The table illustrates the proportions of national consumer spending across three distinct categories – food/drinks/tobacco, clothing/footwear, and leisure/education – in five European countries (Ireland, Italy, Spain, Sweden, and Turkey) during the year 2002.
Overall, it is immediately apparent that consumers in all five nations allocated the vast majority of their budget to food, drinks, and tobacco. In stark contrast, leisure and education consistently received the lowest share of expenditure. Among the countries listed, Turkey and Ireland exhibited the highest spending patterns in the primary category, while Sweden and Spain generally saw more modest figures.
In terms of food, drinks, and tobacco, Turkey topped the list with a significant 32.14% of total consumer spending, followed closely by Ireland at 28.91%. The other three nations – Spain, Italy, and Sweden – recorded notably lower figures, with Sweden spending the least in this category at just 15.77%.
Regarding clothing and footwear, Italy emerged as the leader, with its citizens spending exactly 9% of their budget on these items. This was noticeably higher than the other four countries, where figures hovered between approximately 5.4% (Sweden) and 6.6% (Turkey).
Finally, the expenditure on leisure and education was the lowest across the board. Turkey again showed the highest commitment to this category at 4.35%. Interestingly, while Italy and Sweden spent over 3% on these services, Spain recorded the lowest percentage in the entire table, at a mere 1.98%.