Insee Première ·
November 2024 · n° 2022
Distributional national accounts in 2022 Cash transfers and public services increased the standard of living by 16% at the
middle of income scale
In 2022, total resources of French resident economic units (or net national income) was on average 32,700 euros per capita and 46,700 euros per consumption unit (CU). This masked wide disparities. Before redistribution, the extended primary income was on average 114,700 euros per CU for the top 20% of usual standard of living, compared with 9,800 euros for the bottom 20%.
After integrating all transfers (taxes, monetary social benefits and transfers in kind from public services), the extended standard of living of the top 20% averaged 78,700 euros per CU, while that of the bottom 20% averaged 30,400 euros per CU. In the middle of the income scale, these transfers increased living standards by 16%. In total, considering this extended redistribution, 57% of people received more in net terms than they contributed.
Net disposable income of households, measured after deduction of direct taxes and payment of monetary social benefits but without considering transfers in kind, was on average 32,200 euros per CU in 2022. It is 5.5 times higher for the top 10% than for the bottom 10%.
- In 2022, before transfers, the extended primary income of the bottom 20% of people was 9,800 euros per CU on average, compared with 114,700 euros per CU for the top 20%
- Following extended redistribution, the extended standard of living per CU of the bottom 20% is 30,400 euros, compared with 78,700 euros for the top 20%
- Monetary transfers and public services improve the standard of living of 57% of people
- The extended redistribution can be broken down more finely according to standard of living and for each type of transfer
- The net disposable income of households aged 65 or over is largely made up of social benefits and income from assets
In 2022, before transfers, the extended primary income of the bottom 20% of people was 9,800 euros per CU on average, compared with 114,700 euros per CU for the top 20%
The national income of a country is made up of all of the income received by the various resident economic units: households, companies, public authorities and non-profit institutions. In 2022, in France, following the deduction of capital depreciation due to wear and tear on housing, equipment and infrastructure, the average net national income (NNI) was 32,700 euros per capita, or 46,700 euros per consumption unit (3,900 euros per CU per month), giving a total of 2,227 billion euros.
This NNI as a whole can be distributed between households alone under certain allocation assumptions (methods): before any redistribution mechanisms are implemented, this constitutes extended primary income. In 2022, it reached an average of 114,700 euros per CU per year for the top 20% of the population (2.5 times the overall average), 9,800 euros per CU for the bottom 20% (4.8 times less than the overall average) and 35,000 euros per CU (0.75 times the overall average) for those positioned around the median, between 40% and 60% on the usual standard of living scale (figure 1). It also varies significantly depending on the age, educational level and socio-professional category of the reference person of the household, or on the family configuration [André et al., 2023a] .
tableauFigure 1a – Summary table of accounts by usual standard of living fifth in 2022
| Nature of income | C1 | C2 | C3 | C4 | C5 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Proportion of individuals (as a %) | 20 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 100 |
| Extended primary income (before transfers) | 9 800 | 22 100 | 35 000 | 51 200 | 114 700 | 46 700 |
| Deductions | -7 600 | -13 300 | -19 900 | -28 500 | -60 500 | -26 000 |
| Monetary social benefits | 9 000 | 11 400 | 11 800 | 12 400 | 14 900 | 11 900 |
| Non-monetary transfers and others | 19 200 | 16 200 | 13 600 | 12 100 | 9 600 | 14 100 |
| Extended standard of living (after transfers) | 30 400 | 36 400 | 40 500 | 47 200 | 78 700 | 46 700 |
| Net disposable income (NDI) of households | 14 400 | 23 000 | 28 900 | 35 700 | 58 800 | 32 200 |
- Notes: Individuals are classified according to the usual standard of living fifth of their household (C1 to C5). The net disposable income (NDI) of households is based on the Households institutional sector (S14); the other items are based on all institutional sectors.
- Reading note: In 2022, the average net disposable income (NDI) of the top 20% of households was 58,800 euros per CU.
- Coverage: France, institutional sectors of the national economy (S1).
- Sources: INSEE, distributive national accounts 2022, 2020 base.
