The pie charts compare the household spending patterns in the UK and New Zealand across five categories—food & drink, utility bills, transport, leisure, and other expenses—between 1980 and 2008.
Overall, there were significant changes in how households allocated their spending in both countries over the given period. Utility bills and food & drink saw a decrease in their share of total expenses, while spending on leisure activities increased significantly.
In 1980, utility bills accounted for a large proportion of household spending in both countries, with New Zealand at 27% and the UK at 26%. However, by 2008, this category’s share had decreased in both countries, dropping to 14% in the UK and 16% in New Zealand. A similar trend was observed in spending on food & drink, which decreased from 23% to 13% in the UK and from 29% to 25% in New Zealand over the same period.
Conversely, spending on leisure activities increased significantly. In the UK, leisure spending rose from 15% in 1980 to 34% in 2008, becoming the largest category by the end of the period. In New Zealand, leisure spending also increased, albeit more modestly, from 17% to 22%. Transport costs and other expenses remained relatively stable in both countries, with only slight fluctuations.