The share of household expenses going for food is steadily declining and is now down to 11.7 per cent. Expenditure per household per year by commodity and sevice group. It has long been a general trend that Norwegians are spending a smaller share of their expenditure on food, thanks to the sustained prosperity of recent years. Housing is the biggest expense Housing is the item taking the largest share of consumption spending, with transport a close second. With a declining share of spending going to food, other product groups emerge as important expenditure items.
Household spending on culture and recreation is now greater than spending on food.
Spending on food is now down to being the fourth most important household expenditure item. This is not because individuals are eating less, but because increased consumption goes to areas other than food. Also, people eat more outside the home, in restaurants and the like. In addition, the size of households is steadily declining, resulting in fewer mouths to feed. This amounts to 24.8 per cent of total spending, that is, approximately one-fourth.