Ielts Academic Writing Task 1 Sample 32
You should spend a maximum of 20 minutes on this task. Write about the following topic:
The image provides information about the share of total employment by business size in selected countries.
Summarize the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant.
You should write at least 150 words.
The stacked bar chart illustrates the distribution of employment between small/medium enterprises (SMEs) and large businesses across various countries, represented as percentages of total employment.
Greece demonstrates the highest proportion of SME employment at approximately 80% of its total workforce, followed closely by Japan (GRC and JPN). Italy and Spain maintain similarly high SME employment rates, with both countries showing approximately 70% of their workforce in smaller enterprises.
Conversely, the United States exhibits the lowest SME employment share at roughly 40%, indicating a significant dominance of large businesses in its employment structure. The United Kingdom and Germany present intermediate patterns, with SME employment accounting for approximately 55-60% of their total workforce.
The data reveals a notable contrast between Mediterranean economies, which heavily rely on SMEs for employment, and the Anglo-American model represented by the United States, where large enterprises play a more substantial role in employment generation. Continental European nations generally display a more balanced distribution between SME and large business employment.