In 2012, the largest differences between actual individual consumption and final consumption of households were seen in Denmark, Sweden, the Netherlands, Finland, Iceland and France (over 16 percentage points). In contrast, Turkey, Mexico and the United States had the lowest differences (less than 6 points) between the two measures.

Between 2005 and 2012, 25 out of 29 governments increased their individual consumption share relative to GDP. The Netherlands showed the largest increase in their share: from 13.4% of GDP in 2005 to 17.5% of GDP in 2012. In contrast, Portugal and Hungary showed the largest decrease in government’s individual consumption share relative to GDP.

In 2012, gross fixed capital formation (GFCF) in the OECD area was 1.6%, a slowdown from 3.3% growth in 2011. Chile (12.3%) and Estonia (10.9%) showed the highest growth rates. In contrast, Greece (-19.2%) and Portugal (-14.3%) experienced the highest negative growth.

In 2012, Turkey recorded the largest annual increase in exports of goods and services (16.7%), followed by the Slovak Republic, Australia, and Estonia (between 10 and 5%). In contrast, a fall in exports was observed in Greece, Luxembourg, Finland, and Japan.