the charts below show household spending patterns in two countries between 1980 and 2008

The pie charts compare five categories of

household

expenditure in the

UK

and New

Zealand

in the years 1980 and 2008. It is noticeable that the percentage of spending on food and drinks had dropped in

both

countries,

while

the utility bills had increased over the 28-year period.

In addition

, families in the

UK

spent a larger amount of their

household

budget on entertainment, compared to families in New

Zealand

. In the year 1980, 29% of the average New

Zealand

household

budget went to food and drink,

while

the equivalent figure for a

UK

home was 23%. By 2008, expenditure on food and drink had fallen by 4% in New

Zealand

, and by a full 10% in the

UK

.

On the contrary

,

both

countries saw an increase in expenditure on utility bills for the average

household

, from 27% to 31% in New

Zealand

and from 26% to 28% in the

UK

. Leisure activities accounted for the highest proportion of

UK

household

spending in

both

years, 27% in 1980 and 34% in 2008, but only the third highest proportion in New

Zealand

, 18% in 1980 and 17% in 2008. In

both

countries, transports costs and other costs took approximately 15% and 10% respectively.