Band 7+: 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 given bar graph compares the cumulative health expenses of 12 countries over three time point (2002, 2007, and 2012). The expenditure is shown in terms of a proportion.

Overall, Switzerland stood first among other states, with a total expense accounting around 15 percent of the country’s GDP. The percentage remained the same over the years. France’s expenditure was similar to Switzerland in 2012, though the country had a lower proportional expense in 2002 and 2012. According to the 2012 data, three countries, namely Belgium, Denmark, and Norway had equally 10 percent total expenses. However, this number declined to 8.5 percent both in 2007 and 2012, while remaining the same for Belgium. In contrast, Estonia’s collective health expenses were reported to be the lowest relative to other countries accounting for only 2.5 percent.

In summary, the data showcases that Switzerland has the highest health expenses while Estonia’s expenses are the lowest.