Households and non-profit institutions serving households

The households sector covers both consumers and producers. Households as consumers is made up of groups of people sharing the same living accommodation who share some or all of their income and collectively consume certain types of goods and services, such as food, electricity or housing. This sector also includes the self-employed who are treated as producers. A smaller group of units within the households sector is made up of those living permanently in institutions with little economic autonomy, such as prison populations and members of religious orders living in monasteries.

Non-profit institutions serving households (NPISH) are institutions that:

• provide goods and services, either free or below the market prices
• mainly derive their income from grants and donations
• are not controlled by government

In the UK the NPISH sector includes:

• most charities
• trade unions
• religious organisations
• political parties
• the majority of universities

For the first time, the UK National Accounts, The Blue Book: 2017 edition presents estimates for the households and NPISH sectors separately. To allow comparison with previous Blue Book publications, estimates for the combined households and NPISH sectors are also presented.

Further information on sector classifications and classification decisions can be found in Economic statistics classifications.