives targeting the sport sector empowerment.
12.2. Relevance - User Satisfaction
Generally users have been satisfied with overall quality of the service delivered by Eurostat, which encompasses data quality and the supporting service provided to them but no particular information is gathered from them.
All reported errors (once validated) result in corrections of the disseminated data.
Reported errors are corrected in the disseminated data as soon as the correct data have been validated.
Data may be published even if they are missing for certain countries or flagged as provisional or of low reliability for certain countries.
European aggregates are updated for consistency with new country data.
New data are only used to update disseminated data if provided according to the provision schedule set by Eurostat, or in the case of reported errors.
18.1. Source data
Data on households' expenditure on sporting goods and services are derived from the Household Budget Survey (HBS, 2010, 2015 and 2020)
Data referring to price index of sporting goods and services are part of the HICP data collection system.
18.2. Frequency of data collection
HBS: every five years (1988, 1994, 1999, 2010, 2015, 2020). Next reference year is 2026.
HICP: Since January 2008, price collection takes place across at least one working week period at or near the middle of the calendar month to which the index pertains. When products are known to show sharp and irregular price changes within the same month, prices are collected over a period of more than one working week.
18.3. Data collection
Statistics on household expenditure on cultural goods are derived statistics from HBS. For details on primary data collection (HBS), please refer to the HBS Metadata.
For details on HICP data collection, please consult the HICP Metadata.
18.4. Data validation
Primary data are checked and validated according to HBS and HICP validation procedures (see the HBS Metadata, and the HICP Metadata).
Apart from the validation made on the primary data, the sport data are as well validated and checked in terms of comparability and consistency between countries and over time before being uploaded.
18.5. Data compilation
Household expenditure:
Disaggregated data by COICOP 5-digit (from HBS 2010, 2015 and 2020) covering item 09 "Recreation and culture" are subject to statistical processing (estimation of missing values and aggregation of sport related items in broader categories).
It must be noted that HBS round 2010 used the COICOP-HBS classification, while the HBS round 2015 and 2020 used the ECOICOP classification. The consequences on the sport data collection in terms of data representation and continuity of time series are explained in the Annex I : Mapping of sport related codes in HBS 2010, 2015 and 2020.
Price index:
Data on HICP are mirror tables (bookmarks) of the source datasets in the HICP domain. No data processing is applied for cultural statistics purpose.
For the content and coverage of sport items in COICOP-HBS and ECOICOP, please refer to Annex I: Mapping of sport related codes in HBS 2010, 2015 and 2020.
Statistics included in the section Private household expenditure on sport comprise the data which are derived from two various sources: Household Budget Survey (HBS) and Harmonised Indices of Consumer Prices (HICP).
These statistics complement the set of social and economic indicators on sport, provide the key for analysis of the consumption patterns of private households on sporting goods and services and enable to assess the weight of private expenditure on sporting goods in total household expenditure.
The statistics on household spending on sport articles and services are extracted from the 2010, 2015 and 2020 waves of Household budget surveys (HBS).
As private expenditure is influenced, among the others, by the price level, data on private expenditure on sporting goods and services can be completed by the statistical information on price evolution from the Harmonised Indices of Consumer Prices (HICP).
The HICP allow the monitoring of the price change of consumer articles including some sport related items. HICP are among others the source of comparable measures of inflation.
14 February 2025
The statistics on households' expenditure on sporting goods and services are retrieved from the Household Budget Surveys (HBS) that aim at measuring the private household expenditure on consumer goods. Sporting items are classified under the COICOP heading 09 "Recreation and culture". The list of sport related goods and services identified in the classification is limited to the articles and services that are considered as fully sport or are related to sport activities.
