Interpret the data in these line graphs and write a paragraph with the most relevant

information about the income trends for the richest and poorest people in the US and
Western Europe between 1980 and 2016.

Top 1% vs. Bottom 50% of national income in the US

22
US Top 1%
% share of national income

20

18

16
US Bottom 50%
14

12

10
1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005 2010 2015 2020

Top 1% vs. Bottom 50% of national income in Western Europe

25 Western Europe Bottom 50%
23
% share of national income

21
19
17
15
13
11
Western Europe Top 1%
9
7
1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005 2010 2015 2020

According to the statistics, the situation in Western Europe has been steadier than in the
US. In 1980, the share of national income for the top 1% was roughly similar in both
locations. In 1996, the top 1% in the US received more income than the bottom 50% for
the first time. From 2003 to 2006 there was a sharp increase in incomes for the top 1%
in the US.
The pie chart shows that (the majority of participants prefer to use smartphones and
laptops, with just three per cent difference between the two.) Nearly a third of
participants prefer to go online with a smartphone, and thirty per cent like using a
laptop. A desktop computer accounts for fourteen per cent of users’ preferred devices.
(The desktop computer is the least popular of the four main devices). Only a small
minority prefer a device other than these main four.

Some structures to describe percentages in infographics/charts/graphs, etc

  General information:
- The infographic discusses / deals with...
- The chart/infographic/...illustrates how.../indicates that.../compares...
- The results that are shown in the chart are broken down by...
- As can be seen from these results,...
- According to the chart/infographic/statistics/these figures...
- From the data in the infographic/ graph..., it is apparent that ...
- The information given in the chart...
- The graph shows quite clearly the impact of...
 Percentages and amounts:
- Approximately 30% of the interviewed people...
- With a percentage of approximately...
- The percentage of money spent on... is far higher than on ... / is slightly higher than
on... /is nowhere near as low as on ...
- People spend far more on...
- The sales of ... have increased, while the sales of... have gone down slightly.
- .....have gone down considerably to 20%
- There is a huge decline in...
The overwhelming majority of...
A small minority corresponds to...
 Expressing similar or opposing ideas:
- Similarly,/ In the same way...
- On the contrary,/ In contrast, / By contrast,/ Whereas...
 Examples:
- This bar chart illustrates how many journeys people made on public transport over a
three-month period.  
- This graph compares bus, train, and taxi use between April and June.  
- In this pie chart, the survey results are broken down by age.  
- As can be seen from these results, younger people use buses more than older people.  
- According to these figures, bus travel accounts for 60% of public transport use.  
- From the data in the graph, it is apparent that buses are the most widely used form
of public transport.