The given bar charts give information about the average retirement age for men and women in seven countries, namely Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Sweden and the UK for two seperated year: 2004 and 2008.
Overall, the average retirement age showed an upward trend in all seven countries except Italy and this figure for men was always higher than for women. Additionally, France recorded the lowest average retirement age, while Swedish citizens retired at the oldest age.
Regarding the average age at which men retired, Germany exhibited the most significant increase from 61 in 2004 to 62 years in 2008. Similarly but to a lesser extent, the figure for Denmark rose moderately from roughly 62 to 62.5 years in the same period. France, the Netherlands, Sweden and the UK each recorded a modest increase of roughly 0.3 years, while Italy remained stable at 60 years.
As for women, the average retirement age in Denmark was 59.8 years, which then surged to nearly 60.5 in 2008. France showed the slowest growth, ascending from around 58.6 to about 58.8 years from 2004 to 2008. The average retirement age in Germany, Sweden and the UK rose by 0,6 years. The figure for the Netherlands in 2004 and 2008 was 62 and roughly 62,5 respectively. Although the average retirement age for women showed an upward trend, this figure for Italy declined gradually from 59,9 to 59,4 years in the same period.