Following extended redistribution, the extended standard of living per CU of the bottom 20% is 30,400 euros, compared with 78,700 euros for the top 20%
Three redistribution mechanisms alter the distribution of the extended primary income of households to establish, after transfers, the extended standard of living: deductions, monetary social benefits and non-monetary transfers. Based on the idea that any tax deducted ultimately has a direct (monetary) or indirect benefit for households, this extended redistribution includes all public transfers, paid and received, and in particular a monetary valuation of public services.
The deductions, which include all direct and indirect taxes and social security contributions, amount to 26,000 euros per CU on average. These deductions are used in particular to help finance monetary social benefits, averaging 11,900 euros per CU, in the form of replacement income (pensions, unemployment benefits, disability pensions and sickness benefits) or in a different form (family allowances, statutory minimum incomes and in-work benefits). Lastly, the inclusion of services provided in the form of non-monetary transfers, amounting to 14,100 euros per CU on average, results in the extended standard of living. Non-monetary transfers are made up of transfers in kind, which can be tailored to the individual (education, health, housing and social action), and collective expenditure (police, judicial system, armed forces, etc.).
Together, these public transfers reduce differences in income between households: the extended standard of living differs by category of household, but significantly less than the extended primary income. The average annual extended standard of living of the bottom 20% amounts to 30,400 euros per CU (0.65 times the overall average) and that of the 20% around the median to around 40,500 euros per CU (0.87 times the overall average), compared with 78,700 euros per CU for the top 20% (1.7 times the overall average).
When we break this down further into tenths, the extended standard of living of the top 10% following all redistribution mechanisms is 3.8 times higher than that of the bottom 10%, while their extended primary income is 23.6 times higher before transfers. Extended redistribution therefore divides the standard of living ratio between the most wealthy and poorest individuals by 6.3.
Monetary transfers and public services improve the standard of living of 57% of people
Extended redistribution is measured as the difference between income before transfers and income after transfers for each household. A household is either a net beneficiary of or a net contributor to extended redistribution depending on whether the balance between the transfers that it has paid and those it has received is positive or negative, which amounts to comparing their extended primary income with their extended standard of living. Overall, in 2022, 57% of people were net beneficiaries of extended redistribution (figure 2).
tableauFigure 2 – Distributive national accounts by usual standard of living tenth in 2022
| Nature of income | D1 | D2 | D3 | D4 | D5 | D6 | D7 | D8 | D9 | D10 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Extended primary income (before transfers) | 32,1 | 59,8 | 89,3 | 123,7 | 152,8 | 180,9 | 217,9 | 267,6 | 345,3 | 758,1 | 2 227,4 |
| Deductions | -30,3 | -41,4 | -55,7 | -72,4 | -87,2 | -102,2 | -122,5 | -147,3 | -188,3 | -393,8 | -1 241,1 |
| Taxes on products and production | -19,2 | -24,0 | -28,0 | -31,3 | -34,3 | -37,3 | -40,7 | -43,5 | -47,7 | -61,9 | -368,0 |
| Taxes on income and wealth | -5,9 | -4,5 | -7,8 | -11,7 | -14,6 | -18,3 | -24,7 | -31,8 | -48,9 | -186,1 | -354,3 |
| Social security contributions | -5,2 | -12,9 | -20,0 | -29,4 | -38,2 | -46,6 | -57,1 | -72,0 | -91,7 | -145,7 | -518,8 |
| Monetary social benefits | 36,3 | 48,7 | 54,9 | 54,8 | 55,4 | 56,7 | 58,6 | 58,8 | 65,8 | 77,9 | 567,9 |
| Monetary social benefits (excluding pensions) | 26,0 | 27,2 | 23,6 | 22,6 | 19,4 | 18,0 | 17,7 | 17,6 | 18,4 | 21,0 | 211,3 |
| Retirement pensions | 10,3 | 21,6 | 31,3 | 32,3 | 36,0 | 38,7 | 40,9 | 41,2 | 47,4 | 57,0 | 356,7 |
| Non-monetary transfers and others | 89,8 | 91,0 | 78,9 | 76,9 | 65,6 | 64,3 | 61,7 | 52,8 | 52,0 | 40,1 | 673,1 |
| Individualisable transfers in kind | 65,1 | 68,4 | 57,1 | 55,7 | 45,0 | 45,8 | 44,0 | 35,2 | 35,0 | 32,3 | 483,6 |
| Collective expenditure | 23,9 | 22,8 | 22,6 | 22,9 | 22,6 | 21,3 | 21,5 | 22,4 | 24,1 | 26,8 | 231,0 |
| Others, including net savings of public authorities | 0,7 | -0,2 | -0,8 | -1,6 | -2,1 | -2,8 | -3,8 | -4,8 | -7,1 | -19,0 | -41,5 |
| Extended standard of living (after transfers) | 127,9 | 158,2 | 167,3 | 183,0 | 186,6 | 199,7 | 215,7 | 231,9 | 274,7 | 482,3 | 2 227,4 |
| Net transfers | 95,8 | 98,4 | 78,0 | 59,4 | 33,9 | 18,8 | -2,2 | -35,7 | -70,5 | -275,8 | 0,0 |
| Proportion of net beneficiaries (as a %) | 99 | 98 | 92 | 78 | 58 | 46 | 37 | 27 | 23 | 17 | 57 |
- Notes: Individuals are classified according to the usual standard of living tenth of their household (D1 to D9).
