Denmark

Denmark

The light green area is the rest of the European Union

Denmark was the 36th largest economy in the world by nominal GDP in 2018. GDP per capita is $60,726, which is above the average for high income and OECD countries, and is among the highest in the world. It is a well-developed and open economy. It is ranked 17th in the World Bank's Human Capital Index and 8th in the Logistics Performance Index. It is a member of the EU and OECD. It is not a member of the eurozone but instead pegs its currency (krone) to the euro. Denmark is an example of the Nordic model, characterised by an internationally high tax level, and a correspondingly high level of government-provided services. Services was the largest economic sector in 2018 (65 percent of GDP), followed by manufacturing (12.6 percent), and agriculture (1 percent). In 2017, the largest export sectors were services (39.45 percent), chemicals (15.13 percent), agriculture (13.8 percent), and machinery (10.1 percent). The largest individual exports were transport services (21.19 percent), ICT services (12.8 percent), and packaged medicaments (8.5 percent). Its largest export partners were Germany (13.4 percent), Sweden (10.73 percent), USA (7.25 percent), UK (6.2 percent), and Norway (5.63 percent). The largest goods imports were cars (4.89 percent), packaged medicaments (3.45 percent), refined petroleum (3.1 percent), and crude oil (2.4 percent). Denmark's economy has long benefitted from free trade, specialisation, and proximity to the large markets of the UK and the Netherlands. Unusually, its modern economy was developed mainly through agriculture, particularly butter and bacon exports to the UK. It was not until the 1950s that manufacturing displaced agriculture in importance. The Danish economy is also unusual in that there were no forced nationalisations of industry in the 20th century and that industry developed without import substitution. Light industry developed organically to supply the domestic market and later began exporting. In the late 1960s, the welfare state was developed as new taxes provided the government with increased income. In 1973, Denmark joined the European Economic Community at the same time as its key trading partner, the UK. However, it has opted out of four areas of EU cooperation, including the euro and a common-defence policy. The economy continues to evolve and rates highly in terms of digitisation and productivity. The economy contracted during the global financial crisis but has since returned to modest growth.

Its population in 2018 was 5,754,356 [1]

In 2015, 33.17% of its total energy
consumption was renewable [2]

In 2021, its GDP grew by 4.69% [2]

In 2021 it had a positive Current
Account Balance of US$bn 33.14 [3]

Its unemployment rate in 2021 was 5.08% [3]

Its Expenditure on R&D (as a percentage of
GDP) in 2020 was 2.96% [2]

A Big Mac will set you back the
local equivalent of US$4.60 [4]



What free trade areas or economic unions is it a member of?

Member of the European Union (EU) since 01/01/1973

Other members:

Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czechia, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden


What trade deals are there between European Union and other countries and economic unions?

EU - Andorra Customs Union (from 01/01/1991)

European Single Market (SM) (from 01/01/1993)

EU - Sri-Lanka Co-operation and Partnership Agreement (from 01/04/1995)

EU - Türkiye Customs Union (from 31/12/1995)

EU - Faroe Islands Agreement (from 01/01/1997)

EU - Palestinian Authority Interim Association Agreement (from 01/07/1997)

EU - Tunisia Association Agreement (from 01/03/1998)

EU - Armenia Partnership and Cooperation Agreement (from 09/09/1999)

EU - Morocco Association Agreement (from 01/03/2000)

EU - Israel Association Agreement (from 01/06/2000)

EU - Mexico Global Agreement (from 01/10/2000)

EU - San Marino Customs Union (from 01/04/2002)

EU - Jordan Association Agreement (from 01/05/2002)

EU - North Macedonia Stabilisation and Association Agreement (from 01/04/2004)

EU - Pakistan Co-operation agreement (from 29/04/2004)

EU - Egypt Association Agreement (from 01/06/2004)

EU - Chile Association Agreement and Additional Protocol (from 01/03/2005)

EU - Algeria Association Agreement (from 01/09/2005)

EU - Lebanon Association Agreement (from 01/04/2006)

EU - Albania Stabilisation and Association Agreement (from 01/04/2009)

EU - Pacific States Interim EPA (from 20/12/2009)

