Band 9: The charts give information about the percentage of men and women who had driving licences in one European country in various years. Summarize the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant.

The bar charts compare the proportions of men and women holding driving licences in a European country between 1976 and 2006, and illustrate the percentage of young drivers aged 17-20 in 1996 and 2006.

Overall, driving licence ownership among men and women increased over the period, with men consistently outnumbering women. However, the proportion of young drivers aged 17-20 fell for both genders between 1996 and 2006.

In 1976, 70% of men were licensed drivers, which was more than twice the figure for women (30%). While the percentage of men rose gradually to reach a peak of approximately 80% by 2006, women experienced a much sharper increase, climbing to 60% in the same year. As a result, the gap between the two genders narrowed significantly over time.

Turning to the younger age group, the proportion of male drivers aged 17-20 fell slightly from around 50% in 1996 to just over 40% in 2006. A similar downward trend was observed among young women, whose figure dropped more sharply, from approximately 30% to about 20% over the same period.