EU-SILC modules

In addition to the annual questions, a separate section of questions (modules) on a specific topic is added to the European Union Statistics on Income and Living Conditions (EU-SILC) survey. The topics of the modules change from year to year and their questions are designed to complement the variables permanently collected in EU-SILC with supplementary variables highlighting unexplored aspects of social inclusion - material deprivation, housing conditions, social and cultural participation, intergenerational transmission of disadvantages, over-indebtedness and financial exclusion, intra-household sharing of resources, well-being etc.

As of 2021, there are 3 types of such modules:

• Three-yearly rolling module (repeated every 3 years).  The topics covered are 'Labor market and housing', 'Health' and 'Children'.
• Six-yearly rolling module (repeated every 6 years).  The topics covered are 'Intergenerational transmission of advantages and disadvantages and housing difficulties', 'Over-indebtedness, consumption and wealth', 'Access to services' and 'Quality of life'.
• Ad-hoc module. Ad-hoc subject or policy need modules, which are implemented only once. The aim of these modules is to provide timely information on a specific area of high policy interest.

Module Impact of the COVID-19 crisis

Eurostat recommended to include in the EU SILC 2021 on voluntary basis a few complementary variables on the impact of COVID-19 on households’ income and living conditions. Variables refer to changes in income, benefits, education of children, working conditions, and health.

Module Well-being

Over the recent years, greater attention is given to the comfort of people as it facilitates social inclusion and integration into the labour market thus having direct impact on well-being.

Module on well-being includes subjects like satisfaction with separate life areas, emotional state of mind, social deprivation, possibility to ask for help if necessary. All questions are asked at individual level (to household members aged 16 and over, not using other response person).

Module Social and cultural participation and material deprivation

Module includes subjects like attendance of various cultural events (cinema, live performances, cultural sites, sports events), contacting relatives and friends (getting together or contacting by phone or via social media), receiving help from others, participation in voluntary activities and active citizenship, as well as practice of artistic activities.

All questions are asked at individual level (to household members aged 16 and over).

Module Health and children’s health

Module includes subjects like assessment of general health of children, limitation in children activities because of health problems, medical and dental examination or treatment among children, financial burden on medical care and medicines in households, number of visits to general practitioner (family doctor), medical or surgical specialist, dentist, frequency of eating fruit, vegetables or salad, body mass index, and time spent on physical activities (excluding working).

Respondents aged 16 and over give answers to the survey questions about their health by themselves, while information on younger household members is given by adults.

Detailed topic Intergenerational Transmission of Advantages and Disadvantages of the EU-SILC module 2023

Covers the highest level of education attained by mother and father as well as activity status of mother and father, financial situation, ability to meet basic school needs and other basic needs when respondent was around 14 years old. The questions covering this topic of the module are asked to individuals aged 25 – 59.

Detailed topic Housing Difficulties of the EU-SILC module 2023

Covers housing difficulties (i.e., situations when people had no place of their own where they could live), main reason for the housing difficulties, exit from housing difficulties as well as renting difficulties (i.e., situation when people were not able to pay for the accommodation). The questions covering this topic of the module are asked both to the household as a whole and to individuals aged 16 and over.

Ad hoc module Household Energy Efficiency

Growing energy prices have raised an issue of energy efficiency in housings. The EU-SILC ad hoc module on household energy efficiency covers variables characterising heating system and main energy source used in the main dwelling, renovations to the thermal insulation, windows or heating system, and inability to keep the dwelling comfortably warm during winter. All questions asked to the respondents cover the whole household.

Module Access to Services

The detailed topics included in this module are the use of services, including care services and services for independent living, affordability of services, as well as unmet needs and reasons. The variables collected within the module cover frequency of use of public transport, formal childcare services, professional home care services, entitlement to social benefits, as well as feeling discriminated. Some of the questions are asked at household level (to response person), while others at individual level (to each household member aged 16 and over).

Person living in private household and who has usual residence in Latvia.

