The figure given illustrates the shares of consumer spending in five main areas in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, and Japan in 2009.
Overall, housing had the highest expenditure among the four countries except Japan. Moreover, all countries allocated the least amount of money to health care and clothing.
Focusing on the most spending groups, the largest expenditure was represented by accommodation, with the U.S. leading at over 25%, followed by the remaining countries, varying from 21% to 24%. Japan allocated the most spending to food, with a share of roughly 23%, leading that in the U.K. by 3%. American and Canadian spending fell behind at around 15%. Canadians distributed 20% of their budget to transportation, doubling that in Japan. The spending in the U.S. and the U.K. lay between the two countries, at 18% and 15%, respectively.
On the other hand, health care spending was highest in the U.S., which had a share of 8%, doubling that in Canada and Japan. The British had a smaller share, with only 2.5% in that area. In contrast, a fairly similar share of spending on clothing is witnessed among the four countries. With Canada having the highest expenditure, the remaining countries followed closely within a margin of 1%.