Domestic material consumption

Definition

The indicator describes the development of domestic material consumption (DMC) by material groups. It indicates whether materials are used efficiently during their life cycle.

Key findings

• Domestic material consumption (DMC) in 2021 reached a value of 65 585 thousand tons, which is 12.0 tons per capita. In the period from 2005 to 2021, a decrease of DMC per capita by approx. 14% was recorded.

Detailed conclusion

Domestic extraction (mineral raw materials and biomass) plus imports represent direct material input (DMI) into the economy. The total amount of materials directly used within the national economy is tracked by domestic material consumption (DMC), which is calculated as direct material input minus exports. In 2021, DMC in the Slovak Republic was 65 585 thousand tons, which represents 12.0 tons per capita (the average value within the EU states was 14.4 tons per capita). In the period from 2005 to 2021, a decrease in DMC per capita was recorded by about 14%. In 2021, domestic extraction for the Slovak Republic was 10.5 tons per capita, while the average value within the EU was 12.4 tons per capita. The import of goods was 8.6 tons per capita. Direct material input (DMI) was 19.1 tons per capita (the average value within the EU states was 16.1 tons per capita). Domestic material consumption (DMC) was 12.0 tons per capita (the average value within the EU states was 14.4 tons per capita).

[graf_id:28474;lang:en]

The amount of materials available in the SR and their utilization (the relationship between domestic extraction, DMI, DMC, import and export), year 2021, tonnes/capita.

Source: Eurostat


A more detailed view at the composition of DMC provides an impression of the importance of various materials and their possible potential for their recovery. In 2021, DMC in Slovakia consisted mainly of non-metallic minerals (49.8%), followed by biomass with 26.6%, of fossil energy materials (17.4%) and metal ores with 6.2%.

The size of the share of imports in DMC also has an important explanatory power. The larger the ratio of this share, the more sensitive the economy of a given state is to random fluctuations in foreign trade (a shortage of certain commodities, an unexpected increase in their prices, etc.). The share of imports in DMC increased from 50.3% in 2005 to 71.8% in 2021, which means an increasing degree of dependence of the Slovak economy on the import of raw materials.

International comparison

Eurostat: Domestic material consumption