The two pie charts illustrate how the proportion of total household expenditure in a particular European country was distributed among various commodities and services in 1958 and 2008.
Overall, it is evident from the charts that the proportions of expenditure for Housing, Travel/ Transport, and Luxury Goods experienced an upward trend. Conversely, there was a decline in the proportion of Food, Clothing, and Entertainment.
The charts clearly show that in 1958, Food accounted for the largest share of total spending, standing at 32%, while Housing made up 22%. Over the fifty-year period, there was a dramatic increase in Housing expenditure, rising steadily to 32% in 2008 and becoming the biggest category. Similarly, the proportion of spending on Travel/Transport grew markedly from 8% to 17%. Luxury goods also witnessed a considerable rise, more than doubling from 7% in 1958 to 17% in 2008.
Regarding the remaining categories, Food experienced a substantial decline from 32% to just 12% by 2008, representing the most significant decrease among all items. Clothing showed a slight reduction, falling marginally from 18% to 16% over the period. Likewise, the percentage allocated to Entertainment dropped noticeably, decreasing from 13% in 1958 to only 6% in 2008, making it the smallest proportion at the end of the period.