You should spend about 20 minutes on this task.
The graph below shows the percentage of households, grouped by poverty, on the basis of access to refrigerator, electricity and water in Ghana for the year 1991/1992 to 1998/1999.
Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant.
Write at least 150 words.
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Model Answer 1 (Band 9)
The bar chart presents the disparities in access to refrigerators, electricity, and water among different economic strata in Ghana over the intervals of 1991/1992 and 1998/1999, as reported by the Ghana Statistical Service.
A discernible pattern emerges from the overview: individuals in the nonpoor category consistently enjoyed superior access to all three amenities. In contrast, those classified as very poor were markedly disadvantaged, with their accessibility to electricity and refrigerators showing a declining trend over the seven-year span.
Delving into specifics, the proportion of the very poor with refrigerator access was negligible at 3% in 1991/1992, which was stark in comparison to their 48% access to electricity. Seven years on, a further decline to 34% was observed in electricity access among this group. Nonetheless, there was a modest improvement in water access, rising from an already majority 55% to 57%.
The circumstances for the poor were intermediate; while 11% had refrigerators initially, this figure had decreased to 7% by 1998/1999. Conversely, water access remained stable at around 69% across both years. For those better off economically, access to electricity soared from 73% to 85%, and a similar upward trend was noted for refrigerators, with a slight increase in water access as well.
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Model Answer 2 (Band 9)
The provided bar chart meticulously delineates the variations in household access to refrigeration, electricity, and water across different socioeconomic groups in Ghana, contrasting the figures for 1991/1992 with those from 1998/1999.
An overarching observation from the data is that the gap in basic amenities between the financially robust and the less affluent was pronounced and widened over the years. Notably, the affluent consistently outpaced their economically disadvantaged counterparts in accessing these essential services.
Zooming into the details, the chart reveals that in the early 90s, a meager 3% of the very poor households possessed a refrigerator, and less than half had electricity. By the end of the decade, the electricity access for this group had plummeted to 34%, evidencing a decline in living standards. However, their access to water showed a marginal increase, suggesting a slight improvement in this basic necessity.
In contrast, the poor households witnessed a decline in refrigerator access by 4%, down to 7% in 1998/99. Electricity access also decreased, though water accessibility remained unchanged, indicating a stagnation in the advancement of their living conditions. Affluent households, in contrast, saw their access to electricity jump to 85%, and refrigerator access also improved. Water access for this group saw a modest increase, solidifying the trend of growing inequality in access to these fundamental resources as dictated by the poverty line.
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Model Answer 3 (Band 9)
The bar graph meticulously catalogues the disparity in access to refrigerators, electricity, and water among Ghanaian households, stratified by economic status over two distinct periods: 1991/1992 and 1998/1999.
At first glance, the data presents a stark division in resource accessibility, with the affluent enjoying a significantly higher level of access across all three utilities compared to their impoverished counterparts. This divide not only persisted but appeared to widen over the seven-year span, particularly in access to refrigerators and electricity.
Intricacies within the data show that for the very poor, refrigerator ownership was virtually non-existent at 3% in the early '90s, only to remain unchanged as the decade closed. Electricity access, initially available to nearly half, regressed to 34% by 1998/99. Contrastingly, water access saw an incremental rise from 55% to 57%, offering a solitary note of improvement amidst a general downtrend.
Poor households fared slightly better than the very poor, with initial refrigerator access at 11%, which contracted to 7% by 1998/99. The stability of water access at 69% throughout the years stands out, hinting at a maintained, yet unequal, status quo. For the nonpoor, the era witnessed a considerable leap in electricity access from 73% to an impressive 85%, with water access also escalating, thereby reinforcing the correlation between economic affluence and utility availability.
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