The bar chart illustrates the percentage of government spending on roads and transport in four countries from 1990 to 2005, at 5-year intervals measured in percentage.
Overall, a downward trend can be observed in most countries throughout the period. While Portugal consistently remained the highest spender, the USA experienced the most significant growth and eventually overtook the UK by 2005. By contrast, the UK remained the lowest for most of the timeframe.
In 1990, Portugal emerged as the leading country, standing at approximately 28%, while Italy and the USA followed at around 22% and 11% respectively. By comparison, the figure for the UK was far less significant, at about 10%. However, the subsequent years witnessed a general decline among the higher spenders. While Portugal decreased steadily to roughly 20% by 2005, Italy followed a similar trajectory, eventually reaching around 20% in the final year.
In contrast to the trends observed in Portugal and Italy, the USA and UK followed a different pattern throughout the timeframe. Although starting from a relatively low base of about 11% base, the USA experienced substantial growth, rising steadily to nearly 18% in 2005, eventally overtook UK in 2005. By the end of the timeframe, Portugal had consolidated its position as the dominant category at approximately 20%, whereas the UK remained the lowest, standing at only around 6%.