- Reading note: The top 10% (D10) received an extended primary income (before transfers) of 758.1 billion euros in 2022.
- Coverage: France, institutional sectors of the national economy (S1).
- Sources: INSEE, distributive national accounts 2022, 2020 base.
graphiqueFigure 2 – Distributive national accounts by usual standard of living tenth in 2022
- Notes: Individuals are classified according to the usual standard of living tenth of their household (D1 to D9).
- Reading note: The top 10% (D10) received an extended primary income (before transfers) of 758.1 billion euros in 2022.
- Coverage: France, institutional sectors of the national economy (S1).
- Sources: INSEE, distributive national accounts 2022, 2020 base.
On average, the bottom 20% are net beneficiaries in the amount of 20,600 euros per CU (representing an increase of 210%), whereas the top 20% are net contributors in the amount of 36,000 euros per CU (decrease of 31%). The 20% of people around the median who represent the middle fifth of the distribution of the usual standard of living are, on average, net beneficiaries in the amount of 5,500 euros per CU, representing an average increase of 16% of their extended primary income.
The extended redistribution can be broken down more finely according to standard of living and for each type of transfer
The transfers received vary significantly from one category of household to the next, in particular with regard to their usual standard of living or the age of the reference person.
When considered as a whole, the deductions increase in line with standard of living, ranging from an average of 7,600 euros per CU for the bottom 20% to 60,500 euros per CU for the top 20%. Due to the weight of indirect taxation in particular, they represent a smaller share of income before transfers, plus retirement pensions and unemployment benefits, for the top 10% (48%) than for the bottom 10% (64%). As regards transfers received by households, indirectly or in monetary form, the bottom 20% benefit slightly more than the top 20% (28,200 euros per CU compared with 24,500 euros per CU).
With respect to the accounting amounts, the total deductions amount to 287 billion euros for the people belonging to the bottom half of the standard of living scale, compared with 954 billion for those belonging to the top half. The monetary social benefits (not including retirement pensions), which are often means tested, received by the bottom 10% amounted to 26 billion euros in 2022, those received by the top 10% amounted to 21 billion euros and those received by the 10% of households positioned just below the median (D5) amounted to 19 billion euros. Individualisable public services, which take the form of transfers in kind, benefit the bottom 10% of households in the amount of 65.1 billion euros and the top 10% in the amount of 32.3 billion euros. When we break down their effects on income, inequalities are significantly reduced by public expenditure, while the deductions, which are necessary to fund this expenditure, bring about a slight increase in inequalities [André et al., 2023a].
The net disposable income of households aged 65 or over is largely made up of social benefits and income from assets
The net disposable income (NDI) of households corresponds to all of the income directly received by households that they are able to either consume or save. Unlike the net national income, it does not take account of income from other economic agents (companies and public authorities). It subtracts the direct deductions paid by households from the income that they directly receive and adds the monetary benefits that they receive. The NDI of households differs from usual disposable income, which is used in social statistics to study monetary inequalities [Pen, Rousset, 2024], as it includes rents imputed to homeowners and income associated with concealed activity while excluding housing allowances recorded as transfers in kind (methods).
