Band 5+: 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 illustrated chart conveys health expenses as a percentage of European Gross Domestic Product during the years 2002, 2007, and 2012.

Most of the countries indicate that there is no overall increase, maintaining a relative percentile throughout the non-consecutive three-decade period,

with Switzerland, Belgium, Spain, and Estonia serving as models for this conclusion, as their expenses see no shift in trajectory for the three years recorded.

A large portion of the nations reported a pattern of increase within the three years, showing a one percent decrease from 2007 to 2012 of an estimated one percent, marking no change in the shift from 2002 to 2007.

A quarter of the countries, conversely, distinctly expressed an increase in their values throughout the years; for instance, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, and France see an overall upward shift in the expenditure percentile. All follow an increase throughout the three years, with France being the outlier, where it noted an upward increase in its health expenditure in 2007 by one percent.