Have you ever wondered how people spend their money or hard-earned income? Do you spend the bulk of your money on food or on rent?

The World Bank organized a worldwide study entitled “Global Purchasing Power Parities and Real Expenditures 2005 International Comparison Program” spanning 2003 – 2008. The results gave an in-depth view or perspective on global consumption patterns in 12 categories or buckets such as education, health and food and nonalcoholic beverages.

Take a look at the data below extracted from the report. The table shows the estimated percentage of income people spend on the various categories. The countries displayed here are chosen randomly for comparison purposes only.

Comparison Table

Country……..Food and……..Clothing and……..Health(%)…..Recreation and……Education(%)
………………Nonalcoholic…..Footwear(%)…………………….Culture (%)
………………Beverages (%)

Ethiopia……….54.5……………….6.1………………2.1………………0.6………………..3.5
Egypt………….42.5……………….7.9…………….. 5.0 ……………..2.6…………………7.7
Malaysia………17.3……………….2.2………………4.9 ……………..4.1…………………9.0
Singapore…….. 8.2……………….3.5………………8.4……………..12.2………………..8.0
United States….6.2……………….4.2……………..18.3………………8.6…………………8.5
United Kingdom..7.0……………….4.6………………9.9 …………….10.7………………..5.9
China…………..24.1………………6.3………………6.2………………4.7…………………9.8
Indonesia………41.6………………3.6…………….. 3.0………………1.7…………………5.6

Under food and nonalcoholic beverages that excludes any purchases made at restaurants, hotels or bars, people in Ethiopia, Egypt and Indonesia spend a sizeable chunk of their income on food and drink. As the tourism industry expands across Ethiopia, Egypt and Indonesia there is likely to be a growing number of luxury hotels and an increased spending in these countries.

The second category shows that we Malaysians can be frugal when it comes to spending on clothing and footwear which amounts to 2.2% only of our income.

The health category shows the Americans or U.S. consumers spending a good chunk of money on health care which is not surprising due to their problematic health care system.

The Singaporeans do not mind allocating a high percentage of their budget on recreational purposes at 12.2% and the U.K. consumers comes second at 10.7% based on the table above.

Education wise, the Malaysians, Singaporeans, Americans and Chinese spend more or less comparatively in this area. It is not surprising to note that impoverished Ethiopia shelling out very little on education and a lot less on health and recreation.

The balance of Malaysian money

Out of curiosity, I also check out where the rest of the Malaysian ringgit is going. We allotted part of our income as follows:

* Alcoholic beverages, tobacco, and narcotics……………………………………………..1.5%
* Housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels…………………………………………17.5%
* Transport …………………………………………………………………………………….12.7%
* Furnishings, household equipment and maintenance……………………………………4.7%
* Communication………………………………………………………………………………..5.2%
* Restaurants and hotels………………………………………………………………………7.6%
* Miscellaneous goods and services…………………………………………………………13.4%

You can read the rest of the World Bank detailed report by clicking here.

Read other articles by Jacquelyn at WParent.com on parenting matters and Tips4Everyone.com on solving marriage problems.

global consumption global consumption patterns income spending Malaysian ringgit World Bank
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