The two pie charts illustrate the proportion of
household
budgets spent on four essential necessities — Use synonyms
food
, clothing, Use synonyms
medicine
, and Use synonyms
household
Use synonyms
goods
— in China in 1995 and 2011.
Use synonyms
Overall
, Linking Words
food
consistently accounted for the largest share of Use synonyms
household
expenditure in both years, Use synonyms
although
its dominance declined slightly over the period. Linking Words
By contrast
, spending on Linking Words
medicine
and Use synonyms
household
Use synonyms
goods
increased noticeably by 2011.
In 1995, Use synonyms
food
represented the overwhelming majority of Use synonyms
household
spending at 68%, leaving relatively little room for other necessities. Clothing was the second largest category at 19%, followed by Use synonyms
household
Use synonyms
goods
at 9%. Use synonyms
Medicine
accounted for the smallest share, at just 4%.
By 2011, the pattern had shifted considerably. Use synonyms
While
Linking Words
food
remained the dominant expenditure, its share fell by 9 percentage points to 59%. Clothing Use synonyms
also
experienced a modest decline, dropping from 19% to 18%. Linking Words
In contrast
, both Linking Words
medicine
and Use synonyms
household
Use synonyms
goods
saw their proportions grow — Use synonyms
medicine
rose from 4% to 11%, and Use synonyms
household
Use synonyms
goods
increased from 9% to 12%, making them the second and third largest categories respectively by 2011.
In summary, Use synonyms
although
Linking Words
food
continued to dominate Chinese Use synonyms
household
budgets across both time periods, there was a clear shift towards greater spending on Use synonyms
medicine
and Use synonyms
household
Use synonyms
goods
between 1995 and 2011, suggesting improvements in living standards and healthcare awareness.Use synonyms