The chart illustrates how much money was invested in roads and transportation by four nations between 1990 and 2005.
Overall, there were decreases in the percentage of spending in all four countries, with the most significant decline being seen in the figures for Portugal. In addition, Portugal generally had the highest total expenditure throughout this period.
About 27% of the Portuguese government’s budget was spent on roads and transport facilities in 1990, with a considerable decrease to 20% 5 years later, before ending the period at just over 15% in 2005. Similar changes can also be seen in the figures for Italy, but to a lesser extent, dropping from 20% to almost 15% in 2000.
The UK witnessed a sharp fluctuation in the share of expenditure, from 11% to a peak of 13%, followed by a final decline to 7% in the last five years. In contrast, the figures for the USA remained stable, hovering around 13% throughout the period.