The basic unit of EU-SILC survey is persons living in private households. Survey does not include collective households (old peoples’ homes, boarding schools for disabled children, student hostels, hotels, barracks, hospitals, sanatoriums, prisons, etc.).

During the survey information was obtained on whole household as well as on each household member aged 16 and over. Households belonging to longitudinal section are surveyed for several years (maximum 4 years). In Latvia four-year rotation panel is used and all household members, who in the first survey year were at age of at least 14, are sample respondents.

• Regulation (EC) No 1177/2003 of the European Parliament and of the Council concerning Community statistics on income and living conditions (EU-SILC);
• Commission Regulation (EC) No 1980/2003 implementing Regulation (EC) No 1177/2003 of the European Parliament and of the Council concerning Community statistics on income and living conditions (EU-SILC) as regards definitions and updated definitions;
• Commission Regulation (EC) No 1981/2003 implementing Regulation (EC) No 1177/2003 of the European Parliament and of the Council concerning Community statistics on income and living conditions (EU-SILC) as regards the fieldwork aspects and the imputation procedures;
• Commission Regulation (EC) No 1982/2003 implementing Regulation (EC) No 1177/2003 of the European Parliament and of the Council concerning Community statistics on income and living conditions (EU-SILC) as regards the sampling and tracing rules;
• Commission regulation (EC) No 1983/2003 implementing Regulation (EC) No 1177/2003 of the European Parliament and of the Council concerning Community statistics on income and living conditions (EU-SILC) as regards the list of target primary variables;
• Commission Regulation (EC) No 28/2004 implementing Regulation (EC) No 1177/2003 of the European Parliament and of the Council concerning Community statistics on income and living conditions (EU-SILC) as regards the detailed content of intermediate and final quality reports;
• Commission Regulation (EC) No 16/2004 implementing Regulation (EC) No 1177/2003 of the European Parliament and of the Council concerning Community statistics on income and living conditions (EU-SILC) as regards the list of target secondary variables relating to the "intergenerational transmission of poverty";
• Commission Regulation (EC) No 13/2005 implementing Regulation (EC) No 1177/2003 of the European Parliament and of the Council concerning Community statistics on income and living conditions (EU-SILC) as regards the list of target secondary variables relating to ‘social participation’;
• Commission Regulation (EC) No 315/2006 implementing Regulation (EC) No 1177/2003 of the European Parliament and of the Council concerning Community statistics on income and living conditions (EU-SILC) as regards the list of target secondary variables relating to housing conditions;
• Commission Regulation (EC) No 215/2007 on implementing Regulation (EC) No 1177/2003 of the European Parliament and of the Council concerning Community statistics on income and living conditions (EU-SILC) as regards the list of target secondary variables relating to over-indebtedness and financial exclusion;
• Council Regulation (EC) No 362/2008 implementing Regulation (EC) No 1177/2003 of the European Parliament and of the Council concerning Community statistics on income and living conditions (EU-SILC) as regards the 2009 list of target secondary variables on material deprivation;
• Commission Regulation (EC) No 646/2009 implementing Regulation (EC) No 1177/2003 of the European Parliament and of the Council concerning Community statistics on income and living conditions (EU-SILC) as regards the 2010 list of target secondary variables on intra-household sharing of resources;
• Commission Regulation (EU) No 481/2010 implementing Regulation (EC) No 1177/2003 of the European Parliament and of the Council concerning Community statistics on income and living conditions (EU-SILC) as regards the 2011 list of target secondary variables on intergenerational transmission of disadvantages;
• Commission Regulation (EU) No 1157/2010 implementing Regulation (EC) No 1177/2003 of the European Parliament and of the Council concerning Community statistics on income and living conditions (EU-SILC), as regards the 2012 list of target secondary variables on housing conditions;
• Commission Regulation (EU) No 62/2012 implementing Regulation (EC) No 1177/2003 of the European Parliament and of the Council concerning Community statistics on income and living conditions (EU-SILC) as regards the 2013 list of target secondary variables on well-being;
• Commission Regulation (EU) No 112/2013 implementing Regulation (EC) No 1177/2003 of the European Parliament and of the Council concerning Community statistics on income and living conditions (EU-SILC) as regards the 2014 list of target secondary variables on material deprivation;
• Commission Regulation (EU) No 67/2014 implementing Regulation (EC) No 1177/2003 of the European Parliament and of the Council concerning Community statistics on income and living conditions (EU-SILC) as regards the 2015 list of target secondary variables on social and cultural participation and material deprivation;
• Commission Regulation (EU) 2015/245 implementing Regulation (EC) No 1177/2003 of the European Parliament and of the Council concerning Community statistics on income and living conditions (EU-SILC) as regards the 2016 list of target secondary variables on access to services;
• Commission Regulation (EU) 2016/114 implementing Regulation (EC) No 1177/2003 of the European Parliament and of the Council concerning Community statistics on income and living conditions (EU-SILC) as regards the 2017 list of target secondary variables on health and children's health;
• Commission Regulation (EU) 2017/310 implementing Regulation (EC) No 1177/2003 of the European Parliament and of the Council concerning Community statistics on income and living conditions (EU-SILC) as regards the list of target secondary variables on material deprivation, well-being and housing difficulties for 2018;
• Commission Regulation (EU) 2018/174 implementing Regulation (EC) No 1177/2003 of the European Parliament and of the Council concerning Community statistics on income and living conditions (EU-SILC) as regards the list of target secondary variables on intergenerational transmission of disadvantages, household composition and evolution of income for 2019;
• Commission Regulation (EU) 2019/414 implementing Regulation (EC) No 1177/2003 of the European Parliament and of the Council concerning Community statistics on income and living conditions (EU-SILC) as regards the 2020 list of target secondary variables on over-indebtedness, consumption and wealth as well as labour;
• Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2019/2242 specifying the technical items of data sets, establishing the technical formats and specifying the detailed arrangements and content of the quality reports on the organisation of a sample survey in the income and living conditions domain pursuant to Regulation (EU) 2019/1700 of the European Parliament and of the Council (see Ad-hoc subject module 2021: Living arrangements and conditions of children in separated and blended families).
• Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2020/1721 specifying technical items of data sets of the sample survey in the income and living conditions omai non health and quality of life pursuant to Regulation (EU) 2019/1700 of the European Parliament and of the Council.

