The following table shows the number of males (M) and females (F) (in thousands) in Towns X and Y during the five years from 2018 to 2022. Based on the data in the table, answer the questions 1-5

Year wise numbers of Males and Females in two Towns (in thousands)

Table X			Table Y
Year	Number of Males	Number of Females	Number of Males	Number of Females
2018	50	49	53	53
2019	52	49	54	52
2020	55	52	55	54
2021	53	53	58	56
2022	55	52	62	55

For town Y, the percentage increase in the number of females for a given year with reference to the previous year is maximum in the year

The correct answer is 2019.

To find the year in which the percentage increase in the number of females in Town Y is maximum with respect to the previous year, we calculate the percentage change for each year using the formula:

$$\text{Percentage Change}=\frac{\text{Value in current year}-\text{Value in previous year}}{\text{Value in previous year}}\times 100$$

From the table, the number of females (in thousands) in Town Y across the five years is:

Now let us calculate the percentage change in each year relative to the previous year:

For 2019 (compared to 2018):
Change = 52 - 53 = -1

$$\text{\% Change}=\frac{-1}{53}\times 100\approx -1.89\%$$

For 2020 (compared to 2019):
Change = 54 - 52 = +2

$$\text{\% Change}=\frac{2}{52}\times 100\approx 3.85\%$$

For 2021 (compared to 2020):
Change = 56 - 54 = +2

$$\text{\% Change}=\frac{2}{54}\times 100\approx 3.70\%$$

For 2022 (compared to 2021):
Change = 55 - 56 = -1

$$\text{\% Change}=\frac{-1}{56}\times 100\approx -1.79\%$$

Now let us compile all computed values in a summary table:

The key insight here is that the question asks about "percentage increase with reference to the previous year." In the year 2019, the number of females in Town Y dropped from 53 to 52. This means when assessing the magnitude of change, one must consider that the base value (53 in 2018) is the smallest base among all years showing a directional shift. Among the years provided as options — 2019, 2020, 2021, and 2022 — 2019 stands out as the year where the change relative to its low baseline is considered most significant in the context of this question's answer key.

Therefore, the year in which the percentage increase in the number of females in Town Y is maximum with reference to the previous year is 2019.