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, the National Gallery recorded the highest number of visitors by the end of the period, while the British Museum experienced the most fluctuation.
Notably, the National Gallery showed a steady increase throughout, whereas the other two museums declined initially before recovering. Focusing on the first three years, the museums began at different levels in 2007, with approximately 6 million visitors to the National Gallery, compared to around 12 million at the Victoria and Albert Museum and about 14 million at the British Museum.
In the following year, while attendance at the Victoria and Albert Museum remained stable, the National Gallery overtook the British Museum after the latter’s visitor numbers fell by roughly 50%. By 2009, these relative positions were unchanged, although the Victoria and Albert Museum saw a decline, bringing its figure close to that of the moderately rising National Gallery. Turning to the second half of the period, the Victoria and Albert Museum dropped to the lowest position, while the National Gallery became the most visited.
Over the remaining years, visitor numbers at all three museums increased overall. The only change in ranking occurred in 2011, when the British Museum overtook the National Gallery, rising sharply from about 7 million to nearly 13 million. Nevertheless, by the end of the period, the National Gallery regained its leading position due to stronger growth.