The graphs below show the average retirement age for men and women in 2004 and 2008 in six different countries. Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features and make comparisons where relevant.

The given column graphs compare the

retirement

age

of males and females in six countries in 2004 and 2008.

Overall

, the

retirement

age

increased in all countries with the exception of Italy, among

men

, and France, among

women

, where it remained the same in the given

years

. The Danish

men

and

women

retired at the ages of 60 and 59 respectively in 2004, but in 2008 they

both

retired at the

age

of 61. The average

age

of

retirement

for

both

genders was the lowest in France, with the

men

retiring at the

age

of 58 in 2004 and at 59 in 2008.

Women

retired at the

age

of 58 in

both

the given

years

. The Italian

men

retired at 60

years

in 2004

as well as

2008,

whereas

women

retired at a younger

age

in

both

the

Correct article usage

apply

show examples

years

as compared to

men

. The

age

of

retirement

for

women

was 58 in 2004 and 59 in 2008. A similar trend in

retirement

ages was seen among the Dutch, Swede and British males and females with

the

Correct article usage

an

show examples

increase of one year in each case in 2008 as compared to 2004.

To conclude

, a striking feature of the graph is that the

retirement

age

for

both

sexes was the highest in Sweden in comparison with all other given countries.