Band 9: You should spend about 20 minutes on this task. The table below shows the percentage of households with selected electronic goods in New Zealand in 2002 and 2020. Summarize the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant. You should write at least 150 words.

The table illustrates the proportion of New Zealand households that owned selected electronic items in 2002 and 2020.

Overall, ownership rates increased for most devices over the 18-year period, with particularly sharp rises in digital technology products such as computers, cell phones, and digital cameras. However, one item the video recorder saw a noticeable decline.

In 2002, washing machines and colour televisions were already very common, with 97% and 95% ownership respectively. By 2020, these figures rose slightly to 98% and 99%, indicating near-universal adoption. Computers and cell phones, by contrast, grew dramatically: computer ownership increased from 50% to 78%, while cell phone ownership quadrupled from 20% to 80%. The most striking growth was for digital cameras, which jumped from just 2% to 40% of households.

On the other hand, video recorders decreased in popularity, falling from 75% to 60%. Dishwashers saw a modest rise from 45% to 55%, remaining the second least-owned item in 2020 after digital cameras.

In summary, household penetration of modern digital devices grew substantially, while more traditional electronics either stabilized at high levels or declined.