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 and then it rose to 25%, reaching second position in 1980. By contrast, the allocation on food was the largest proportion of the budget in 1920, at 41% , leaving its leading position by the end of the period by falling 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%, maintaining its dominance in 1980.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 there was a margin increase to 13% and stabilised at 14% by 1980.