In 2022, the total net disposable income (NDI) of households amounted to 1,537 billion euros (32,200 euros per CU). It varies significantly depending on the category of household and its composition is highly heterogeneous. The average NDI of the top 20% of people is 58,000 euros per CU, compared with 14,400 euros per CU for the bottom 20%. When broken down to the finer level of standard of living tenths, the NDI is 5.5 times higher for the top 10% than for the bottom 10%.
Monetary social benefits are made up, on the one hand, of deferred income, retirement pensions and unemployment benefits (26% of NDI on average) and, on the other hand, of statutory minimum incomes and other benefits, such as in-work benefits, family benefits and other replacement income (11% on average) (figure 3). The former automatically benefit older households more (73% of NDI for those aged 65 or over). The remaining monetary social benefits are targeted more towards the poorest households: they represent 32% of NDI for the bottom 20%, compared with 6% for the top 20% and 11% for those positioned around the median. Overall, monetary social benefits represent 63% of NDI for the bottom 20% compared with 25% for the top 20%. Retirement pensions and unemployment benefits make up the majority of the monetary social benefits received by the top 20% (20% of NDI).
tableauFigure 3a – Structure of the net disposable income (NDI) of households, in household share of NDI, according to the age of the reference person of the household, in 2022
| Nature of income | 18–29 years | 30–39 years | 40–49 years | 50–64 years | 65 years or over | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Distribution of individuals (as a %) | 7 | 19 | 24 | 27 | 23 | 100 |
| Gross earned income | 129 | 137 | 138 | 122 | 16 | 99 |
| Gross wages | 121 | 127 | 130 | 112 | 13 | 92 |
| Mixed income of the self-employed | 8 | 10 | 8 | 10 | 3 | 8 |
| Income from assets | 6 | 10 | 12 | 15 | 26 | 16 |
| Income from property | 2 | 3 | 5 | 7 | 14 | 8 |
| Actual and imputed rents, net of charges | 4 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 12 | 9 |
| Direct deductions | -52 | -63 | -66 | -62 | -21 | -51 |
| Taxes on income and wealth | -14 | -17 | -18 | -20 | -16 | -17 |
| Social security contributions | -38 | -46 | -48 | -42 | -5 | -34 |
| Monetary social benefits | 18 | 17 | 17 | 26 | 79 | 37 |
| Pensions and unemployment benefits | 6 | 4 | 4 | 14 | 73 | 26 |
| Other monetary benefits | 13 | 13 | 13 | 12 | 6 | 11 |
| Other monetary transfers | -1 | -1 | -1 | -1 | 0 | -1 |
- Notes: Net disposable income (NDI) is net of the consumption of fixed capital; earned income is gross of social security contributions.
- Reading note: Income from assets accounts for 26% of the NDI of people aged 65 or over.
- Coverage: France, institutional sectors of the national economy (S1).
- Sources: INSEE, distributive national accounts 2022, 2020 base.
graphiqueFigure 3a – Structure of the net disposable income (NDI) of households, in household share of NDI, according to the age of the reference person of the household, in 2022
- Notes: Net disposable income (NDI) is net of the consumption of fixed capital; earned income is gross of social security contributions.
- Reading note: Income from assets accounts for 26% of the NDI of people aged 65 or over.
- Coverage: France, institutional sectors of the national economy (S1).
- Sources: INSEE, distributive national accounts 2022, 2020 base.
Gross earned income (including social security contributions), comprised of wages and the mixed income of the self-employed, represents 99% of disposable income on average, but 16% for households aged 65 or over and 129% for those aged under 30. Income from assets (financial or housing, including imputed rents) represents 26% of the net disposable income (NDI) of households aged 65 or older, compared with 6% for younger households.
In addition, the direct deductions can be broken down into taxes and contributions: the proportion of taxes on income and assets included in the NDI varies significantly depending on income, but changes relatively little with age, between 14% for those aged under 30 and 20% for those aged between 50 and 64. However, the vast majority of social security contributions are made by households aged under 65.
Sources
The distribution of transfers is largely based on the Ines microsimulation model for the year 2022, using the 2020 Tax and social incomes survey and the Household budget survey 2017. Other sources are mobilized for transfers in kind and collective consumption expenditure [André et al., 2023a].
