The given bar graph compares the percentage of total world production in Asia, Europe and other parts of the world between 1840 and 2000.
Overall, it is noticeable that the production in both Asia and Europe witnessed a downward trend, whereas that in other regions worldwide followed an opposite trend during the given period. Additionally, the gap between the proportions of world production in three regions narrowed considerably over the same period.
In terms of the production in Asia, a downward trend can be observed during an 80-year period from 1840 to 1960. In 1840, Asia had the largest proportion of the worldwide production, peaking at over 50%, which was roughly 10% higher than Europe and five times as much as the rest of world. In 1960, the figure for the production in Asia plummeted to approximately 20%, a half of that in 1840. In the following 40 years, the percentage doubled, soaring to over 40%.
Conversely, Europe saw a steady increase in its production share, rising to nearly 40% between 1840 and 1960. Sequently, this was followed by a sharp decline to nearly 30% in 2000.
With regard to other regions worldwide, the proportion of global production consistently increased. Although it ranked the last place with only 10% at the beginning of the given period, it experienced slight fluctuations before ultimately went up to 20% in 2000.