From HBS, the data for the following sport related categories are available according to ECOICOP:
CP0921 Major durables for outdoor recreation
CP09222 Major durables for indoor recreation
CP0923 Maintenance and repair of other major durables for recreation and culture
CP0932 Equipment for sport, camping and open-air recreation
CP09321 Equipment for sport
CP09322 Equipment for camping and open-air recreation
CP09323 Repair of equipment for sport, camping and open-air recreation
CP0941 Recreational and sporting services
CP09411 Recreational and sporting services - Attendance
CP09412 Recreational and sporting services - Participation
As concerns harmonised indices of consumer prices (HICP), they give comparable measures of inflation in the countries. They are economic indicators that assess the change over time of the prices of consumer goods and services acquired by households.
The data for the following goods and services by ECOICOP are available within the sport scope:
CP0921 Major durables for outdoor recreation
CP09211 Camper vans, caravans and trailers
CP09212 Aeroplanes, microlight aircraft, gliders, hang-gliders and hot-air balloons
CP09213 Boats, outboard motors and fitting out of boats
CP09215 Major items for games and sport
CP09222 Major durables for indoor recreation
CP0932 Equipment for sport, camping and open-air recreation
CP09321 Equipment for sport
CP09322 Equipment for camping and open-air recreation
CP09323 Repair of equipment for sport, camping and open-air recreation
CP0941 Recreational and sporting services
CP09411 Recreational and sporting services - Attendance
CP09412 Recreational and sporting services - Participation
For data from HBS: households.
For data from HICP: each published index or rate of change refers to the 'final monetary consumption expenditure' of the whole household sector of the corresponding geographical entity. The observation unit is a price of goods and services available for purchase for the purpose of directly satisfying consumer needs.
For data from HBS:
Individual private households. Institutional households and persons living in collective households or in institutions are generally excluded.
For data from HICP:
The target statistical universe is the 'household final monetary consumption expenditure' (HFMCE) within the economic territories of the countries compiling the HICP. The household sector to which the definition refers includes all individuals or groups of individuals, irrespective of the type of area in which they live, their position in the income distribution and their nationality or residence status. These definitions follow the national account concepts in the European System of Accounts (ESA 2010).
The HICP comprises all products and services purchased in monetary transactions by households, both resident and non-resident (i.e 'domestic concept'), within the territory of a country.
For data from HBS 2010:
EU Member States (except the Netherlands for data on sporting goods), the United Kingdom, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Türkiye.
For data from HBS 2015:
EU Member States, the United Kingdom, Norway, Serbia and Türkiye.
For data from HBS 2020:
EU Member States (except Sweden and only for data on sporting goods Portugal and Romania), Norway, Montenegro, Serbia and Türkiye.
For data from HICP:
EU Member States, Iceland, Norway, Switzerland, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Albania, Serbia, Türkiye and Kosovo (under United Nations Security Council Resolution 1244/99).
For data from HBS: 2010, 2015 and 2020 (complete year). Next reference year is 2026.
For data from HICP: month/year (indices and rates).
For data from HICP: Annual average index and annual rate of change for annual data and monthly indices for 3 base periods 1996, 2006, 2015.
Household expenditure:
Disaggregated data by COICOP 5-digit (from HBS 2010, 2015 and 2020) covering item 09 "Recreation and culture" are subject to statistical processing (estimation of missing values and aggregation of sport related items in broader categories).
It must be noted that HBS round 2010 used the COICOP-HBS classification, while the HBS round 2015 and 2020 used the ECOICOP classification. The consequences on the sport data collection in terms of data representation and continuity of time series are explained in the Annex I : Mapping of sport related codes in HBS 2010, 2015 and 2020.
Price index:
Data on HICP are mirror tables (bookmarks) of the source datasets in the HICP domain. No data processing is applied for cultural statistics purpose.
For the content and coverage of sport items in COICOP-HBS and ECOICOP, please refer to Annex I: Mapping of sport related codes in HBS 2010, 2015 and 2020.
Data on households' expenditure on sporting goods and services are derived from the Household Budget Survey (HBS, 2010, 2015 and 2020)
Data referring to price index of sporting goods and services are part of the HICP data collection system.
For data from HBS: every 5 years approximately. Next reference year is 2026.
For data from HICP: Monthly indices are disseminated around the middle of the month that follows the reference month. Yearly indices are disseminated in the first months of the year that follows the reference year.
