Band 5+: WRITING TASK 1 You should spend about 20 minutes on this task. 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 write at least 150 words. * GDP (Gross Domestic Product) is the total value of goods that are made and services that are provided in a country.

The bar chart illustrates the percenatge of GDP allocated to total health expenditure in various countries in europe for the years 2002, 2007 and 2012.

Overall, Switzerland had the highest proportion of spending and remains steady similary with Belgium over the three years, while, Estonia recorded the lowest expenditure during the same period. The remaining countries exhibit generally similar trends.

In 2002, Switzerland led approximately about 15%, followed closely with Belgium, France, Netherlands and Norway with 10%. By contrast Estonia and Lithuania had the lowest spedning, at arount 3% and 5% respectively, Over the years, health expenditure in Denmark and Norway continue to rise, reaching 10% in 2012. while Netherlands and Luxembourg keeps declining from around 10% to 7%. Countries like Spainn, Poland and Slovenia exhibited relatively lower proportion, generally bellow 8% throughout the period.

In summary, health expenditure as a share of GDP varied significantly across nations, with wealthier states like Switzerland , Belgium and Norway allocating higher proportion compared with others like Estonia and Lithuania.