Twelve stats for Christmas from the ONS

24 December 2019

t’s a time of year for sharing so the Office for National Statistics (ONS) offers 12 stats on a Christmas theme for your stockings:

  1. Christmas is, for many, all about shopping and how we shop has changed over time, from in store to using our computers or phones to purchase goods. The money we spend online has increased from a monthly average of 4.9% in 2008 to a monthly average of 17.9% in 2018. This means that nearly 18 pence of every pound was spent online in 2018, the highest annual proportion reported yet. Read more in our analysis of modern shopping trends.
  2. There were 1,292 live births on Christmas Day 2018. It was the second most unlikely day to be born in 2018– only beaten by Boxing Day when there were 1,193 live births. Read more in our Birth Characteristics in England and Wales release.
  3. More girls were named Holly in December 2018 than in any other month that year.  In total, 201 new baby girls were called Holly in this month last year. Read more in our latest statistical bulletin on Baby names in England and Wales.
  4. We leave milk out for Santa: The price of a pint of milk went up 633% between December 1971 and December 2018, from 6p to 44p. Taken from our consumer price inflation time series.
  5. And we leave carrots out for reindeers: A kilo of carrots was 7p in December 1971 and in December 2018 the price per kilo was 72p. Taken from our consumer price inflation time series. 
  6. 1kg of Brussel sprouts cost 11p in December 1971 and had increased to £1.30 in December 2006. They’re no longer in the inflation basket – the “shopping baskets” of items used in compiling the various measures of consumer price inflation are reviewed each year. Taken from our consumer price inflation time series.
  7. Price of potatoes went from 51p a kilo at Christmas 1994 to 75p at Christmas 2018. Taken from our consumer price inflation time series.
  8. Lots of people will be looking forward to Christmas pudding in a couple of days, UK producers sold 24 million kg of dried fruit in 2018 worth £105 million.  Taken from estimates of UK manufacturers' sales by product (otherwise known as our PRODCOM survey) for 2018.
  9. Shops also sold 361 mil tonnes of cream worth £672million in 2018. Taken from our PRODCOM survey for 2018.
  10. Gingerbread sales have been pretty consistent over the years and were worth £15 million in 2018.  Taken from our PRODCOM survey for 2018.
  11. Turkey sales have been increasing in recent years having doubled since 2008, worth £30 million in 2018. Taken from our PRODCOM survey for 2018.
  12. Some people like to enjoy a drink at this time of year. Last year, whisky sales were bigger than beer sales for the first time in 2018 at around £3.5 billion. Taken from our PRODCOM survey for 2018.


Read more

Looking for something specific?