The graph line below shows the percentage of workers in five European countries taking fixed stays or more sickness absences per year from 1991 to 2001.

the line graph illustrates the proportion of workers in 5 particular European countries taking fixed stays and more

days

off for sickness between 1991 and 2001.

overall

,

while

the number of employees in

Sweden

was recorded to increase, the figure for Germany followed a downward trend throughout the given period. remarkably, the percentage of taking

days

off in both France and the Netherlands remained unchanged.

to begin

with, in 1991, only 3% of workers were absent

due to

sickness in

Sweden

,

while

the percentage in the UK reached over 4%. In the next 4 years, the figure for

Sweden

remained stable before hitting the peak of 4.50%

at the end

of the surveyed period.

however

, the category of the UK followed a sudden decrease until 1996, accounting for 4%. afterwards, the UK's

days

off for illness increased by 1.5% to 5.5% in 2001.

in addition

, the figure for workers with illness absence in Germany is 2 times higher than that in

Sweden

, reaching roughly 2.5%.

nevertheless

, the proportion of Germany's

days

off dropped from 5.50% to 3% between 1992 and 2001,

whereas

this

category of France and Netherlands remained unchanged at 2.5 % and 1.5%, respectively.