The given line graph illustrates the total renewable energy consumption of six different countries over a 35-year period from 1971 to 2006, with projections in 2011.
Overall, the utilization of renewable energy in almost all countries recorded upward trends, while only Finland experienced a fluctuating trend before recovering significantly and remaining the highest among all six countries. Notably, the United States experienced the most dramatic growth among the six countries.
Starting with the first half of the period, Finland topped the list at nearly a quarter in 1971, then showed some fluctuations before falling to just around 17% in 1991. Denmark ranked second at precisely 15% in 1971; although this figure showed considerable variation, it returned to approximately its initial level in 1991. France and Germany followed a similar pattern, starting at around 8% and exactly one in twenty in 1971, respectively; until 1991, they remained at their initial levels. Lastly, the United States rose substantially from around 3% in 1971 to nearly 10%, to converge with France by 1991, while the United Kingdom stood at just over 0% before increasing slightly to around 4% in 1991.
Moreover, all countries generally increased over the remainder of the period. Finland rose marginally to nearly one-fifth in 1996 before reaching just over 20%; this figure was expected to escalate to around 24% by 2011, followed by Denmark which dipped to around 12.5% in 1996 before recovering steadily to around 16% in 2006, before being projected to increase to around 17% by 2011. France and Germany again followed similar trends, rising slightly to around 12% and 7%, respectively, before being anticipated to end at almost the same levels at nearly 15%. Finally, the United States was projected to rise sharply from one in ten in 1991 and and continued to rise to around 17% by the end of the period, surpassing both France and Germany to reach the second position, while the United Kingdom was expected to record a slight increase to just over 5% by 2011.