The graph below shows the percentage of workers from different European countries that were absent

for a day or more due to illness from 1991 to 2001. Summarise the information by selecting reporting
the main features, and make comparisons where relevant.

The graph below depicts the proportion of workers from various European nations who missed work for
a day or more due to sickness between 1991 and 2001.

Overall, the Netherlands accounted for the highest percentage in the given period despite the
fluctuation. France and Sweden followed the opposite trend, with a decline for the former and a growth
for the latter. The UK and Germany showed a similar pattern, even though the UK’s figure was noticeably
higher.

In 1991, around 5% of workers took sick days in the Netherlands, and then reach a peak of 5.5% in 2001
after witnessing a dramatic decrease to approximately 4% in 1996. France and Sweden followed the
opposite trend. France starts the given period with 5% and plummeted to 3% after 10 years compared to
3% of workers taking sick leave for a day or more in Sweden in 1991, and this figure increase significantly
to 4.6% 10 years later.

Specifically, the proportion of workers with sickness absence in the UK fluctuated slightly around 3%,
whereas this figure for Germany witnessed a little variation at just under 2% over the entire period.