The line graph illustrates the average monthly expenditure of high school students across four categories namely food, transport, leisure and clothing between 2000 and 2020.
Overall, spending on transport and leisure increased steadily over the period, whereas the proportion allocated to food and clothing declined. By 2020, transport became the dominant expense, while clothing accounted for the smallest share of students’ monthly budgets.
In 2000, food represented the largest proportion of expenditure at approximately 35%, followed by transport at around 30%. However, food spending declined gradually over time, falling to 30% in 2005 and remaining stable until 2010 before dropping more sharply to about 20% by 2020. In contrast, transport expenditure showed a consistent upward trend, rising from 30% in 2000 to roughly 35% in 2005, and reaching a peak of just over 40% at the end of the period. Notably, food and transport spending converged at 30% in 2005.
Leisure spending increased steadily throughout the two decades, climbing from approximately 15% in 2000 to around 20% in 2005, before accelerating to nearly 33% by 2020. Conversely, clothing experienced a continuous decline, dropping sharply from 20% at the start of the period to 10% in 2010, and then decreasing more moderately to just 5% by 2020.