The bar chart illustrates the percentageof total expenditure allocated to fivedifferent categories (food, housing,transportation, healthcare and clothing) infour countries, namely the USA, Canada,the UK and Japan, in 2009.
Overall, housing accounted for the largestproportion of expenditure in the USA,Canada and the UK, while food representedthe biggest share in Japan. In contrast,healthcare and clothing received the lowestpercentages of spending in all four countries.
Looking first at food and housing, theproportion of expenditure on food washighest in Japan, at approximately 23%,followed by the UK at 20%. The figures forCanada and the USA were considerably lower,at 15% and 14% respectively. Regardinghousing, the USA recorded the highestpercentage, at around 26%, while the UKand Japan spent approximately 24% and22% respectively. Canada had the lowestfigure for this category, at about 21%.
Turning to transportation, Canada allocatedthe largest share of its expenditure to thiscategory, at 20%, followed by the USA at18% and the UK at 15%. Japan had thelowest proportion, at just 10%. A similarpattern can be seen in healthcare andclothing, which accounted for relatively smallpercentages in all countries. The USA spentthe most on healthcare, at approximately7%, whereas the UK recorded the lowestfigure, at 2%. In terms of clothing, Canadahad the highest proportion, at 6%, whilethe USA and Japan spent around 4% each.