The line graph compares the number of shop closures and openings in a particular country between 2011 and 2018.
Overall, the number of shops closing experienced significant fluctuations and generally declined over the period, while the number of new shop openings also decreased but followed a more stable trend after 2014.
In 2011, shop closures stood at around 8,500, which was much higher than the 6,500 new shop openings. However, the number of closures dropped sharply to about 6,000 in 2012 before rising to a peak of roughly 7,500 in 2013. From this point onwards, the figure declined dramatically, hitting its lowest point of just 500 closures in 2015, before recovering slightly and stabilising at around 5,000 shops by 2018.
In contrast, shop openings started at approximately 6,500 in 2011 and decreased steadily to about 4,000 in 2012. After a gradual rise to nearly 6,000 in 2014, the number levelled off at around 4,000 to 5,000 between 2015 and 2018, showing a relatively stable trend compared to shop closures.
In summary, both shop closures and openings declined over the period, but closures fluctuated more dramatically, while openings remained relatively stable after 2014