• Impact of COVID-19 crisis (EU-SILC ad-hoc modules);
• Well-being (EU-SILC ad-hoc modules);
• Social and Cultural Participation (EU-SILC ad-hoc modules);
• Health and Children`s Health (EU-SILC ad-hoc modules);
• Intergenerational Transmission of Advantages and Disadvantages (Detailed topic of the EU-SILC module 2023);
• Housing Difficulties (Detailed topic of the EU-SILC module 2023).

The Statistical Office of the European Union (Eurostat) publishes information on the EU-27 and on a country-by-country basis on its website, in the section: Income and living conditions /EU-SILC modules.

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Data are acquired with the help of Community Statistics on Income and Living Conditions (EU-SILC). One of the main study objects of the EU-SILC is annual income of a household – their composition and level.

In order to acquire information four questionnaires were developed: Household Register, Household Questionnaire Form and Individual Questionnaire Form. Each questionnaire has its own aim and information in each questionnaire does not overlap with information in other forms. Fourth form is a module questionnaire that each year aims at researching different theme.

Household Register is questionnaire, which includes general information on each household member. It is mainly demographic information on persons living in the household, as well as on those persons, who have left the household.

Household Questionnaire Form includes questions concerning the household generally. It includes following questions: housing and housing conditions, housing costs, economic situation of the household, total household income, inter-household transfers and agricultural production in household.

Individual Questionnaire Form is filled in on each household member aged 16 and over. It includes questions on employment, income, education and health.

Survey is based also on data of the State Revenue Service on natural persons/taxpayers and State Social Insurance Agency data on state pensions and benefits.

Sample size

EU-SILC data are extrapolated on all private household and household members living in these households. Weighting process includes application of design weights, which are corrected by actual response rate. Additional data are calibrated by population sex and age.