Figures in this publication relate to the year 2022 (final account, 2020 base), completed by additional tables covering the years 2018 to 2022, by different household categories: usual standard of living bracket, age bracket (of the family's reference person), diploma, gender, family configuration, socio-professional category and urban unit bracket. These tables are available on the new National Accounts website page.
Methods: From national accounts and social statistics to national accounts by category
Each year, the national accounts establish the level and composition of net national income (NNI) and net disposable income (NDI). This publication is based on the distributed national accounts method, which breaks down macroeconomic aggregates by household category [André et al., 2023b]. The figures are consistent with the new 2020 national accounts base, by also reinforcing the method of distributing income and transfers. These are distributed according to household characteristics on the basis of microeconomic data and recalibrated to macroeconomic totals using accounting definitions. This method thus benefits from the international and temporal consistency of national accounting concepts.
A methodological note published on the new National Accounts website page accompanies this publication and the one on consumption and savings by household category [André, Buresi, 2024]. It details the concepts, assumptions, sources and methods. It presents the new features compared with previous publications. In the past, Insee has published several decompositions of the macroeconomic components of household institutional sector income or consumption by household categories [Accardo et al., 2021; Accardo et al., 2017; Accardo et al., 2009], as well as an extension to total net national income (NNI) and the national economy [Accardo et al., 2021; André et al., 2023b]. Backcast data between 2018 and 2022 accompany this publication.
Compared to the income before redistribution usually disseminated in work on monetary inequalities [Pen, Rousset, 2024], the expanded primary income of the distributed national accounts excludes replacement incomes such as retirement and disability pensions or unemployment benefits, which are financed by levies on households. On the other hand, in addition to the usual income received by households, it includes rents imputed to owner-occupiers, corporate profits not distributed to households, and some general government resources. Household RDN differs from the usual disposable income of social statistics in that it excludes housing subsidies and includes imputed rents, as well as income from hidden activities.
Compared with the usual publications on monetary inequalities, scope of which is restricted to households living in ordinary housing in metropolitan France, the scope of this publication covers all households living in France.
Définitions
French net national income (NNI) is made up of wages and salaries paid to employees and mixed income from sole proprietors (including social security contributions for both fields) received by households, property income from owner-occupied households (including imputed rents received by owner-occupiers), profits from resident companies, taxes net of subsidies on products and production received by public administrations, and net financial income received from the rest of the world (interest and dividends and investment income received by resident units less those paid to non-resident units). Unlike gross national income (GNI), it is net of capital depreciation linked to infrastructure, housing and equipment. GNI is equal to gross domestic product (GDP) minus primary income paid to non-resident economic units, plus primary income received from the rest of the world by resident units.
To compare the standards of living of households of different sizes or compositions, we divide the income by the number of consumption units (CU). These are usually calculated the following way: 1 CU for the first adult in the household, 0.5 CU for the other persons aged 14 years or older, 0.3 CU for the children under 14 years.
This scale (known as the OCDE scale) takes the economy of scale inside the household.
RNN can be allocated to households using distributed national accounts: when allocated to households before any redistribution mechanism, it then constitutes extended primary income. Its components are allocated to households on the basis of microeconomic assumptions and data.
If a distribution is ordered, the median divides this distribution into two equal parts. Thus, for a distribution of wages, 50% of the wages are below the median and 50% above it. Deciles are the values that divide this distribution into ten equal parts. Individuals classified in this way belong to tenths of a standard of living. Quintiles divide a distribution into five equal parts, called fifths and denoted C1 to C5.
In the monetary sense of redistribution, the usual standard of living is equal to the disposable income of the household divided by the number of consumer units. The standard of living is therefore the same for all the individuals in a given household.
From this expanded primary income, public transfers (taxes, social contributions, social benefits, public spending) transform household incomes to arrive, after transfers, at the expanded standard of living. Households with an income after transfers (expanded standard of living) higher than their income before transfers (expanded primary income) are said to be net recipients; in the opposite case they are net contributors.
For households, direct taxes include income tax (IR, CSG), wealth tax and social security contributions. In the broadest sense, a levy is a transfer paid by households to public administrations and non-profit institutions serving households (NPISHs).
