The graph below shows the percentage of female members of parliament in five European countries, from 2000 to 2012.

The statistical information provided indicates the proportion of female MPs in five major European nations over a twelve-year

period

starting in 2000.

Overall

, there was a general upward trend in the percentage of women elected. Perhaps the most noteworthy feature of the graph is the dramatic rise that took place in Italy. At the beginning of the

period

, a mere 2.5% of MPs in

this

country were women;

however

, by the end of the

period

,

this

figure had increased tenfold. Notably, the major surge occurred during a four-year

period

between 2004 and 2008. Another key feature is that during the whole

period

in

question

Add a comma

question,

show examples

there were, rather surprisingly, comparatively smaller changes in the percentages in the UK and Germany.

Furthermore

,

although

the latter country had the highest proportion of female MPs at the start of

this

period

, twelve years later, it had been overtaken by Belgium, where just under 40% of the elected politicians were female. Interestingly, in Spain, after a notable rise of roughly 10% over the first four years of the

period

, the percentage of female representatives in parliament levelled off for the remaining eight years of the

period

under discussion.