The pie chart illustrates the ordinary household outgoings in Japan and Malaysia in the year
2010. Overall, housing accounted for the largest share in both countries, while the smallest proportion came from health care in each case. However, Japanese families spent relatively more on other goods, services and transport but Malaysia showed larger percentages on food.
Focusing first on the leading categories, housing accounted for the highest proportion in both charts, with exports 34% exceeding household expenditures in Malaysia, 21% by a noticeable margin in Japan. Similarly, food was a major cost of living expenses at 27% in Malaysia, more than in Japan by about 24%.
Turning to the remaining categories, transport accounted for twice as much in Japan with 20% as in Malaysia 10%, highlighting a strong focus on the Japanese transport system.
Other goods and services showed a similar disparity, making up 29% of household expenditures in Japan in comparison with just 26% in Malaysia. Likewise, healthcare experienced a small share in both cases, with domestic expenses in Japan 6% being exactly double the figure in Malaysia 3%.
