The pie charts illustrate the proportion of household expenditure on essential goods in China in 1995 and 2011, showing changes in spending on food, clothing, housing, and household goods.
Overall, food made up the largest share of the household budget in both years, though its proportion decreased noticeably by 2011. In contrast, housing and household goods took up a larger share in 2011 compared to 1995, while clothing expenditure remained almost unchanged.
In 1995, food accounted for the majority of household spending at 68%, making it by far the largest category. Clothing was the second highest at 19%, followed by housing at 9%. The smallest proportion, 4%, was spent on household goods.
By 2011, the percentage of expenditure on food had fallen to 59%, a drop of 9 percentage points. Clothing saw a slight decrease from 19% to 18%. Housing rose from 9% to 12%, while household goods experienced the most dramatic growth, almost tripling from 4% to 11%.