The graph illustrates the average amount of cheese consumed per person over a 40 year period in the UK.
Overall, it is clear that cheese consumption varies across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. As for England and Scotland the general trend was declining, albeit the substantial surge in consumption of cheese in Scotland in the 1980s. Consumption of cheese in Wales and Northern Ireland contrarily, was marked by a gradual rise.
Regarding consumption levels in England, it can be noted that the country maintained the leading positions in the group for the entire period. In the1980s one person in England consumed an average of 110 kilograms of cheese per annum. Since then there was a steady downward trend until it reached a trough of approximately 85 kilograms in 2020. Although Scotland started consuming more cheese in the 1980s nearly reaching the consumption levels of England (105 kilograms), in the 1990s the annual cheese consumption plummeted sharply reaching a trough in 2020.
As for Wales and Northern Ireland, the overall consumption trend was on a steady rise. Northern Ireland on the average consumed less than Wales, resulting in a significant gap, which is clearly seen between 1990 and 2000. In 2020 Wales nearly got to the consumption levels of England in the same period (77 kilograms), while Northern Ireland intersected with consumption levels of Scotland making it to around 55 kilograms of cheese consumption per person.