The given table illustrates how household expenditures were distributed through six different categories in a European country over the period from 1920 to 1980.
Overall, it is clear that the budget allocation to food, transportation, and clothing experienced significant shifts after 1950, while the remaining categories changed only marginally, except for housing which ranked top by 1980.
Looking first at the categories which showed the clearest shifts, the percentage of expenditure on transportation was the lowest in 1920, standing at approximately 3%. This figure then witnessed the sharpest change after reaching 13 % in 1950 before climbing further to 25%, making it the second-largest category in 1980. By contrast, food accounted for the largest proportion of the budget in 1920, at 41% but lost its leading position by the end of the period when it had fallen to 22%. Similarly, the proportion spent on clothing recorded a substantial decline from 17% to 5% between 1920 and 1980.
Regarding the remaining sectors, the expenditure on housing rose steadily from 26% to 33%, retaining its leading position by the final year.The most stable categories overall were healthcare and other because they remained nearly unchanged after the 60- year period. The percentage on healthcare still remained at 4% in 1920 and 1980, despite minor fluctuations, while the proportion allocated for other fields increased marginally to 13% and then stabilised at 14% by 1980.