The NYTimes has a very interesting though convolutedly presented interactive map showing what different countries spend on clothing/footwear, electronics, tobacco and alcohol, household goods, and recreation.
How people spend their discretionary income – the cash that goes to clothing, electronics, recreation, household goods, alcohol – depends a lot on where they live. People in Greece spend almost 13 times more money on clothing as they do on electronics. People living in Japan spend more on recreation than they do on clothing, electronics and household goods combined. Americans spend a lot of money on everything.
[Side gripe: there really ought to be a rule that raw data needs to be included with every graph. Grrrr arrgh. ]
Clothing/Footwear
| Country | Population Size* | Spending (USD) | Per Capita Spending (Spending/Population) |
| United States | 303,824,640 | $429.8 billion | $1415 |
| Japan | 127,288,416 | $75.1 billion | $590 |
| United Kingdom | 60,943,912 | $87.7 billion | $1439 |
| India | 1,147,995,904 | $28.2 billion | $25 |
| China | 1,330,044,544 | $95.8 billion | $72 |
| Brazil | 196,342,592 | $24.7 billion | $126 |
| South Africa | 48,782,756 | $10.6 billion | $217 |
| Nigeria | 146,255,312 | $7.2 billion | $49 |
Electronics
| Country | Population Size* | Spending (USD) | Per Capita Spending (Spending/Population) |
| United States | 303,824,640 | $162 billion | $533 |
| Japan | 127,288,416 | $17.7 billion | $139 |
| United Kingdom | 60,943,912 | $44.3 billion | $727 |
| India | 1,147,995,904 | $3.8 billion | $3 |
| China | 1,330,044,544 | $11.8 billion | $9 |
| Brazil | 196,342,592 | $5.1 billion | $26 |
| South Africa | 48,782,756 | $3.0 billion | $61 |
| Nigeria | 146,255,312 | $0.4billion | $3 |
Tobacco and Alcohol
| Country | Population Size* | Spending (USD) | Per Capita Spending (Spending/Population) |
| United States | 303,824,640 | $205.6 billion | $677 |
| Japan | 127,288,416 | $77.5 billion | $609 |
| United Kingdom | 60,943,912 | $59.8 billion | $981 |
| India | 1,147,995,904 | $14.2 billion | $12 |
| China | 1,330,044,544 | $31.4 billion | $24 |
| Brazil | 196,342,592 | $15.4 billion | $78 |
| South Africa | 48,782,756 | $8.0 billion | $164 |
| Nigeria | 146,255,312 | $2.5 billion | $17 |
Household Goods
| Country | Population Size* | Spending (USD) | Per Capita Spending (Spending/Population) |
| United States | 303,824,640 | $456.9 billion | $1504 |
| Japan | 127,288,416 | $86.2 billion | $677 |
| United Kingdom | 60,943,912 | $95.6 billion | $1569 |
| India | 1,147,995,904 | $21.1 billion | $18 |
| China | 1,330,044,544 | $57.1 billion | $43 |
| Brazil | 196,342,592 | $41.1 billion | $209 |
| South Africa | 48,782,756 | $6.6 billion | $135 |
| Nigeria | 146,255,312 | $4.1 billion | $28 |
Recreation
| Country | Population Size* | Spending (USD) | Per Capita Spending (Spending/Population) |
| United States | 303,824,640 | $881.0 billion | $2900 |
| Japan | 127,288,416 | $275.8 billion | $2167 |
| United Kingdom | 60,943,912 | $210.0 billion | $3446 |
| India | 1,147,995,904 | $11.8 billion | $10 |
| China | 1,330,044,544 | $34.2 billion | $26 |
| Brazil | 196,342,592 | $26.6 billion | $135 |
| South Africa | 48,782,756 | $6.8 billion | $139 |
| Nigeria | 146,255,312 | $2.3 billion | $16 |
*Source: CIA World Factbook 2008
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