Zambia
Official title
Consumer Price Index for Low-Income Group Families.
Scope
The index is compiled monthly and covers urban households with monthly
incomes less than 100 kwachas during 1974-75. The index reflects price
changes in Lusaka, the Copperbelt, Kabwe and Livingstone.
Official base
1975 = 100 and 1985 = 100.
Source of weights
The weights and selected items were derived from a household expenditure
survey conducted during March 1974-March 1975 in Lusaka, Ndola and
Kitwe. The index relates to urban households with monthly income of
less than 100 kwachas at the time of the survey.
Weights and composition
| Major groups
| Number of items
| Weights
| Approximate number of price quotations
|
| Food and tobacco
| 74 | 680 | 459
|
| Clothing and footwear
| 40 | 99 | 268
|
| Fuel and light
| 25 | 106 | 87
|
| Household goods, furnishings
| 25 | 44 | 208
|
| Medical care
| 36 | 3 | 98
|
| Transport and communication
| 11 | 22 | 16
|
| Education and recreation
| 10 | 9 | 43
|
| Other goods and services
| 63 | 37 | 244
|
| Total
| 284 | 1000 | 1423
|
Household consumption expenditure
This excludes life insurance, income taxes and personal property taxes.
Method of data collection
A price survey is carried out around the 10th of each month by officers
of the Central Statistical Office. Prices are obtained by personal
visits to selected outlets within Lusaka, while mailed questionnaires
are used for outlets and service establishments in the other towns.
Some prices are ascertained through direct purchase. For items such as
electricity, gas, water, transport and communication, official tariffs
are used.
Prices for fresh fruit and vegetables are collected twice a month
from the city centre market.
The prices used to calculate the index are the prices actually
paid by consumers. Discount and sale prices are also taken into
account.
Housing
Rent is not included in the index nor is the cost of owner-occupied
housing.
Specification of varieties
The specifications of each item to be priced are given according to
size, unit, brand name and quality.
Substitution, quality change, etc.
Quality changes are estimated on the basis of closely related
substitutes. Replacement items are introduced only when they become
sufficiently important in the market.
Seasonal items
No adjustment is made to seasonal fluctuations of item prices.
Computation
The index is computed according to the Laspeyres formula as a weighted
arithmetic average with fixed base, using weights corresponding to
March 1974-March 1975.
The relatives of average prices for the current and base periods are
used to compute item indices. The average prices are simple arithmetic
averages of price quotations.
Other information
A consumer price index for High-Income Group Families (base 1975 = 100)
is also computed.
Organisation and publication
Central Statistical Office: Monthly Digest of Statistics
(Lusaka).
Idem: Studies in Official Statistics - No. 3, Methods and
Procedures used in Compiling Price Statistics
.