The bar chart below shows current health expenditure totals as percentages of GDP* for various European countries for the years 2002, 2007 and 2012. Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant.

The bar chart provides information about how much money was spent on health as a proportion of GDP for 12 different European countries in 2002, 2007, and 2012. Units are measured in percentages. Looking from an

overall

Linking Words

perspective, it is readily apparent that Belgium, Estonia, Spain, and Switzerland showed stable numbers over the given period,

while

Linking Words

France experienced some fluctuations. Moving to a more detailed analysis, the figures for Belgium and Switzerland witnessed small differences and remained steady over a decade respectively 10% and 11%. The numbers for Estonia and Spain levelled off with a significant discrepancy between them, differing from each other at approximately 8%. In terms of other parts of the continent, the expenditure of Denmark and Norway started at exactly 10% and continued with a marginal decline at 9% till the end of the period, compared to the trend for the French vacillated around 9% and 11%. The Netherlands's spending rose gradually from 8% to 10% and the data for Luxembourg surged for the first 5 years, before plateauing at 8%,

whereas

Linking Words

Lithuania, Poland, and Slovenia had their highest numbers at the beginning of the surveyed timeframe, followed by a noticeable downward trend.