Chart of the Day: Essential goods to comprise 43.4% of household spending this year

Housing costs account for 20% of total expenditures.

Spending on essential goods and services - food and non-alcoholic drinks, clothing & footwear, housing & utilities, transport and communication - will comprise 43.4% of total household spending in 2017.

According to BMI Research, this is comparable to other highly developed and affluent markets in Asia, such as Japan or Hong Kong.

In the space-starved city-state, housing & utilities costs will account for 20% of total expenditure.

"Despite the current slowdown in the city-state's property market, we believe housing costs will continue rising over the medium term and are set to represent 21.5% of the total household budget in 2021," BMI research said.

The second largest category within essentials - transport - will follow a different trajectory and will see its share in the overall spending picture decline. Singapore's public transportation system is well developed and its costs will lag behind the rapid income growth we forecast in the next five years.