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. You should * GDP (Gross Domestic Product) is the total value of goods that are made and services that are provided in a country.

The bar graph provides information on the incremental spending of 12 European nations on the health sector every five years starting from 2002.

Overall

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, the data contained within the visual representation reveals that Switzerland had the highest health expenditures of 11% throughout the period surveyed

whereas

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Estonia marked the lowest, by 3%, in comparison to other countries. As the diagram depicts, expenses for Belgium, Spain and Estonia remained stable during the three years, standing at 10%, 8%, and 3% respectively. In terms of Denmark, it dedicated 9% in both 2002 and 2007 before rising by 1% in 2012. The maximum spending for France marked in 2007, reaching only 11%. Improving marginally from 5%, Lithuania allocated 6% for the health sector in 2012.

Furthermore

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, a decrease of 1% was presented by Luxembourg’s expenditures, dropping from the percentages of 2002 and 2007 to stand at 7% in 2012. The Netherlands demonstrated a downward trend, with proportions declining by 1% every half a decade to a level of 8% in 2012. The most significant financial contributions of Norway, Poland and Slovenia were witnessed in 2012, levelling at 10%, 7%, and 9% respectively.