Monetary social benefits correspond to replacement income (retirement pensions, unemployment benefits, daily allowances and pensions for work-related accidents and illnesses), minimum social benefits and other social benefits (family allowances, activity bonuses). They do not include housing allowances, which in national accounts are recorded as transfers in kind. In the broadest sense, a benefit is a transfer received by households. It may be in cash, i.e. monetary, or “in kind”, i.e. in the form of reimbursements or provided directly by public administrations.
Monetary transfers correspond to direct levies and monetary social benefits (family benefits, minimum social benefits, replacement incomes such as retirement pensions, unemployment benefits, disability pensions and sickness benefits). In contrast, non-monetary transfers include all other transfers involved in broader redistribution, i.e. the sum of transfers in kind and collective expenditure, as well as other smaller transfers such as government savings and the balance of income distribution operations by NPISHs.
Social transfers in kind (D63) consist of individual goods and services provided to households by government and NPISHs either free or at prices that are not economically significant, whether purchased on the market (D362) or produced as non-market output by government unites or NPISHs (D361).
The items included are: social security benefits, reimbursements, other social security benefits in kind, social assistance benefits in kind, and transfers of individual non-market goods or services.
Collective expenditure corresponds to non-individualizable public services. Actual collective consumption (P42) corresponds to public goods and services for which the benefit cannot be attributed to a specific household or households. It benefits the community as a whole, or large sections of society (defense, police, justice, public facilities, regulation, etc.). Collective consumption is financed by public administrations (S13).
Net disposable income (NDI), unlike expanded primary income, does not include primary income from other sectors, such as corporate profits not distributed to households, or taxes and subsidies on products and production received by public administrations. In particular, it includes direct taxes and monetary social benefits, as well as earned income received directly by households. NDI corresponds to the income available for households to consume and generate net savings.
Usual disposable income is the microeconomic concept that measures the income available to the household for consumption and saving. It includes income from employment net of social security contributions, unemployment benefits, pensions, capital income (real estate and financial) and other social benefits received, net of direct taxes. The latter include income tax, housing tax, the general social contribution (CSG), the contribution to the reduction of the social debt (CRDS) and other taxes on capital income. It does not take into account the monetary equivalent of the economic benefit to the household of owning its principal residence (imputed rent).
Rents charged to owner-occupiers cover the rental service provided to themselves by the owners of their dwellings: in other words, the rents that owners would have to pay if they were tenants in the dwellings they live in.
The notion of "imputed rent" (or "fictitious rent") covers the rental service provided to themselves the owners of their homes: to that is, the rents that the owners would have to pay if they were tenants in the accommodation they were renting live.
In this publication, income from household sector assets is made up of income from property and housing, including rents imputed to households owning the housing they occupy. Gross earned income corresponds to the sum of gross wages, including all social security contributions, and mixed income from self-employment.
Learn more
André M., Buresi G., « Consommation et épargne par catégories de ménages en 2022 − Les ménages les plus aisés épargnent un quart de leur revenu, les plus modestes n’épargnent pas », Insee Focus no 338, novembre 2024.
Pen L., Rousset A., « Niveau de vie et pauvreté en 2022 − Des niveaux de vie et un taux de pauvreté stables malgré une inflation élevée », Insee Première no 2004, juillet 2024.
André M., Germain J.-M., Sicsic M., « La redistribution élargie, incluant l’ensemble des transferts monétaires et les services publics, améliore le niveau de vie de 57 % des personnes », Insee Analyses no 88, septembre 2023a.
André M., Germain J.-M., Sicsic M., « Comptes nationaux distribués : une nouvelle manière de distribuer la croissance − Une expérience innovante au service du débat public », Courrier des statistiques no 9, Insee, juin 2023b.
Accardo A., André M., Billot S., Germain J.-M., Sicsic M., « Réduction des inégalités : la redistribution est deux fois plus ample en intégrant les services publics », in Revenus et patrimoine des ménages, coll. « Insee Références », édition 2021.
Accardo J., Billot S., Buron M.-L., « Les revenus, la consommation et l’épargne des ménages par grande catégorie entre 2011 et 2015 », in Tableaux de l'économie française, coll. « Insee Références », édition 2017.
Accardo J., Bellamy V., Consalès G., Fesseau M., Le Laidier S., Raynaud É., « Les inégalités entre ménages dans les comptes nationaux, une décomposition du compte des ménages », in Tableaux de l'économie française, coll. « Insee Références », édition 2009.