EU - Montenegro Stabilisation and Association Agreement (from 01/05/2010)

EU - Central America Association Agreement (from 01/08/2013)

EU - Serbia Stabilisation and Association Agreement (from 01/09/2013)

EU - Bosnia and Herzegovina Stabilisation and Association Agreement (from 01/06/2015)

EU - South Korea Free Trade Agreement (from 01/07/2015)

EU - Kosovo Stabilisation and Association Agreement (from 01/04/2016)

EU - Georgia Association Agreement (from 01/07/2016)

EU - Moldova Association Agreement (from 01/07/2016)

EU - Canada Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) (from 21/09/2017)

EU - Eswatini (SADC) Economic Partnership Agreement (from 05/02/2018)

EU - Lesotho (SADC) Economic Partnership Agreement (from 05/02/2018)

EU - Mozambique (SADC) Economic Partnership Agreement (from 05/02/2018)

EU - Namibia (SADC) Economic Partnership Agreement (from 05/02/2018)

EU - South Africa Economic Partnership Agreement (from 05/02/2018)

EU - Botswana (SADC) Economic Partnership Agreement (from 05/02/2018)

EU - Japan Economic Partnership Agreement (from 01/02/2019)

EU - Eastern and Southern Africa States free trade agreement (from 07/02/2019)

UK - EU Trade Deal (from 01/01/2021)


What trade deals are there with other countries and economic unions?

None

Aviv Wolff: Moo-ve Over, Bessie, There’s a New Dairy on the Scene…

Israeli food-tech start-up Remilk is challenging a global industry valued at around $900bn. According to Remilk’s founder and CEO, Aviv Wolff, the dairy industry has seen little innovation over the

Quantitative Tightening and Capital Flows to Emerging Markets

In its May 15th meeting, the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) of the U.S. Federal Reserve (Fed) lifted its benchmark policy rate by 0.75% to 1.50%–1.75%, the most significant increase
Read more

Right Place, Right Time, Right Attitude: Dutch Firm, Orange Capital Partners Plays Its Cards with Skill

Since its first acquisition in 2014, Amsterdam-based Orange Capital Partners (OCP) has been on a roll. Set up by two former Goldman Sachs executives, Victor van Bommel (founder and CEO)

The Zoscales Partners Management Team: Ashenafi Alemu, Jacop B. Rentschler and Frederick Kambo

It all started in 2000 when co-founders Ashenafi Alemu and Jacop B. Rentschler met in a cafe in Denmark while Ashenafi was a foreign exchange student. Ashenafi and Jacop became
Read more

Ørsted: Danish Power Company Driving the World’s Carbon-Neutral Bus

Danish multinational Ørsted has in a 10-year span gone from one of Europe’s most fossil-fuel-intensive utilities to the world’s most sustainable energy company. The Ørsted story began in 1973, when

Scotland: The High Road to England or a Brave Step to Independence?

When the Emperor Hadrian ordered the building of a wall to divide the troublesome, blue-painted northern tribes from the more subdued southerners in the second century AD, he literally set
Read more

Whilst Trade Talks Falter, Brits Celebrate Vaccine First

Mind the paradox. Thanks to EU law, the UK has become the first country to certify for clinical use the coronavirus vaccine developed jointly by US biopharmaceutical company Pfizer and

BankInvest CEO Lars Bo Bertram: Strong Demand Ensures Good Returns on ESG-Compliant Investments

Lars Bo Bertram is excited about the future. He notes that over the past few years retail investors have warmed to products that are fully ESG-compliant: “For more than 13
Read more

BankInvest: The Singular Pursuit of Alpha Powered by ESG

The Nordic markets, including Denmark, have seen a significant increase in the demand for sustainable investment products. Though green bonds and equity products have been widely available for well over

Sweden – A Controversial Approach Belatedly Vindicated

The Swedes are a trusting lot. Asked if they usually confide in ‘other people’, almost two-thirds of Swedes answered ‘yes’. In the US and the UK, the comparable numbers hover
Read more

Trade with the United Kingdom

Source: UK Office for National Statistics, October 2022.

Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

CFI