The bar chart illustrates the proportion of cost spent in five main fields of society in four different countries in 2009.
Overall, the percentage of cost in housing was the highest in all countries, excepting Japan. On the other hand, the health care and clothing categories provided the lowest figures in 2009.
As can be seen from the chart, the US expenditure on housing was highest, at about 26%, and healthcare, at nearly 7%, and the same for Japan’s spending on food with nearly 23%. Likewise, the proportion of spending on transportation was considerably higher in Canada, at about 20%, than in any of the other countries.
It also can be seen that Canada had the lowest percentage of consumer expenditure on housing, at nearly 21%, whereas the Japanese spent the lowest amount of money on transportation, at around 10%. However, the US and the UK had slightly higher figures for food, at about 14%. In addition, the figures for clothing in all nations were relatively similar, at roughly 4%.
