The line graph shows the percentage of total expenditure allocated to different categories in a particular European country from 1960 to 2000.
Overall, spending on most categories declined over the period, while transport was the only category, consistently increasing steadily. Notably, food accounted for the highest share by 2000 although its proportion fell gradually. Meanwhile, fuel or energy still ranked the lowest among five shown categories during the 40-year period.
In 1960, food was the dominant household spending, making up for 35% of total expenditure. This figure was significantly higher than leisure, which comprised approximately 20%. In the next forty years, both figures plunged, with food and leisure at about 15% and 12%, respectively.
In terms of clothing, this item started at about 11%, which was a little higher than transport, followed by a period of fluctuation in 1970. However, its proportion dropped slightly by 6% by the end of the period. Fuel or energy mirror this pattern. Its percentage recorded the smallest figure at over 5% before decreasing to nearly 3% over the decades, still witnessing the lowest share.
By contrast, transport experienced an upward trend, with the beginning at roughly 9%. Its figure gradually rose from 9% to around 15% in 1990, which was identical to that of leisure, before climbing slowly to about 15% in 2000, gaining the leading expenditure with food.
