Band 6+: The graph below shows the percentage of self employed workers of the total workforce in five countries in 1998 and 2008. Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features and make comparisons where relevant.

The bar chart illustrates the proportion of people who were self-employees in five different nations from 1998 to 2008.

In general, there was a noticeable decrease in the percentage of self-employees from Greece and Turkey, while the data for Russian, Slovakia, and Czech show an upward trend. Notably, the figure for Turkey was higher than for any other country throughout the period shown.

Analyzing the information in greater detail, in 1998, about 55% of people in Turkey were self-employees, compared to approximately 43% in Greece. Over the subsequent two years, Turkey saw a significant decline in the proportion of working for themselves to just under 39% in 2000. Additionally, Greece also followed a similar trend, with the figure eventually decreasing to nearly 35% at the end of the period.

Turning to the other countries, the proportion of people who work for themselves from Czech republic stood at 12% in 1998, followed by Slovakia at 7% and Russian at 5%. Over the following two years, the percentage of people who were self-employees increased slightly, reaching 15% in 2000. Finally, the figures for Slovakia and Russian climb gradually to 12% and 7% in the final year.