The bar chart illustrates the number of visitors to three museums—namely the National Gallery, the Victoria and Albert Museum, and the British Museum—between 2007 and 2012, measured in millions.
Overall, National Gallery recorded the highest number of visitors by the end of the period, while British Museum showed the most fluctuating trend. Notably, only the National Gallery experienced stable increase, whereas the other two museums declined initially before rising again.
Focusing on the first three years of the period, the three museums began at different levels in 2007, with approximately 6 million visitors to the National Gallery, compared to around 12 million for the Victoria and Albert Museum and for 14 million for the British Museum. In the following year, while the Victoria and Albert Museum’s figure remained consistent, National Gallery overtook British Museum as the latter’s attendance dropped by around 50%. By 2009, their relative positions remained unchanged, although the Victoria and Albert Museum experienced a decline, bringing its figure close to that of moderately rising National Gallery.
Turning to the next half of the period, the Victoria and Albert Museum fell to the lowest position at the beginning, while National Gallery became the most visited. Over the remaining years, the number of visitors for all three museums increased overall. The only change in relative rankings occurred in 2011, when the British museum overtook the National Gallery, rising sharply to nearly 13 million up from 7 million. Nevertheless, by the end of the period, the National Gallery regained its leading position due to its stronger growth.