The provided table demonstrates the proportion of expenditure spent on 11 various categories per person in Australia in the years 1986 and 2009.
Looking from an overall perspective, it is readily apparent that most groups witnessed an upward trajectory except for food, clothing and transport. Additionally, housing was recorded to have the highest percentage of money allocated.
Looking first at groups experiencing the upward trend, the percentage of housing expenditure rose steadily from 22% in 1986 to a peak of 26% in 2009, remaining the highest proportion among 11 categories. Electricity and water, healthcare and communication are the three fields that all increased 3% throughout the period, from 7% to 10%, 5% to 8% and 3% to 6% respectively. It is also noteworthy that categories including education, entertainment and insurance and financial services all witnessed a 2% rise from 1986 to 2009. Other goods and services were also recorded to have a slight increase from 8% to 9% between 1986 and 2009.
Regarding the groups with downward figures, despite having a quite significant percentage of expenditure invested in, with 18%, the food section then dropped to 15% in 2009, marking the second highest rank in total. Unlike the food category, transport only experienced a minor 1% decrease, from 14% in 1986 to 13% in 2009. Notably, the proportion of clothing was also cut down from 6% to 4%, witnessing a drop of 2%.