For some Romanians, allocating enough money for Christmas proves to be a real challenge. According to ING’s third annual survey of Christmas spending, 19% of Romanians said they went into debt last year to pay for Christmas, the figure being almost double compared to the European average of 10%.

With this share, Romania tops the European ranking. The UK comes next with 17% of Brits saying that they went into debt for last year’s Christmas, followed by Poland with 13%. On the other hand, Luxembourg registered the lowest share of 3%.

Some 22% of the Americans agreed with the statement “Last year I went into debt to pay for Christmas.”

The study also shows that 40% of people in Europe in 2016 say they allow themselves not to worry about spending money during Christmas, up from 30% in 2015. The share is highest in Romania (61%), with the USA coming next (55%).

The ING International Survey – Christmas 2016 also reveals that 53% of Romanians agree with the statement “I feel forced to spend money on Christmas,” higher than the European average of 42%. However, Spain registered the largest share of 57%.

Moreover, 70% of people in Europe agree that “Christmas is too focused on spending money,” the share in Romania being similar, of 69%. Spain again registers the highest percentage – 83%, followed by Luxembourg – 78%, and the UK – 76%.

When it comes to what type of gifts the respondents got last year, 46% of the Europeans said that they got practical gifts, such as household items, and 26% received presents related to hobbies or leisure. In Romania, 57% stated that they got practical gifts, 18% said that they didn’t receive any gifts, 17% got presents related to leisure and hobbies, 14% received money, 13% said they couldn't remember what they got last Christmas, and only 6% received luxurious or special gifts.

Over 80% of people in Europe received gifts last Christmas, and 15% said that they received something that they didn’t appreciate, didn’t like, or couldn’t use. However, more than half of the 15% who said they received unwanted gifts kept them anyway, the survey shows. Meanwhile, 25% gave them away, and 14% sold them. One in ten actually tried to return them to the store.

The ING International Survey was conducted by Ipsos between October 4 and October 18 using Internet-based polling. A total of 14 countries are compared in this report, with about 1,000 people being surveyed in each country (except for Luxembourg where 500 people were questioned). Find the entire survey here.

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Irina Popescu, irina.popescu@romania-insider.com