The given table depicts the proportion of expenditure allocated to 11 categories per capita in Australia between 1986 and 2009.
Overall, housing remained the highest feature over the period while communication hit the bottom of this list during the timeframe.
In the beginning of the timeframe, housing peaked at approximately 22%, followed by food which was at 18%. Transport accounted for 14% of total expenditure in 1986. Recreation & entertainment and other goods and services claimed the same percentage with just 8%, which was less than transport 6%. Electricity & water, clothing and education had a small share of total Australia’s expenditure with solely under 10%. Communication and insurance & financial services hit the lowest point with only 3% in the year 1986.
In 2009, housing was still the largest figure that Australian spending on. This was followed by the figure for food and transport, with 15% for the former and 13% for the latter. Electricity & water and recreation & entertainment experienced a steady raise in their categories, both increasing to 10%. Other goods and services (9%) insurance & financial services (7%) saw a gradual growth from 1986 to 2009. This was a similar trend to education andhealthcare. In contrast, the figure for clothing had a downard trend in its spending in Australia.