Band 6+: The graph below shows the number of shops that closed and the number of new shops that opened in one country between 2011 and 2018. Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant.

The line graph illustrates the number of shops opening and closing in one country for eight years, from 2011 to 2018.

Overall, the number of shop closures has remained within the 5,000 to 7,000 range in all years (with the exception of 2015). Meanwhile, the number of shop openings had a wider range of figures but generally showed a downward trend over the period.

According to the chart, in 2011, there were around 8,500 new shops in the country, the biggest openings in all years. However, after a year, the number significantly dropped to 4,000. For the subsequent years, the number gradually rose by 1,000 each year, then fell again and reached a low of 3,000 in the last year.

With regards to the closed shops, the year with the most shops closed was in 2013, with more than 7,000 shops closed. It is evident, as per chart, that less than 1,000 shops closed in 2015, after which it dramatically rose around ten-fold to over 5,000 in 2016. Then, for the next two years, the number remained steady at about 5,000.